I’ve been on both sides of the reviewer fence: as an author’s virtual assistant, I’ve crafted the wording and pitched review requests to appropriate reviewers. Also, for “fun” I do some book reviews for other authors. Recently, a reviewer friend of mine gave a book she read a 1-star review. She’s not a cranky, habitually negative reviewer–this low of a rating was uncommon from her. But she had major criticisms of the tone of the memoir (poor attitude came through in the writing), the organization of the book was very haphazard, the topics constantly jumped around, and the grammar and spelling was poor.

My friend sent the author the review, posted it to her usual online sites, and in one of them (an online retailer), the author responded by arguing with the points the reviewer made and personally attacking her. I couldn’t believe this. Many book buyers read online reviews before parting with their hard-earned dollars. If I was considering buying a book but saw the author attacking a reviewer in a post, I wouldn’t click the “buy now” button.

I love a book I get to review that I end up awarding 4 or 5 stars. I feel like I’ve helped the author and I’ve gotten to read a really great book for free! But since I feel obligated to give a positive review, of course, I often mention an “issue” or two I have with the book. I always hold my breath (figuratively) when I hit the email send button with the review, because you never know how the author will react, but fortunately I have yet to get a response as scathing as my friend’s. Most authors, even if they don’t agree with a criticism, they do appreciate my thoughtful insights.

Asking for a review can be a scary proposition for an author. There’s lots of competition for reviews, many of the top reviewers have long backlogs of books “to be read” and there’s no guarantee the reviewer is going to like your book. To raise the odds of getting a positive review, I’ve come up with a few tips:

1. Take a look at other reviews the person has written. Are they generally positive, negative, or a mix? What about for books similar to yours? Do you think the reviewer will like your writing style and topic?
2. Is your book in its best possible form? Have you self edited it, had it professionally edited, and checked it yet again? You can be sure your reviewer will mention if it has more than one or two mistakes.
3. Is your communication with the reviewer professional, friendly, and helpful? Are you willing to deliver your book in the preferred format?
4. Are your turnaround expectations realistic? Sure, you’d like the review done by next week, but keep in mind they are may have 5 (or more) books lined up ahead of yours and they need to fit this around the work, family and personal lives. If you have a specific deadline, let them know. That way they can say “no thanks” if they can’t meet it.
5. Sometimes its hard to hear feedback, but constructive criticism helps us all become better at what we do. With any luck, your reviewer will give you some helpful feedback you can incorporate into your next writing project. Even if you don’t agree with their feedback, thank them for their time and their review. Who knows, you may decide to pitch them on your next book.