The Elusive Honest Review

Every author needs reviews for their book. Along with cover, genre, and description, reviews convince a reader to buy a book. Every reader looks for different things so you have to have it all.

v  The amazing cover.

v  The genre of choice.

v  The spell-binding description.

v  And reviews (lots of them) extolling all the unique virtues of the book.

How to obtain a vast number of complimentary reviews? That is the million dollar question. Or, in some cases, the $40 - $200 question. Do you buy them? Do you swap for them? Do you ask (or beg) for them? Do you play the ‘wait and see’ game? What is a writer to do? Reviews are a must. Who will buy a book (or any product for that matter) that no one has reviewed? No one.

The truth to obtaining reviews is patience and hard work. There’s no 'secret, skip to the front of the line' formula. And there’s no guarantee every review will be a good one. I’ve read time and again that a few poor reviews give your book credibility. It’s true a book with 150 five star reviews seems a bit phony.

These are the hard truths about reviews:

·         Not everyone will like your book.

·         Some will like it (or love it) and still not leave a review.

·         It takes time for reviewers to actually read your book.

·         Some reviewers will accept a reviewer copy and not post a review.

·         There are more books out there than reviewers.

By the time you publish your book, you’ve done your work (along with your editors) to make it the best it can be. Like a child heading to kindergarten, you send your book off into the world to be admired and enjoyed. And <gasp> not everyone loves it as much as you do!

I appreciate the honesty and time of every reader who leaves a review. Since I embarked on this review seeking journey, I leave more book reviews myself.