Reviewing the Situation

Read any good books recently?

 

As writers, we’re regularly reminded that we should be readers, too. In these times of online meetings and virtual interviews, we’re becoming much better acquainted with the contents of other people’s bookshelves. This is a good thing, in my opinion, although I often wish that the camera would zoom in a bit more so that I can see what people are actually reading.

 

An even better way to draw attention to your reading material, however, is to post a review, preferably in as many places as possible. Writing can be a lonely business and receiving a positive review can be a better pick-me-up than a large bar of chocolate, but with far fewer calories. (There's also the added bonus of a potential increase in sales.)

 

You’ll notice I focus on positive reviews here. That’s because I feel my time is better spent on those than on possibly upsetting another writer with what is – after all – only my opinion. Some negative reviews are really weird, too. I’ve seen one-star reviews of books because:

·       The packaging was damaged (are you quite sure you want to blame the author for that?)

·       It was on a different topic from what I expected (next time, maybe read the blurb before you buy?)

 

Reviews don’t need to be long and complex; in fact, short and succinct is often better. Give it a rating, where applicable, and say what you liked about it (preferably without any plot spoilers). The questions I tend to ask myself when reviewing a book are:

·       Who is it for?

·       What is it about?

·       Why should I read it?

 

Writing reviews is also a great writing exercise as – like letter-writing – it forces us to summarise our thoughts and express them clearly using relatively few words.

 

So, back to my original question – have you read any good books recently? Yes? Well, maybe you should consider reviewing them...

Fiona Lloyd is Chair of the Association of Christian Writers and is married with three grown-up children. Her first novel, The Diary of a (trying to be holy) Mum, was published by Instant Apostle in January 2018. She regularly writes book reviews for Together Magazine. Fiona also works part-time for Christians Against Poverty.

 

Twitter: @FionaJLloyd & @FionaLloyd16