Review Faqs

Helpful Review Facts

If you want to learn to review as a hobby or even as a professional I have put together a list of helpful hints that will help you write the perfect review based on my own experience as a professional reviewer. :)

Facts

-A good review should be between 150 to 300 words with the largest portion of the review containing your own, personal thoughts. A brief synopsis of the product can be included in your review as well but is not required. If you do in fact find the need to mention the synopsis in your review it is important to make sure that you do not mention any spoilers of any kind to the reader. It is also a good idea not to recite the synopsis as well and to only include the key factors of the actual plot.

-When writing a review you will need to know the genre of the material that you are reviewing. No need be afraid when comparing the current material you are reviewing with other books or films that you loved to see how both the new and the old stand in comparison with your own likes.

-Focus on the characters and the plot when writing your review. This is necessary in order to write a perfect, detailed review. Think about how the characters stand against the plot of the book. Make sure that the situation that the author penned the characters seems ideal for the personalities of the main individuals.

-Focus on the plot. The plot is the backdrop in which a book or a film is based upon. The plot should fit the story as well as the characters themselves.

-If the romance is present it is important to rate the love between both the hero and the heroine. For example, the attraction between the twosome should be one of spark and should never be dull. Like, the plot the romance should fit the characters as well as the actual story and needs to be at the center of the spotlight in all romance novels.

-Rate the sex. Don't be embarrassed. Sex is a part of life and very real part of romance novels. It is cruical to rate the sensual contact of the main characters. Key points should include how the sex plays into the actual story. If the book is more erotic than the sex should reflect that nature, if the book is more historical and less aggressive than such scenes will need to have such a tone.

-Be aware of the author. Authors are people too. It takes a great deal of time and effort to write a novel, therefore do not author bash. There is a difference in critizing the material without actually addressing the author. In fact most publishers as well as companies will not tolerate any sort of author bashing and for good reason.

-Do not expect to receive any recognition for the review itself. Reviewing is as competitive as is the industries it surrounds. If your review is ignored by the author or the publisher it is entirely fine. Our job as a reviewers is to get the word out there about the book or film to the audiences that are going to be purchasing the material and so share your review anywhere that you can that is going to reach readers. 

-If you review professionally more than likely your review is going to get more hits than if you review as a hobby. Still, there are a great deal of bloggers that review just for fun and still have a high audience count so don't be afraid to do the same.

-Make sure that your review is well edited. I cannot stress this point enough. Your review needs to be clean, neat and written with great thought. Since I review professionally I have editors that correct any errors that I have, but I still present a clean review. You can also use programs such a Microsoft word, Grammerly and Libre office to help you correct spelling and grammar issues.

-Withhold the urge to swear when writing your review. It's uncomfortable to some readers and publishers are not fans of it when reading your review.

-Try and finish the material. I understand that sometimes it is incredibly hard to finish anything that we do not like, but do your best to do so. Your review needs to be honest and in order to do so you will need to finish the material. If you find yourself unable to finish (we have all been there) than be sure to state in your review that you were not able to finish and base your review only off what you have read or watched.

-Lastly, have fun. Do not sweat the small stuff like fellow reviewers or even readers disagreeing with your thoughts. Remember, the review is your own personal thoughts. You feel how you feel. You cannot please the world so do not try to. Stick to your gut, write how you feel about the material and just have fun doing so. :)