The dreaded algorithm!
How often do you review a book you’ve read? It never used to cross my mind to write a review, even if I’d loved a novel and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Before my debut was published last year, I hadn’t realised how important reviews are to authors.
To be honest, we writers thrive on them. When Her Little Secret was published last year I was constantly looking at the reviews on Amazon, hoping each day there would be another one added. This was for two reasons: one personal and the other commercial.
In the modern online world, engagement drives algorithms which drive what we see online. My editor informed me that when I received thirty 4 and 5 star reviews on Amazon my book would be eligible for their online promotion. As I recall, sixty reviews was another target. In short, reviews are essential to book sales, particularly with ebooks. Without them, the book will disappear from the virtual shop front.
From a personal perspective, authors want to know how readers are reacting to their books. A writer works on their novel for a year or more, with many rewrites, edits and refinements. We get feedback from trusted friends and family, critical comment from our agent and editor, but until the book is out there in the world we don’t know for sure how others will react to it. We can learn so much from reviews; whether they are praising or constructively critical, they are all useful. So, if you read a novel and it engages you in some way, I’m sure the author would be grateful if you’d take a few minutes to post a review and tell them why!