Suggested Guidelines For Reviews

[Patricia]

Reviews should be yours and should be fun. There will be no rules for reviews in this group but there will be suggested content in this thread. I'd also like authors to contribute here to let us know what you like to see in reviews of your books.

[David]

I would say if the review is a 2 or 3 star, try to point out some positive aspects of the book to go along with the criticisms.

[L.C.]

Anything about the characters also helps :)

[Patricia]

I always start my reviews with a brief summary of the book and say whether I liked the book or didn't like the book.

Next I talk about story and character development.

I say what I like most about the book and add anything I think could have been done better if I think there's a problem.

I state approximately how long it took me to read the book and if it was an easy read or a hard read. I've read some really good books that have been what I consider a hard read so I state why it was hard. For instance a book with several overlapping story lines and overlapping characters are sometimes difficult to follow if I'm tired. I explain that in the review.

I finish with with whether I recommend the book. If I believe the recommendation should be specific to readers of certain genres or type of books I also say that.

I've seen a lot of reviews on amazon where reviewers give a book one star and complain about language and sexual content. Personally I believe that's wrong. The problem is with the readers choice of book not the actual book. I won't do that to an author.

[Lydia]

Patricia wrote: "I always start my reviews with a brief summary of the book and say whether I liked the book or didn't like the book.

Next I talk about story and character development.

I say what I like most abou..."

I agree with you 100% Patricia. I like the way you think.

[Lydia]

David wrote: "I would say if the review is a 2 or 3 star, try to point out some positive aspects of the book to go along with the criticisms."

I very much like that idea.

[Lydia]

I think that if a reviewer really hated something about a book they should try to go about writing their opinion in the nicest way possible. And if they can't they probably shouldn't be writing it at all. There is no need to make the author feel horrible. They work really hard in just writing it, let alone everything else that is involved.

If there is something in a book that a reviewer really did love by all means they should be blurting it out. It doesn't matter how long the review is. If you're interested in a book you're going to read the reviews, no matter how long. :) Peace.

[StarMan]

Very good suggestions, everyone! Thanks very much.

As David says, it's good to always say at least one positive (if true) or unique thing about even a book you didn't like.

I usually:
-- give a summary or general idea of what the book's about
-- add a few details (pros/cons, or something unique about the book)
-- give a VERDICT (rating), and why.
-- hide any BIG spoilers

I try to keep it light, but honest.

[E.]

This has more to do with editing but break up your paragraphs. PLEASE. Not many people likes to read huge blocks of text and I just scroll past those.
Also, try to match your tone to a book you're reviewing. Some serious issues deserve a bit more serious language but a summery YA can be traeted more lightly.