Kindle Reader Review: Why Your Kindle Book Review Is Vital To Authors
Indie and Self-Published Kindle Authors Need Your Kindle Reader Reviews. Here’s Why!
Kindle reader review is vital, friends! As an independent fiction author, I understand that writing a blog that is of use to those who visit and subscribe to my website is a vital way to interact with the writing community. Social media streams and author blogs are filled with information and creative writing tips, but what do you want? I want to ensure I have a popular blog that is of use to young, beginning and experienced writers from all over the world, so what would you like to read about?
I am also someone who publishes novels independently of a mainstream publisher and without the assistance of a high street bookstore. No doubt pursuing the dream of writing a novel and becoming a best selling author is one that requires years of hard work and dedication. As a reader, I’m sure you can identify with the struggle that many writers, authors, poets and playwrights face trying to make their dreams a realisation.
There is some excellent creative writing advice on YouTube and in online creative writing blogs, such as this one. Every day, I see simple ‘How To..’ blogs, articles or YouTube videos that claim to have an answer or a magic bullet that can make every aspiring author out there an overnight success. I’m afraid, if it were that simple, there would be no need for those ‘How To..’ blogs to exist as we would all be New York Times best-selling authors!
Email Scott to enquire about becoming a member of his Type Cast Young Writers’ blog!
From being a regular scroller of social media on multiple platforms, I see fellow fiction writers and indie / self-published authors post reviews that readers have given them online. I love seeing my contemporaries share this praise for their work, and I also love sharing the reviews of my debut novel, Inside Iris. We are all desperately in need of reviews of our novels as it is the only way for us to share praise of the work that we are proud of!
Throughout my author blogs, I want to help share my views and experience of writing, whether you are writing as a beginner or are experienced at novel writing. It doesn’t matter, I feel we can all learn from one another.
By sharing our craft, our process, and how we work as creatives, we can:
- Help to hone our process further;
- Get inspiration from fellow writers;
- Feel part of a wider community;
- Feel less alone in a very lonely profession, hobby or past time.
This blog is created with my own suggestions that you may disagree with, and that’s fine. The method of exploring others’ views is where we can learn as authors and see what helps or hinders us. We need to remember that the process is for us to write fiction better or write fiction well.
Read this author blog article to see what you can learn and please email me at scott@sgfiction.co.uk with your ideas, processes and craft as a writer. I am eager to hear from my contemporaries and fellow authors, writers, poets, playwrights and screenwriters!
We feel comfortable sharing our thoughts about our latest read with a friend over coffee. Why can’t we share them on Amazon? Comment below.
A Kindle Reader Review Is More Than A Review
When we look across the world of online bookstores, including the high street’s online presence, we are greeted by a galaxy of star ratings. Each of these star ratings, ranging from one-to-five, are all that a potential reader has to go on. The entire world of bookworms rely on the reviews of those who have read the books before. They then consider whether to hit the ‘Add To Basket’ call-to-action button and take the plunge.
As consumers, we use reviews to decide whether to purchase everything from books to cars, holiday destinations, and even kettles or toasters! Of course, one needs to rate just how well that toaster toasted my bread to the right shade of golden brown, or evaluate how precisely the kettle boiled my water for my morning cuppa! I know I am being flippant here, but it is something to consider that more people log-on to Argos or Amazon to review a kettle when compared to those who actively review a novel.
Let’s consider it for a second. At this minute, I am on the Argos website, and there are over 3,300 reviews for a £12.99 kettle. By all accounts, the Cookworks Illumination kettle is a solid purchase for those looking for an inexpensive way to boil water. On the other hand, Jamie Oliver’s latest cookbook ‘Veg’ has less than 400 reviews for his £12.99 book at number four in the Amazon best-seller charts.
It could be that the once darling of the culinary world has been defeated by the £2 sale discount on the kettle from Argos, but I don’t see it that way. It could also be because a kettle is much more of an everyday item – sorry Jamie. There are probably many reasons for this. Still, even people like David Walliams and Margaret Attwood’s latest books have a fraction of the reviews our all-conquering kettle has been awarded.
Thank you to these beautiful people for taking time to review my debut novel, Inside Iris, on Amazon!!
My point is, if David Walliams, Jamie Oliver and Margaret Attwood struggle to break 500 reviews, what hope do I have sitting in my office just outside Belfast? As an author of soon-to-be two independently published novels, I sometimes get a little down at how I only have 12 reviews of Inside Iris in just over a year. Then, when I think about it in the cold light of day, I know I need to be grateful that twelve people took the time to write those reviews for me – and, trust me, I am so, so thankful to you all!
Now that I have done my diligent research on Argos and Amazon, I can get to the point of this segment of my blog. When we buy books from self-published or independent authors, we really must go out of our way to review them. Reviews are more than a review for authors without the reputation or the financial clout of some titans of literary or children’s fiction. We need to support indie and self-published authors and spread the word of any novels we read that are worth shouting about. Start today and review Kindle books
What can we do?
- Buy and read ONE indie / self-published author’s book every three months;
- Read and review the author’s book on Amazon or another online book store;
- Spread the word of that author’s work with friends and on social media.
Now that I have found my Kindle (which my daughter hid months and months ago), I will finally be able to finish the books I downloaded of some fellow indie authors. I know I’m just as bad but, for once, I can blame my then one-year-old daughter for ‘tidying up’. Sorry!
A World Of Readers
Out in the big bad world of Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, eBook / iBook downloads and various other online publication methods, there is so much out there for the average reader to consume. In the digital world that we live in, if any media doesn’t grab our attention within a short space of time, it is cast aside, and we are free to move on to the next piece of entertainment. This has its positives and its negatives.
Negatives can include fuelling mass consumerism and encouraging a lesser attention span, meaning books are cast aside with barely a page being read. We always say ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, but how many pages is considered to be enough to mean you have given the piece a fair enough chance to impress?
How many pages would you consider are enough to have read before giving up on a novel? Comment below with your thoughts.
On the positive side, I see there being a world of readers out there who are willing to taste and digest your writing rather than consume manically, like some form of rabid animal. These readers are also open to a world with almost unlimited books and stories to lose themselves in and share with friends. The digital world and the world of KDP, subscription services (like Kindle Unlimited) and the means of self-publication allow these bookworms to churn through millions of words a year. This means that there are thousands of authors out there who have a chance to get their work read and, in turn, reviewed. Why not review Kindle books today?
What can we do?
- Be open to new and unknown authors;
- Share those authors you enjoyed reading with friends and on social media;
- Blog about those authors and give them a platform – like I do with my Type Cast Young Writers’ Blog.
- Make an effort to review their books or even contact them via email to share positive feedback.
There are so many more positives to being an independent or self-published author than there are negatives. We just need to help share our stories with one another and promote our work to the wider world of readers. When a Kindle reader review appears on Kindle books, they spread the word among others out there!
Click on the image to view Scott’s YouTube channel video where he introduces himself and why he set up the Sg Fiction channel.
Kindle Reader Review: The Takeaway
When I chose to publish Inside Iris, I knew I wanted to do it alone. I’d spoken with enough traditionally published authors, playwrights and screenwriters to know the pitfalls of ‘making it’. Each of these creatives, who all wrote professionally, spoke of negatives and demands made on them by external forces.
I wanted to put my book out there on my own terms and have full control over what I wanted to do with it. Yes, I don’t have my book in Waterstones and, yes, some people see us as not being ‘real authors’. However, I don’t see that as being negative.
What we need is to ensure the fiction books we read from fellow indie / self-published authors are reviewed and shouted about from the rooftops. I love learning about other authors and will soon expand my blogs further with another project, soon to be announced. When I share their work, if it is available on Kindle, buy one and make a vow to give a Kindle reader review then and there.
Think of every review you pen as a possible passport for someone to realise a dream of becoming a best-selling author. In a world of readers, your review is more than a review. If you review Kindle books, it is a doff of the cap, a shake of the hand, and a pat on the back. To a writer on a chair, with a pen and a dream, those words can be golden.
