If you’re not a self-published author attempting to make a name for yourself or earn an income from eBook publishing, you probably don’t know how important leaving a review wherever you purchase your books online is. Probably is the operative word. There are of course exceptions to my opening remark, but generally speaking, the average Joe has little to no reason to think too much about this, probably never did, and unless he read an article like this one, had no reason to consider how far his or her opinion about the merit of a writer’s work impacts one’s publishing endeavors.

Reviews are much more than bitter rants or denunciations; more than raving endorsements or lukewarm virtual pats on the back for one’s creative efforts; more than a measuring stick of how the public feels about a given piece of work. They are much more than that because having little to no reviews is a contributing factor to whether anyone will even hear about a writer or his work to so gloriously endorse or trash. In that sense, reviews are definitely the horse coming before the cart, so to speak.

Combined with proper promotion, advertising or marketing, in other words all attempts to get the word out, they are what helps propel a writer or his first or latest endeavor from obscurity to the chance of being known. In that sense, or metaphorically speaking, they are the horse. Whatever else follows, meaning everything from additional reviews to the potential for notoriety, to bruised or stroked author egos, to inflated, nonexistent, or tanking book sales, etc. is the cart.

Having gone through all it takes to write a book, a writer’s initial and biggest concern is not how would a potential audience review it. Or, it shouldn’t be. His biggest challenge is to have people know the book exists. Or, let them know he exists if he is a newbie.

In short, moving from obscurity to recognition is what’s paramount, and this is where the most vital aspect of those opinions put into print called reviews comes into play.

That said, hopefully now you’ll give a bit more thought about whether you should or shouldn’t leave a review the next time you read a book. Notice I said a review, meaning something honest or heartfelt, as opposed to a positive one. Your honest opinion, pro or con, is valuable because it is informative on all counts.

What is primarily informative is your review lets people know a new work or new author is out there. How ones feels about this and all else that follows is secondary. 

So, next time, hopefully you won’t ignore the hyperlinked text asking to leave a review having reached the end of your ebook, or refuse to write anything having downloaded that advanced reader copy from Instafreebie or Bookfunnel. Again, those reviews do go a very very long way, all because of your opinion about that book you took a moment to write or not write about.

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