Book Review

[Jeremy]

I finally sent my self-published novel to a few third-party reviewers about 2 weeks ago, and today I got the first review back, from TCM Reviews. But it isn't much of a review, really. There is a summary of the novel that the reviewer could have gotten from the backcover or the novel's website, followed by the following comment:

I thoroughly enjoyed The Orphan Prince, and would recommend it not only for children, but also for those adults among us who have enjoyed books such as the Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter series.

I doubt the reviewer has even read the novel. What do you think? Do you think this "book review" will be helpful at all on sites like Amazon.com?

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm told that Amazon reviews count for almost nothing -- and that reviews in general make less of an impression than you would think. Word of mouth is the thing.

That said, I imagine that a brief but favorable review is more likely to be read than a long and laudatory one, especially by younger readers. That comparison to Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl is the sort of thing any publisher would love to use on a book cover or in ad copy; I think you should be very pleased.

[Jeremy]

Thank you so much, Kelpie, for your input. Does anyone else have any other thoughts on the topic of book reviews? It's my impression that the publishers at least seem to place heavy emphasis on reviews. Almost all books have third-party reviews on their backcovers or the first few pages. Advertisements typically have third-party reviews. Do they sway the readers in their decision to purchase a book, either in a bookstore or on-line?

Another question. I'm going to send queries to agents soon. Do you think it's a good idea to include positive reviews of the novel in the query letter?

[Teresa Edgerton]

Originally Posted by Jeremy

It's my impression that the publishers at least seem to place heavy emphasis on reviews.

What I said above about reviews not influencing readers that much, I heard that straight from the editor's mouth. In fact I've heard several editors and other industry professionals say it. Ads don't make much of an impression either.

So why do they bother with those things if they don't work, you may ask? For one thing, they don't do much in the way of advertising, compared to other companies with products to sell. And reviews, of course, cost practically nothing (which is to say, the cost of sending out a copy of the manuscript for blurbs, or ARCs for other reviews). They do these things in order to be doing something, because it's all they know how to do, because no one has figured out an effective and reliable way to generate the really powerful thing, which as I said before is word of mouth.

Even personal appearances, which can be enormously effective for some writers, do little or nothing for others because its largely a matter of personal charisma. However, you should ask Mark about that end when he gets back from his vacation in Austria. He's made booksignings and other appearances work very, very well for him, and while he owes much of his success to a winning personality and an uncanny ability to part potential readers from their money by sheer charm, he also has some good tips to share.

I'm not saying don't send your book out for reviews, or make the most of the good ones when they come in. I'm just saying don't feel like the success or failure of your book rests on them, because it doesn't. Don't let good ones raise your expectations unrealistically high, and don't let unsatisfactory ones depress you.

I don't know whether including positive reviews in a query letter to an agent would be a good idea or not. On that question (you will be surprised to know) I have no definite opinion either way. But there are a lot of agents with blogs who might be willing to address that issue if you asked.

[Saeltari]

It may seem strange but the reviews in or on the book I really don't pay much attention to at all. However, I often will buy or not buy a book depending on the reader reviews on amazon. I use that a lot to decide what new book I will buy.