Should You Review Indie-Author Books Even When You Can’t Give 5-Stars?

Short answer – yes. But strive to keep the review constructive.

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I have no idea why I came across a book I recently completed.

It was sci-fi, and I think it came up via BookBub, a recommendation from Amazon based on other reads, or some other similar suggestion. As far as I can tell, this is an indie author like me.

It started off slow. The main character, as I interpreted him, was only semi-likable. There were some elements of the galaxy the author created that felt a bit derivative. It felt like the story meandered a bunch, and there were a lot of bits and pieces that only barely held my attention.

More than once, I read through merely to get out of where I was in the hope the next part was better.

This is the first book in a series of 5. At present, I’m not certain I care enough to read the rest of the series.

I am, however, a big proponent of reviewing the books I read. Given that I always seek more reviews for my work, it feels disingenuous on my part not to review other indie authors.

On Amazon, you can give up to 5 stars. But what if you feel you can’t give a 5-star review? Or even a 4-star review? Should you still give a review?

Yes. But there’s more to it.

Constructive criticism

For the first time in a long time, I had to think about my review before I wrote and posted it.

To be fair, I’ve given 4 and 5-star reviews by star alone a time or two. But that’s usually either a book by a major author or from a large publishing house – or another of 100s or 1000s of reviews.

(What I would give for 100 reviews of any 1 of my books!)

But as I pondered how to review this book, I was torn. It was not a 5-star, and I didn’t think it was truly a 4-star work, either. If I was giving it a middling 3-star review, how might that best serve the author and other prospective readers?

Without getting into the name of the book or author, this is the review I left:

The premise of this story intrigued me, and it largely held my attention – but I had a difficult time getting into the characters, as the protagonist is not all that likable, in my opinion. The worldbuilding also felt a bit derivative. But maybe the next book develops it all better?

Reading the other 3-star reviews, nearly all cite the same issues I do. An underdeveloped character, an unexciting universe, and overall insufficient substance. I’d say that more than half the 3-star reviewers won’t continue the series, one or two didn’t finish the first book, and the rest – like me – may or may not read on.

I feel I offered some constructive criticism in my above review. I wasn’t wholly negative – but cited what I had issues with. Interestingly, many of the other 3-star reviews were similar.

There’s no way for me to know if the author will read my review. But I felt it deserved a review, and though it was not a top mark, I think it was worth sharing, nonetheless.

Why any review is better than none

As an indie author, everything that I’ve read has suggested that more reviews increase notice from Amazon’s algorithms.

Increased notice can lead to increased book sales. The more reviews, the more notice.

Thus, even a less-than-stellar review is better than none at all.

There are even instances where low reviews – particularly those of trolls and toxic fandoms – can do your sales and notice good.

Of course, you desire as many 5-star reviews as you can get. But any review with constructive criticism can be super helpful.

When you read reviews of your own work, you learn things. Some aren’t useful, while others can help your future writing. Maybe a review points out something you didn’t see for one reason or another.

Good writers evolve. Change being the only constant in the whole Universe, it makes sense that you – as a writer – change, too.

I learn a lot from other authors. Sometimes they give me ideas to approach my story in a way I wouldn’t have done before. But they also sometimes tell me how not to do something, too.

Thus, I think any review at all – with substance – is better than none.

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Substance matters

I’ve seen lots of reviews of various books (and other products, for that matter) that are not helpful.

This book is awful, or the characters suck, or this is a waste of time don’t tell you anything. Why bother to write a review if you can’t give some substance to it?

That’s the time I’d leave a star-review alone. If I can’t offer a good review, and I can’t offer something constructive in a middling or bad review, I’ll only share a starred review.

There are, sometimes, paid reviews. But there’s some danger in that – because disingenuous reviews aren’t helpful to anyone.

For example – years ago, we bought our cats a drinking fountain. The company that made it offered me a gift card to review it. I gave it 4 stars – because it has 1 crucial flaw. There’s no “window” or gauge of the water level of the fountain to tell how full or empty it is.

I was offered another gift card to revise my review to 5-stars. But I refused it and apologized, saying my integrity is worth more to me than a useful gift card.

Not everyone feels that way.

Another indie author and I did an exchange. He read and reviewed one of my books and I read and reviewed one of his. For numerous reasons – I gave it 4 stars (and really wanted to give it 3. One of the biggest problems I had with it was that it was less a book and more a half-formatted screenplay).

I was asked by the author – since I didn’t give the desired 5 stars – to remove my review.

Integrity matters.

Review indie author books

Yes, writing a review is crucial to increased notice and sales for indie authors. But a BS 5-star review does a disservice both to you as the reviewer and the author.

When you write a review for a book you’ve read – any book – give it substance. Put at least some time and attention into it. You are potentially helping the indie author to hone their craft, in addition to telling other readers what to expect.

Perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. That’s why utterly perfect 5-star reviews aren’t realistic. But the process is good for both readers and writers.

I, for one, appreciate it when my books are reviewed. So – if you’ve read any of my works, please review them, too.

Thank you.

How are you inspired to be your own creator – whatever form that takes?

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