Support an Author: How to Write a Book Review ~ #saam14

To sell books, we all need reviews… as much as we sometimes dread them! One of the best ways to support any author is to write a well-crafted review. I had to do a lot of searching online to find out how. Most of the information you get off the Internet is about F.o.r.m.a.l. college-type reviews, technical journals and things that scare my hair off. So to save us all, I have “borrowed,” and slightly modified these awesome tips. They are user-friendly. So please, write a book review this week… unless you hate the book. In that case, just walk away quietly and leave the world a more peaceful place.

The source of the wisdom below is http://slashdot.org/faq/bookreviews.shtml I took out the negative parts of writing a critique, as this is support, not tear apart, month!

Did you like previous works from the same author or series?
Where and when does the story take place?
Is this book part of a series?
Is there an identifiable central conflict, or a complex of conflicts?
What is the tone and style? Is it frightening? Clinical? Amusing? Scattered?
Do you like the characters? What about them makes them believable, dynamic or static?
From whose viewpoint is the story told, and how does that affect the narrative?
Does the book remind you of others by the same author, or in the same genre?
Do any twists particularly inspire? (Don’t give away too much, of course.)
If you really have to, don’t ‘pan’ a book without specifying your context and expectations. I did ask you nicely not to though, so please, walk away…

If you can add more suggestions, please do in the comments below. Plus, as one commenter pointed out, if someone asks you to write a review, don’t say that in the review! It looks rigged.

Please do not reblog this post.

The suggestions in this blog post are Copyright Slashdot.org. Only a very small part of their entire page has been reproduced here. (It is massive.)

“Slashdot welcomes readers’ book reviews. In particular, we’re interested in reviews of books on programming, computer security, the history of technology and anything else (including Science Fiction, cyberpunk, etc.) that fits under the “News for Nerds” umbrella.”  http://slashdot.org

Filed under: Support An Author Month 2014, What's On Tagged: author, blogging, book review, books, creativity, encouragement, growth, ideas, Indie publishing, inspiration, resource, success, support, writer, writing