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Here we hear from our Fantastic Review Team about why they thinks the process of reviewing books is great for publishing, crucial for authors and fantastic for the readership of the world

Like the look of a book? Then maybe read a few reviews before deciding to purchase, right? That's pretty much the way the review system works for the majority of industries that use them.

 

However, to create something that someone else enjoys so much that they feel compelled to tell the world is a massive deal for both an author and their publisher if they have one.

 

The bottom line is that reviews not only increase the visibility of a book on sites like Amazon and Goodreads (and therefore drive sales) but they may also give an author on the brink of giving up that motivational push to keep going and, perhaps, create the next best seller for which they will be remembered for all time.

 

So, why post a blog especially about reviews? This is all pretty obvious stuff, right? Not necessarily.



Certain platforms have had problems with people 'bombing' other people's books in order to push them down the lists, in some cases this is a paid 'assassination' service. The thought that one author could do that to another fills us with sadness.

 

We have a policy that if we are reviewing a book and the review is below 3 stars, we don't post the review. This isn't a favouritism thing by any means, simply a way to ensure that the reviews that we post are either constructively critical (our 3 star reviews are often more detailed) or a positive boost to the author for all their hard work.

 

Our site has review functionality and we take this very seriously. Here are a few rules that we stick to;

 

  • We will remove any review that we consider to be 'bombing' or unfairly critical of a title.
  • When we remove a review we will contact the reviewer and explain why we have taken the decision to remove it.
  • We DO allow friends and family of our authors to leave reviews on their books.
  • We DO allow authors to review the work of other authors.
  • We DO allow authors in a mixed author anthology to leave a review on the title, to show respect to their fellow authors.

 

These policy decisions have been driven by the frustration that practices like review 'bombing' end up costing the authors and publishers. Certain larger platforms have been criticised as 'giving in' to these pressures and simply removing, wholesale, large swathes of reviews because they contain either a tenable link to the author or the reviewer themselves happens to be a prolific reviewer (and must therefore have some connection with the darker, paid review side of the industry).

 

We think that's totally unfair so we actively encourage those folks who for whatever reason are not allowed to leave a review on the larger platforms to voice their opinions on our own, right here on the FBP website.

 

So, if you have enjoyed one of our books, or are interested in joining our growing team of independent reviewers, take the first step and leave a review on our site. If you really enjoyed the book, leave a review over on Amazon and Goodreads too.

 

Thanks!

 

The Fantastic Review Team