Book Review Writing - Five Tips to Make It Simple

I've noticed that a lot of Christian bloggers write book reviews.  Writing book reviews is a great way to put useful content into your blog. The important thing to remember about writing book reviews is that there are some common courtesies that you should be aware of that will make your book review a lot better, as well as create a bond of trust between you and your readers. Trust between you and your readers is imperative if you want to build a large readership.

  1. Book Information -- Always include all the book information that you can including the copyright information, the ISBN numbers, the title, and the author's name. Also include the cost of the book and where to buy the book.
  2. Book Summary -- Make sure you include a summary of the book before you share your thoughts about the book. Do not give away any endings that would ruin the book for anyone.
  3. Your thoughts --  Give your honest thoughts about book. Some ideas to include are why you picked this book, what about the cover or back made you pick it, and whether the book is useful or not. Always list some good things first, then some criticism, then the good again. Now, if you really hated the book, you'll have to say so, but try to give ideas about what could have made the book better. Always remember the what, when, where, why and how when you are writing your thoughts.
  4. Full Disclosure -- It is very important, and in fact the law, that you disclose how you got the book. If you bought the book yourself, say so. If it was given to you for purpose of review, say so. If you got it from the library that's okay too. Always disclose how you obtained the book especially if it was given to you free specifically for purpose of review.
  5. Where to buy -- Include where people can buy the book. This is a great place for your affiliate link to purchase the book.

If you stick to this format when you create book reviews or really any product reviews you'll find that people trust you a lot and will purchase the products and books that you recommend. It also makes it faster writing reviews if you have a template to work from.

Do you write book reviews?  Have any tips for other bloggers?