As my southern grandmother would say, "I'm thrilled spitless," to welcome the amazing
Julie Musil -
Friend - Talented Author - Critique Partner - Inspiration
Her fantabulous debut novel
is available NOW - YES RIGHT NOW!
Julie was my mentor in navigating online reviewing.
Today she's sharing her savvy on the topic.
The Importance of Book Reviews & How to Write Them
Book reviews...who needs ‘em?
Apparently, writers and readers!
I’ll admit, I never used to write book reviews. If I loved a book I’d share the good news with my friends and family.
But that was it.
As I prepared to self publish my YA novel,
I learned how important reviews are for authors and readers.
Why?
- Reviews are important to the author because even negative reviews make the title visible to potential readers. Visibility helps sell more books.
- A review is important to readers because it helps them decide whether or not to invest valuable time and money in a book.
I have two tips for leaving book reviews:
Say as much or as little as you’d like. If you want to say only a few words about what you did or didn’t like with the book, that’s fine. If you want to write an in-depth review about your favorite or least favorite parts of the book, go for it.
Julie Musil writes Young Adult novels from her rural home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband and three sons. She’s an obsessive reader who loves stories that grab the heart and won’t let go. Her novel The Boy Who Loved Fire is available now. For more information, or to stop by and say Hi, please visit Julie on her blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
If you’ve read the story on a Kindle, chances are you’ll receive a pop up window requesting a star rating and review after you turn the final page. (I’m not sure if this happens with a Nook. If you know, please mention it in the comments).
Here's the online step-by-step reviewing process for Amazon:
- Search Amazon.com for the title in question. Click on the title.
- Below the title, you should see “Be the first to write a review” or (4 customer reviews) — or however many reviews have been received so far. Click on this statement.
- Under “Average Customer Review” you should see “Create Your Own Review.” Click that button.
- Click on the number of stars you want to rate it. 1= I hate it, 2 = I don’t like it, 3 = It’s okay, 4 = I like it, 5 = I love it.
- In the line provided, write a headline summary of your review. When writing the review for Philippa Gregory’s The Kingmaker’s Daughter, my title was “Fascinating read.”
- Click in the box below where it says “Write your review here.” This is where you can write what you did or didn’t like about the book. In the review for The Kingmaker’s Daughter, I complimented the author on her beautiful language and character development.
- Click Submit.
The process for Barnes and Noble and Goodreads are basically the same.
And there you have it—a quickie tutorial on writing book reviews.
What’s your opinion on book reviews? Do you still trust them? Do you write them? Any tips you’d like to add?
If you’ve read The Boy Who Loved Fire, thank you so much! If you’d like to write a review, click here.
Julie, thank you so much for popping by.
I wish you all good things for
The Boy Who Loved Fire
Julie Musil writes Young Adult novels from her rural home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband and three sons. She’s an obsessive reader who loves stories that grab the heart and won’t let go. Her novel The Boy Who Loved Fire is available now. For more information, or to stop by and say Hi, please visit Julie on her blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook.
The Boy Who Loved Fire
By Julie Musil
Manny O’Donnell
revels in his status at the top of his high school
food chain. He and his friends party in the mountains on a blustery night,
sharing liquor and lame ghost stories around a campfire. The next morning, as a
wild fire rages in those same mountains, Manny experiences doubt. He was the
last of the drunken crew to leave the cave, and he’s uncertain if he
extinguished the flames. Within hours, he becomes the number one arson suspect.
Santa Ana winds +
matches = disaster. You’d think he would've learned that the first time he
started a fire.
As he evades a
determined arson investigator, Manny, a modern-day Scrooge, is visited by
ghosts of the past, present, and future. He’s forced to witness the fate of his
inadvertent victims, including Abigail, the scarred beauty who softens his
heart. Manny must choose between turning around his callous, self-centered
attitude, or protecting his own skin at the expense of anyone who gets in his
way.
Buy Links for The Boy Who Loved Fire
