Five Stars

As a reader and as an author, I appreciate a good 5-star review! Since I know just how valuable book reviews are on Amazon, Goodreads, and other book-related sites, I make an effort to leave reviews for books that I’ve read. I read a wide variety of fiction and non, some Christian, some not, and I read books published independently by people I know and I read some best-sellers. I make every effort to leave a review for books by newly published or indie authors.

I worry about offending people with a less-than-perfect review. It has felt like an unspoken obligation that I must hand out 5 stars to a person who I might see face-to-face one day, or they might be mad at me! Let me tell you a few things from an author’s perspective, and explain why I’m re-setting my standard here at the beginning of 2017.

All reviews are vital. The bottom line is that I’m grateful for every Amazon review left for my books, even that 1-star review that simply said “hated it.” (In fact, I celebrated when I saw that review appear. “I’m a legitimate author now!”) I know that my books will go much further when I have a lot more reviews, so I’m thankful for every single one.

Authors need reviews, both good and bad, to provide feedback and illustrate the quality of our work. When I was in school, I didn’t expect to get straight A’s for both the good and the bad, especially if my assignments were being judged on whether or not the reader “liked” it. I received a variety of grades in high school and college – and it didn’t kill me. Receiving lower grades motivated me to do better next time. As a writer, if I get a number of bad reviews, I know that I need to improve with my next project.

It’s not hard to review a book. Log into your Amazon account, find the product, and scroll down until you see the reviews. Click on the box that says “leave a product review.” Type a few words, click on the stars, and you’re done!

As I look at other people’s book reviews (especially on Goodreads, a helpful social media app for readers), I realize that everyone rates books differently. Here’s my system:

Authors always appreciate reviews on Amazon.com!

4 stars: a good book that I enjoyed and was written well enough

3 or 2 stars: probably had a hard time holding my attention, a story I really didn’t like, or was poorly written (unfortunately, many self-published or small-publisher-house books are not very well written)

1 star: I’m not sure I’ll ever give 1 star, because if it’s that bad I probably put the book down and forgot about it.

Saving the best for last… 5 stars:
instead of giving 5-star reviews because I feel obligated to, going forward I’ll be holding the honor of 5-star reviews a little tighter, only giving them to books that do not have glaring grammatical problems or spelling errors, and to books that leave an impact. For me, a 5-star book is one that is one of two combinations: very well written + held my attention + I couldn’t put it down. Or it’s a book that left a huge impact on me + it was well written.

Writer friends, consider it a great honor to receive 5 stars from me! If I give you 4 stars, know that I truly liked your book! If you’re a reader, consider creating your own system of how you want to give out stars, and follow it by reviewing as many books as you can! Remember that any review is a tremendous blessing to an independent or newly published author.

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If you’re curious, here are books that I consider worthy of all 5 stars! Starting with examples of books that left a huge impact on me + were well written, worthy of five stars:

Filming God: A Journey from Skepticism to Faith by Darren Wilson was full of faith-building messages I needed to hear last summer and it resonated deeply in my heart.

Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader’s Eye-Opening Journey Across the Life Line by Abby Johnson rocked my thinking of abortion and what it means to be pro-life.

These are just a couple of memoirs that impacted me greatly, especially in my faith. I can think of a few more I would add to this list, including Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman and Finding Grace: A True Story About Losing Your Way in Life… And Finding It Again by Donna VanLiere. Interestingly, although I love fiction, even the fictional books that have impacted me haven’t made as great of an impression as reading someone’s true and personal story. As I’ve grown as a writer, I’ve come to love non-fiction, especially memoirs.

The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose by Robert Pagliarini, although non-fiction and not a memoir, was a life-changing book for me. Using ideas and strategies from this book, I was able to step out of being stuck in a cubicle to earning an income as a nanny (which I enjoy so much more!) I kept using those strategies to become a published author while keeping my day job as a nanny. Although it is a business book and not my normal reading material, I really enjoyed reading this book and applying what I learned.

Examples of books that were very well written + held my attention + I couldn’t put them down:

Far as the Curse is Found: Searching for God in Infertility, Miscarriage, and Stillbirth by Abigail Waldron was carefully thought out, it’s a topic near to my heart, and although it took me a longer time to read than most, it impacted me greatly.

In Due Time: A Journey Through Infertility, Loss, and Embracing the Unknown by Jen Noonan intrigued me. Although she and I dealt with our infertility in very different ways, I loved reading her story and learning from it! This book was very well-written and hard for me to put down.

How do you rate books? Tell me about a book you would give 5 stars!

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Hi, I’m Betsy, and I live in the Washington, D.C. area with my husband, Mike. We have been married

since 2008. We enjoy exploring new cities together on foot, eating at our favorite Italian restaurants, and doing life as a team. I published my first book Embracing Hope During Infertility in January 2015, and Seasons: A Picture Book was published in November 2016. I would love for you to connect with me by following my Hope During Infertility Facebook page and my Betsy Herman, Writer Facebook page. I occasionally tweet as well @lovethatbetsy.

Thanks so much for reading my posts!