What do authors want? Reviews, reviews and more reviews.

Readers have no idea how their opinions matter. Have a favorite author? Write a review for him/her on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub or other popular review sites. Authors appreciate every word, and most take your views into consideration as they write more stories.

Here’s another truth.  I’m an author and none of us expect all five-star reviews.

I’m almost afraid to say this, but truth be told, I’ve learned as much about my writing from three-star reviews as five-stars. We authors are thick skinned. Tell us the truth. Couple a compliment with that criticism, and we will thank you for both.

Compliments are important because a novel is a big part of an author’s life (months, years sometimes). Characters are their children. Authors like to hear what you enjoyed about their lives and kids.

Equally, we want to know what you didn’t like. I learned so much from my first readers. Bill Callahan, a friend of mine, suggested in both my novels, The Suicide Gene and Dream Wide Awake, that I create character/family charts. So, I did, for both. Because I like to challenge my readers to think, my novels can be confusing in the early pages. Readers are loving the character keys. Thanks Bill!

So, please, if you find an author you particularly like, write a review and make them happy. I promise we will read every review, multiple times. We listen. We appreciate. We learn.

How to review on Major Sites

Amazon: if you have purchased the book make sure you post a VERIFIED review. This is important because Amazon sometimes removes reviews but almost never removes reviews posted by verified users.

go to your Amazon account
select “orders” in the black ribbon toward the top (next to account), if you purchased through Amazon, otherwise enter the book title in the search box,
scroll down to the book and on the right side click the “write a product review” box,
click a star (1-5 stars)
add a headline (page-turner, couldn’t put down, must read, etc.)
write a review!

(Give a description. See below. They are less likely to remove. If you received the novel free for a review, write: Thank you to the author (publisher) for providing a free copy for an honest review. This review is posted voluntarily.

Goodreads:  create an account and review as follows:

Enter book title in search box (or web address, mine is http://bit.ly/CZDWAg)
Click dropdown box (arrow) under cover picture on left side
Select read
Click number of stars for My Rating:
Copy and paste your Amazon review into the ‘What did you think?” box or write a review from scratch.

(If you do not see a review box, hover over “read” and “write a review” will appear.)

BookBub: is the simplest. Create an account, then:

Enter book title in search box,
Click on book when it appears below box
Click review
Select stars
Check I recommend if you’d like to recommend this book to others
Write a review
Click share

What to Write in Your Review

What was the story about? Ex.: Dream Wide Awake is a thriller based in Erie PA….This thriller, based in a small city,…the storyline is about seers…Mikala Daly was born into a family of seers…Detective Jack Daly attempts to keep his daughter’s dreams secret in this psychic thriller.

Who was your favorite/least favorite character and why?: I liked Mikala Daly…I wasn ‘t fond of Billy’s sarcasm…minor character Andy Mesmer was one of my favorites…I hope to learn more about the chief in a sequel…I wasn’t fond of Lenny…

Did you like/dislike the plot? I enjoy a book with a lot of twists and turns…the plot kept me thinking…I hope a sequel resolves a question I had…

You get the idea, here are some other questions:

Were characters credible?
Could you relate to a character?
Was the story believable? Possible?
Have you experienced anything similar?
Did you like the book?
What was your favorite and/or least favorite part?
If you could change something, what would it be?
Would you recommend this book?
What type of person would like this book?
Would you like to read a prequel, sequel, or other books by this author?

How to Review CJ Zahner’s Novels

If you’ve read mine, I’d love to see your review on any of the following sites. Just click on the site name on the list below and you’l be redirected to my page on that site!

Dream Wide Awake

Amazon

Goodreads

BookBub

Barnes and Noble

Rifflebooks

KOBO Kobo

The Suicide Gene

Amazon

Goodreads

BookBub

The Wild Rose Press

Barnes and Noble

KOBO

http://bit.ly/RfSGene Riffle

Read and review on!

_________________________________________                 Cyndie Zahner is the author of The Suicide Gene and Dream Wide Awake., Listen to her BookCircle Online interview here, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, BookBub, LinkedIn and purchase her books on Amazon.