Most authors like reading; for pleasure, to find out how others write successful books in the genre or genres that interest them, or both. The cheapest, and most readily available are eBooks and Amazon is the biggest provider, and very likely where you buy yours, download them for free, or read with Kindle Unlimited.

Writing even a short review takes time, so why should you spend a precious half-hour expressing your opinion of a book, checking you’ve written it well, and posting it? Because it gets YOUR NAME out there, and being known is a vital marketing tool. Think about it. Every single person who clicks on a book you’ve reviewed, whether they buy it or not, may well read the reviews, including yours. That’s a lot of people who wouldn’t come across your name in any other way, and it’s free. (Be sure to post reviews under your author name.)

You can’t use a review to advertise your own work, but take thriller readers as an example. If they see your name often, and come to rely on your fair, well-written reviews, next time they see your name on Twitter… Facebook… any advertising platform… they will recognise it even if they don’t remember why, and are much more likely to notice the thriller you’re offering. Big companies producing anything from cars to kitchen equipment know this. Why else would they spend millions of dollars repeating the same advertisement so often?

Okay, so you decide to write reviews. Be careful to make friends, not enemies. That most certainly doesn’t mean every book you read should be rated 5 stars. You want people to rely on what you say, but there are things best avoided. “1 star – this isn’t my favourite genre”. So, why did you buy it? Either write a helpful review or keep quiet. Look at the reviews of your own books for other examples: you’ll see which were fair and helpful and which were not.

A good review needn’t be long, and it shouldn’t give away the story. The author has said all they want the reader to know in the book description. If they’ve done it well and attracted you, anyone else interested may well read your review and your name. What genuinely impressed you? Fast-paced, well-drawn characters, vivid settings, an intriguing plot…? The list is endless, but it’s what a potential buyer wants to know so they can decide if it’s a book they’d enjoy or not.

If you read a book by a bestselling author, a review will do you no harm, but it will quickly be lost amongst hundreds of others. Search for books by lesser-known writers where your review may be on the first page for weeks near the top of the pro column, or be chosen as the top critical review. Remember, review in the same genre or genres frequently, be courteous, be entertaining, be honest and helpful to other readers, be seen.