in Publishing
Reviews you can ask for, and reviews you shouldn't buy
Reader reviews matter to how books are found. There are honest ways to encourage them, and paid shortcuts that break retailer rules and mislead readers.
Reader reviews on retail sites and book platforms influence what people buy and, on some sites, how books are presented. It is understandable that authors and publishers want more of them. The difference between encouraging reviews and manufacturing them is important, both ethically and practically.
Honest ways to encourage reviews
The most straightforward method is to ask. Readers who enjoyed a book often do not think to leave a review, and a simple request at the end of a book, in a newsletter or at an event can prompt them. The request should be for an honest review, not a positive one.
Advance copies are another legitimate route. Sending proofs or early copies to readers who review books, in exchange for their honest opinion and with no condition that it be favourable, is a long-established practice. Reviewers who received a free copy are commonly expected to say so, and some platforms require that disclosure.
Engaging with reading communities can also lead to reviews. Book clubs, reading groups and online communities that discuss books will sometimes review titles they read together. The author's role here is to make the book available and accessible, not to direct what anyone writes.
Editorial reviews from journalists, bloggers and other writers can be sought through proofs and press outreach. These are separate from reader reviews and often displayed differently.
What not to do
Do not pay for reviews. Paying someone to write a review, particularly a positive one, is prohibited by the major retailers and review platforms, and fake or incentivised reviews are treated by consumer protection regulators as misleading to consumers. Reviews found to be paid or fake can be removed, and the retailer may take action against the listing or the account that sold it.
Be cautious about services that offer reviews in exchange for a fee, even when they describe themselves as neutral. Some are legitimate editorial services that charge for their time and publish honest opinions in their own publications. Others are thinly disguised arrangements to generate favourable ratings. If a service promises a certain number of reviews or a particular rating, it is not offering honest reviews.
Do not offer incentives conditional on a review, or on a particular rating. Offering entry into a prize draw, a free gift or anything of value in exchange for a review, especially a positive one, runs into the same problems.
Do not ask family, close friends or business associates to review your book on retail sites. Many platforms restrict reviews from people with a close personal or financial connection to the author, and such reviews can be removed.
Do not review your own book, or a competitor's, under another name.
Responding to reviews
Most advice on this point is the same: do not respond to reader reviews on retail sites, even unfair ones. Reviews are written for other readers, not for the author. Arguing with a reviewer rarely changes their mind and can draw more attention to the review than it would otherwise have had.
If a review contains something genuinely problematic, such as personal abuse or false factual claims, most platforms have a process for reporting it.
Why it matters
Readers rely on reviews because they believe them to be independent. Every manufactured review erodes that trust, for everyone. A book with a smaller number of honest reviews gives readers a truer picture than one propped up by paid praise, and it carries no risk of removal.
Ask openly, send copies freely, and let readers say what they think.