Why Aspiring Authors Should Read Book Reviews
Do you read book reviews? I didn't used to. I used to think book reviews were kinda weird. Everyone has different tastes right? How was one person that has nothing in common with me's view going to persuade me to read a book more than its plot or cover? (Yes, i'm shallow and am attracted to pretty covers) I like exploring my library and picking out random books to take home, or I order the ones for authors I know on Twitter that have new books coming out.
A good chunk of writers don't like reviews. Especially bad ones. There's nothing like a bad review to really gut someone and change their okay day into a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad, day from hell.
"Why would I want to read about a book that someone thought was bad?"
Lets rewrite that.
"How can we look at non-favorable book reviews and learn from them?"
I started reading reviews for a different purpose--I didn't read them wanting to know if they were a good read, I read them to figure out what went wrong in the book in question. (You have to find a truthful review site [not one that's going to scream "OMG!!! I LOVE this book! READ IT!" for every review] or troll amazon)
Read what the reviewers say they believed or didn't believe. Does a relationship happen too fast? Why don't they like the main character? What about the from-a-poor-family small-town librarian living in a 42 room mansion with three Mazarati cars doesn't ring true?
Sometimes you'll pick up things you can use in your own novel like being sure to pace your relationship development (Hello, Twilight) or realizing that a persons past, while not included in your book's plot, will have an effect on how they think and act today. Maybe you'll find a book with a similar plot and will read it as "competition research"
And sometimes you do get lucky and find a book you'll want to read and who knows, you might even like it! And then you might write a favorable review! Win-win!
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7 comments:
Yikes, I so don't read reviews either. I should, I know. Mostly, I just trust the opinions of people I know. You're right though, this is a good source of inspiration and information.
Thanks for the kick in the pants.
- Liz
You're welcome, Liz :)
I love Amazon b/c I love to read reviews. I want to read the bad and the good (that's what Amazon always gives)
But kinda like you said Cassandra-- When I write my own reviews for books I've read I get a better feel about what exactly I loved or disliked about a book. Then I try to fit those things into my own writing.
Anyway good post.
This is so true. I've started reading reviews with a different sensibility. I've learned a lot about why readers don't buy into a story. They are a lot more discriminating than writers may realize. Book lovers today are very savvy. This is great and timely advice.
Thanks, Sarah!
Yes, June, readers are very savy. And the most savy readers? Teens. They can spot a "fake" sounding book or a "preachy" book from outside the bookstore.
I never thought about it that way. I tend not to read reviews until after I finish a book (I hate spoilers) and find that I often agree with a lot of the reviews...
Thanks!!
Janelle
I totally got a mental image of the Brady Bunch saying, "Oh, I never thought of it that way" after the dad waxed poetic about something or other. Tee hee hee!
But anyway, thank you Janelle!
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