Should Authors Review Books?

By Greer Macallister  |  July 12, 2021  | 

image by Deepti Juturu

As I was preparing to write this month’s post, I took a quick spin through the posts on the site that talk about reviews. No surprise, most of them focus on what you as an author should do about reviews of your book. (Consensus: ignore them, mostly, and go about your business.) But I thought it might be interesting to look at things from a different angle.

Should you, as an author, review other authors’ books?

After all, major publications do it – many of the reviews in the New York Times are one author’s opinion on another author’s work. At its best, this yields insightful analysis from someone who knows a lot about how hard it is to succeed at the thing the author is trying to do; at its worst, when the author doesn’t know much about the genre or has a particular axe to grind, the results can be insulting, biased, or otherwise off-base. And of course if the review is negative, feelings can be hurt, though I would urge all authors to process those hurt feelings more professionally and appropriately than Richard Ford famously did.

But for most of us, the NYT isn’t knocking on our door or dropping into our inbox asking our opinion of the books we read. It’s far more likely that we need to think about whether to review other authors’ work publicly on review sites like Goodreads, BookBub or Amazon. And no one can make up your mind for you—different authors have different philosophies about whether to use these sites and in what way. 

So here are three things to think about as you’re making that decision for yourself.

Think about your goals. Of course you have a right to write reviews—we’re all readers! Readers get to have opinions!—but you should give some thought to what you want those reviews to accomplish. Do you want to boost other authors and recommend the books you loved? You can do that by writing positive reviews of the books you loved and just not writing about books that don’t fit into that category. If, on the other hand, you want the internet to reflect the complete record of everything you read and what you thought about it—positive or negative—go for it. But remember that some authors can’t help reading their reviews, and your name is going to be associated with that negative review. Which leads me to…

The internet is forever. Maybe you’re a reader today, but you have plans to publish at some point in the future, and if the name you publish under is the name you review under, those things are forever connected. And though I’d love to say that all authors understand that criticism is part of being published and that you’re fully entitled to write whatever you want about someone else’s book, I can’t promise that every author is going to take that criticism in stride. I know people who complain (in private, at least) about reviews on Goodreads from fellow authors who wrote positive things about the book but rated it four instead of five stars. (“If you liked it so much, why are you bringing down my average??”) You can’t control other people’s reactions. You can only control what you’re giving them to react to. And so, if you choose to review… 

Be a professional, even when you’re not. Those of us who are lucky enough to have paid reviewing gigs for online or print outlets are, of course, professional reviewers. But I hold myself to the same standard for my unpaid reviewing work as for my paid work, and I suggest you do too. That doesn’t mean no negative reviews. That means two things: I review the book, not the author; and I spend at least as much time describing the thing as I do describing how I felt about it. Because that’s what a review should really do. Everyone’s opinion differs, and even a negative review in a major publication tends to sell books, because if you do a great job describing the book, someone will say, “Oh, that sounds like something I’d like!”

Q: Do you ever review other authors’ books online? Do you have any other guidelines to share?

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16 Comments

  1. Cathy on July 12, 2021 at 8:36 am

    I mostly stopped reviewing books online when I realized my star system was hurting writers. It literally floored me that a 4-star review felt like a slap in the face because for me a 3 star was a book I liked and would recommend warmly, a four star was one that would make me put down my drink at a party to flap my hands as I talked about it and a five star review was for a book I would buy for a person and badger them about until they’d read it–the kind of book I would keep if I had to downsize to one measly shelf. Now I only review occasionally and only then for writers in my community I want to help create noise to around a launch. Makes me wish I could set Goodreads to private as I like recording my reading there for the end of the year wrap up, but now I have little record of how I felt.

    I don’t agree that a review on Amazon or Goodreads needs to describe the book, though, particularly if you’re late out of tbe gate with a book because literally every review on the site does that. The meat of the online review is the opinion, I think. When I read a friend’s review of a book, I don’t do so to see how she summarizes it–I do so to see why she liked it so much. But then again, I read reviews a bit differently than most because I refuse to read a review until after I’ve read a book because reviewers are terrible at spoiling plot points. I know, I know. The hill I will die on is that any mention of a twist or an ending you didn’t see coming or a choice the reviewer won’t say more about spoils the surprise because you go into reading braced for something wacky and wild to come and worst case you predict the plot point and spoil the delight of the organic surprise and best case you’re distracted. Where I want summary is on the back cover or end flaps, and when I turn to see what the book is about and instead find vaguely glowing blurbs designed more to sound like ad copy than a description of the book, I get totally annoyed.



    • Dawne Webber on July 12, 2021 at 10:26 am

      I totally agree with you. I usually skip over the reviewer’s synopsis because, as you said, I’m more interested in what the reviewer thought of the book. If I want to know what it’s about, I look up the book itself.

      I’ve been debating for years if I should review books. I feel that as an author, I should, but it seems dishonest to give a book a five star review because a friend wrote it, or because I don’t want to burn any bridges.

      When I first started writing, I read a novel by a local author. There was a huge plot hole, and I reread the book numerous times to see if I’d missed something. I gave it a three star review on Goodreads.

      Then I met the author and we became friends. She mentioned once how she hated when people left three star reviews and felt if they didn’t like the book they shouldn’t review it. I deleted that review as soon as I got home! And now, unless someone asks for a review, or I feel the book is a true five star, I keep my opinion to myself.



  2. Davida Chazan on July 12, 2021 at 10:27 am

    The NYT is the WORST when it comes to these authors’ reviews of books. Why? Apparently, they only have an author write a review when the author has a new book coming out themselves. So, then that author goes about ripping the other book to shreds and then goes on to tell everyone that their book will NOT be like this piece of… I have seen it several times already and I have stopped reading NYT book reviews because of it. On the other hand, many authors write honest reviews of books on many other sites.



    • Marcie Geffner on July 12, 2021 at 2:49 pm

      Along these same lines, I recent came across a supposedly professional review in a respected publication where I happened to know that the authors knew each other, each had a new book out, the books were in different genres and the review was so positive and enthusastic it sounded like the publicist wrote it. That serves the authors, but not the readers.



  3. Ada Austen on July 12, 2021 at 10:37 am

    Amazon will often remove a review if there is evidence of review swapping. This is good when a bunch of scam artist writers give each other 5 stars, just to up their books on the search. This is not at all good when it’s a scenario where author X has 3 reviews, 2 of them by fellow writers (who read and paid for her book.) Now author X reads those two authors new releases. If she reviews them on Amazon she runs a risk of losing 2/3rds of her reviews. It’s such a dilemma! Be supportive to others and it hurts your book on the search. It would not be a big deal if more people left reviews. They are easy and free and one of the most supportive things you can do for a writer you liked, no matter what platform you place the review.
    I try to leave reviews for most books I read if I have something positive to say. I only write negatives if it’s an big author with huge followings and there’s something horrible about the plot or premise. More of a warning to readers with limited funds that this is not her/his best.



  4. Bob Cohn on July 12, 2021 at 12:15 pm

    I don’t write reviews but I read ’em, or rather skim ’em. First I want to know what the book is about. (I could call myself a selective reader, but I think the truth is I’m just picky.)

    I don’t care if the reviewer didn’t like it, but it’s encouraging if he or she did. What I want from the review is some information that will help me decide if this one goes on my list of books I want to read. Comparisons to other books with which I may be familiar are very helpful. Deep literary criticism, and strong feelings about content are not.

    I believe that just as there is no such thing as a bad dog, there is no such thing as a bad book. Well written is a judgement and subjective. The trick is picking the book that’s right for me, now.

    Can you think of anything that would make everybody happy at the same time. I can’t.



  5. Wendy Tokunaga on July 12, 2021 at 12:16 pm

    I find it interesting that the publishing world is the place where books are promoted with author blurbs and are mainly reviewed by fellow authors. Yes, there are professional book critics, but you never see a musician review an album in “Rolling Stone” and directors and actors don’t usually review films. Film promos too rarely rely on “blurbs” from actors and directors.



  6. Beth Havey on July 12, 2021 at 12:47 pm

    Thanks for this post. I have joined Net Galley and have done some reviews for them. The only negative is that you have to read the book on a Kindle. There is linkage there. I also have a blog, so if a friend is published and I know I can write a positive review, I do so on my blog and post the link on Twitter and Facebook. I have become more cautious about how I review a book on Goodreads. But because I am not currently a known name, I don’t see it as a problem to write an honest review. However, being part of a writing community, as this is, if I can’t give a positive review to a friend-writer, then I don’t review at all. I can’t make something up and the bottom line is: we know what we like. We work hard at our craft, and I believe that allows us to react honestly to another’s work.



  7. Alisha Rohde on July 12, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    I’m glad you addressed this so directly, Greer. I find myself wanting to leave reviews for fellow writers, but there have been times when I’m torn between professional honesty and tact. And of course I’m reading as a writer, which means I’m inclined to make writing-based comments…less helpful for the reader who just wants to choose a good book.

    Overall, I’d rather support my peers, so I tend to post only sincere positives. If I say something, I mean it–and if I don’t say anything, that doesn’t necessarily indicate that I didn’t like the book. If the review is really for other readers (as opposed to the author), then I can address them first and foremost. It occurs to me that if I really want to tell the author I enjoyed their book, I could tell them directly, offline.



  8. Maria Korolov on July 12, 2021 at 2:40 pm

    You can also write book reviews outside of Amazon and GoodReads — on your own blog, say, and then Tweet it or share it on Facebook.

    I’ve been writing a *LOT* of book reviews lately for MetaStellar and I hate writing something bad about a book, even when I didn’t like a book, because the author put a lot of work into it. So what I’ve been trying to do lately is to focus on figuring out who WOULD like the book and tailoring a review to that.

    So, for example, a book about an alien invasion might wind up having a ton of absolutely filthy alien sex in it. Not that I’m a prude, but I hate it when mushy stuff gets in a way of a good interstellar war.

    But someone else might LOVE that book.

    And vice versa.

    It’s remarkable how many books there are that I personally find unreadable because, say, they’re all action and no character development, or whatever, but other people just love.

    So I’ve been trying to make the reviews reflect that, by being up front with my prejudices. Then, if a book breaks through that, and I keep reading it anyway, I definitely point that out.

    And I don’t give stars.

    Stars mean different thing to different people. For example, some people might give stars to books based on literary merit. Finnegan’s Wake, say, might get five stars, and the latest Jack Reacher novel might get one or two. But really, would anyone ever really choose Finnegan’s Wake over Jack Reacher if they were looking for something to read? Seriously?

    I also think that people read as an escapist break, as fantasy, or as a way to start to imagine something different. For example, I spend my day typing at a desk. I would love to be an international ninja assassin for an hour or two. But an international ninja assassin might like nothing better than to settle down with a meet-cute romantic comedy.

    Writing a review based on what people might like about the book could potentially be very valuable to readers — much more than whether the reviewer personally liked the book or not themselves, or how many plot holes it had, or the complexity of its sentences.

    Oh, and I want to leave a plug for our site (if you take it out, I don’t mind) — we’re always looking for guest reviewers.

    If you review books for other sites (like ours) and pick books that are close to what you write, you can mention your own books in your bio. That way, people who read your reviews might say, “hey, I’ve got the same taste in books as this person, I should check out their books.” Feel free to email me at maria at metastellar dot com if you want to write the occasional review for us, and we’ll be happy to include links to your own site, mailing list signup form, Amazon author page, and social media.



  9. Marcie Geffner on July 12, 2021 at 3:03 pm

    I am a former nonfiction reviewer for PW and a current genre fiction reviewer for Kirkus. I’ve never chosen the books I review myself; my editor does that. None of my editors has ever sent me a book by an author I knew. If that happened, I would ask my editor to assign a different book because that would be a conflict of interest: my friend versus my editor’s readers. My reviews are not bylined. Unless I tell someone privately that I reviewed a specific book, no one knows what I’ve reviewed. Many years ago, I gave alll the stars and wrote a few short reviews for friends’ books on Amazon. I no longer do that. I don’t give stars or reviews on GoodReads either.



  10. Barry Knister on July 12, 2021 at 3:43 pm

    Because so many Amazon reviewers don’t convince me that they know much, I don’t read them. I rely on the “Look Inside” feature. If what I see of the writer’s own work interests me, I may be interested.



  11. Maryann on July 12, 2021 at 6:10 pm

    Way back when I wrote for newspapers and magazines, I did some book and theatre reviews and learned what comprises a thorough and thoughtful review from the book editor at the Dallas Times Herald, a newspaper that sadly went out of business even before the hard times of the past 20 years.

    Now, I write reviews on my blog, as well as Goodreads, Amazon, and BookBub. Some for pay from a small PR firm. Pay is small, too. LOL I still use what I learned so long ago, which is to be honest in the review, without being harsh, if there’s a negative to say about the book. But ultimately focus on the story, what worked for me as a reader, and what I particularly liked about the story and the writing. I also point out that reading is so subjective, and what I like others may not. And what I don’t like will appeal to other readers.

    What I really struggle with is when a book has obvious craft issues that pull a story down. If they are minor, I may mention them with the caveat that otherwise the book is a good read for the characters or the thrill ride. If the craft problems are more significant, I pass on the review. I won’t say anything negative about another authors work in public. Ever.

    I don’t do stars on my blog, and only rarely mention the star system, unless it is a fantastic book that I will give my “rare” five star rating on Amazon. Maybe it’s because I’m also an editor, but I’m having a harder and harder time finding a book that is perfect in every way and deserving of that top spot. But then, I am a bit of a curmudgeon. LOL



  12. Eileen on July 12, 2021 at 7:04 pm

    I only post reviews when I’m giving a 4- or 5-star review. Why? I am not reviewing a purchase like a lawnmower or hairdryer, for which I may want other buyers to know pros and cons and such. Reviews of books, art, films, etc. are subjective and often oriented around one’s emotions and personal tastes. If a wide swath of readers give a book 4 to 5 stars and a positive review (which, IMO, is NOT an encapsulation of the story — it’s not supposed to be Cliff’s Notes! — but, rather, what the reader enjoyed about the writing style, characters, cliffhangers, plotline, etc.), this generally means it has broad appeal.



  13. Deborah Makarios on July 13, 2021 at 8:31 pm

    I review books on Goodreads,where my review is usually just one among many (and many of the books I review are by dead authors). If I give a book a low rating, I like to explain why, so that other readers can decide if that’s something that bothers them or not.

    It irks me, the idea that only positive reviews should be visible. I can see the value in not hurting someone’s feelings, but what’s the value in all books being rated 4-5 stars? If you see five 4 or 5 star reviews, does that mean that it’s a great book which only a handful of people have read yet, or a badly-written book which 100 people have read – of whom 95 didn’t want to publicly criticize it?

    On the other hand, I would feel weird about reviewing a book by someone I know personally, unless I know they’re the kind of person who doesn’t conflate reviews and relationships and genuinely wants to know what people think of the book.



  14. Ronda Roaring on July 19, 2021 at 4:11 pm

    From time to time I’m asked to review ARCs. I read one written by someone I knew. It was a nonfiction book written for middle grade readers. As a retired teacher, I had some issues about it and said so in my review, though I didn’t like doing that. I then decided to ask a librarian of a middle school if she wanted the ARC for her library. She gladly took it and later reported that many students had read and enjoyed it. So what do I know?

    Another time I read a novel by an author I knew who lived outside my region but had placed the story in my region. She made a number of serious errors about the region, which made me ask myself why she hadn’t asked me to be a beta reader.

    Making a long story short, I’ve decided not to read ARCs anymore and to keep my mouth shut about the errors of my colleagues unless they specifically ask me to read their work for that purpose. It’s their book. They can write what they want.