can anyone leave a book review on amazon

How to leave a book review on Amazon (anonymously or not)

November 30, 2017 by Jo Maeder 11 Comments

When a tech-savvy friend confessed that she loved my book yet had no idea how to leave a review on Amazon, I decided to write this for her and anyone else who may not know. Books depend on word-of-mouth and  mouse . It’s part of my job description now to ask readers to leave book reviews the way politicians ask for votes: constantly.

I have not gone this far. So far.

Seen on a car at the Bookmarks Book Festival in Winston-Salem, NC.

I don’t know about you, but I’m bombarded with requests for reviews, from things I buy to businesses and doctors I’ve used. It’s easy to say “NO!” I bought your doodad. Isn’t that enough? Or we’re more inclined to write a review about something/someone we hate, not love.

So here we go.

Find the book’s page on Amazon by typing the title in the Amazon search bar . Or type in the author’s name and go to their Amazon Author Page. You can find it on any book page if you click on their name in blue under a title, to the left of “(Author)”.

The Amazon Author Page looks like this and gives you an overview of the author with features like their bio, videos, events, discussions, and a “FOLLOW” button under their main photo. Click on the book cover image of the book you want to review. Following is nice, too, if you’re a fan.

Once on the page, scroll down to where you see “Write a customer review” and click on it .

If you don’t want to use your real name, once you click on the “Write a customer review” button, look in the upper right corner to change your reviewer name.

Click “CHANGE” that is in tiny blue letters under the words “YOUR PUBLIC NAME”. A blank box appears that you then write your chosen reviewer name for that review. Click DONE. You can change it on any review. I have changed mine below to demonstrate. It’s not the name I use.

Your review does not appear instantly. It must be checked first. Amazon may not post a review where the reviewer says they know the author or there are more than one from the same household for the same product. However, telling friends, bookstores and libraries that you know the author can be a win-win for everyone.

The more reviews you leave on various sites the better, but if you only leave one, make it on Amazon, the leader in online book sales. As of this writing, it is not required that you purchase a book through them to review it there. You only need to have bought something on Amazon and have an account.

[UPDATE MARCH 5, 2018. You now have to have bought at least $50 of any kind of merchandise on Amazon with a valid credit or debit card and you cannot write a review for a free e-book if you were given the book specifically to write the review (except if you are in the Vine Program). For complete details on Amazon’s latest rules click here .]

I encourage the “3 out of 10 Rule.” If three out of ten books you read are bought at a brick-and-mortar bookstore, those stores will survive. Bookstores are important cultural meccas for every community and need all the support they can get — especially with Amazon as their competition. Number two in importance of reviews is Goodreads.com (which is owned by Amazon). Good old word-of-mouth is just as important as that Amazon review. Ya gotta show the love when you feel it. It’s like Paying it Forward.

Online book reviews do three things.

1) Though everything is subjective, reviews let potential readers know if they should consider investing their time and money in a book.

2) The more reviews, the more the book is lifted in search engine algorithms. Even if a book has lots of reviews, if the reviews slow down, so does the search engine. All books need to be fed. Be generous with your morsels. Even one sentence is better than nothing.

3) It makes you feel good to rejoice in a book you love!

What if you have negative feelings about a book? Does it feel good to vent them? Not for me. I know how hard it is to write a book and have it published. And, see #1. It’s subjective. Why hurt the feelings and ratings of someone whose book just isn’t my cup of tea? There have been many a bestseller I found unreadable. You are welcome to adopt this philosophy with my tomes. No like-ee. No tell-ee.

Thank you for spreading the word about your favorite books!

Jo Maeder’s Amazon Author Page

Thank you for this … I’ve done all you’ve said, but alas, I do not see the “Write a Customer Review” area. 🙁 But thank you, this was informative. I am an Apple user, do not know if this makes a difference.

Hi Sheryln. Thanks for writing. Go to the Amazon page for the book you want to review. Scroll down past Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought…Special Offers and Product Promotions…Editorial Reviews…Product Details…More About the Author and then you get to Product Reviews and you’ll see a gray button that says WRITE A CUSTOMER REVIEW to the right of the graph showing how many stars the book has. Let me know if that doesn’t work.

It doesn’t work since you can only review items you purchased comes up

Hi Maureen. Thanks for writing. I’m so sorry you took the time to try to write a review and couldn’t. I really appreciate you making the effort. It looks like you can still leave a review as long as you have an Amazon account and have bought something with it at least once. Jo

I want to leave a comment on a book “A Stranger’s Love by Linda Sealey Knowles. I really enjoyed it and sat reading for 24 hr, what a wonderful story, makes me feel like I am right there with characters. Amazon needs to fix how to write a review, this was only way I could do it.

The Last Visitation by James Iber . Being a history student and sociologist I enjoyed reading this book. It was hard to put down. I put my self into to the book, because I felt that Iber writing style would get me to the end of the book with a better understanding from the beginning to the end. Also my background I could identify with the theme.

April 14, 2023 – I don’t review much on Amazon, but I wanted to write a review today for the first time since 2019. The book is one that I did buy, in Kindle format, on Amazon. But there’s a new twist – because Amazon believes that customers are helped best if there’s a photo or a video for a review, I wasn’t allowed to get to the title and text of my review until I uploaded one of these! So I took a screen shot of the first page of the book. I hope I didn’t violate any copyright laws. This type of thing should not be required for a book, whether it be an ebook, audiobook, or “real” book.

As I said, I think my last review was posted in 2019. It was a book for which I was a “verified purchaser” because I bought it on Amazon as a gift, to be sent directly to the recipient. I had read the book, but it was a copy I found in a library about 150 miles from my home that I was able to read in one sitting. That’s why I knew it would make a great gift for the person I sent it to. It’s a good thing I didn’t have to upload a photo then because I didn’t have a copy of the book in my possession!

I hope that when I hit Post Comment here that I won’t get presented with a montage of photos asking me to choose all with, say, motorcycles.

Thanks for the heads up about this, and I hope you did not have to choose any motorcycles, cars, buses, etc!

Thank you for trying to help others, like me navigate, writing a review anonymously. I absolutely don’t my complete name on a review in world full of anger & lashing out! Not that I would like read them anyway. I also very much agree that you should not write a negative review simply because it did not appeal to your tastes. I’m not a literary critic & try to say what appealed to me or warn against things that many other people may not like. I feel guilty resorting to ebooks that have audio. I buy books that I know a few people to share with or science type books that I may reread chapters in the future. I’ll try your advice the next time I would leave a review if it allowed a “pretense” of privacy – ugh. Thank you!

Very helpful

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Didn’t Buy The Book On Amazon? How You Can Still Leave A Review

• Susan Farris
• July 26, 2021

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My readers are some of the best people in the world. Besides “where can I buy your book,” the most frequent question I get is “how can I leave a review?” The answer to both is: everywhere!

Most sites, including Goodreads, Google Books, Apple, Kobo, B&N, and yes, Amazon, allow you to leave a review even if you didn’t purchase the book through them. This is especially powerful on Amazon.

Here’s a quick rundown on how to review a book on Amazon and why it’s important.

Why Amazon Ratings & Reviews Matter

So what’s the big deal? The simple answer is algorithms. Ratings and reviews tell the algorithms on these sites that a book is well-liked and a good buy.

A rating is the number of stars given to a book. On Amazon, you can rate a book with one to five stars. The more stars, the better you liked the book.

A review shares your opinion of the book. It’s not a summary of the plot- no book reports here, thank God! You can share what you liked/disliked and why other readers might want to buy it.

On Amazon, when an author receives 25 ratings on their book, Amazon automatically boosts the book in search results (so it shows up with more than just an exact title or author match.) At 50 ratings, it begins to show up in the “Similar To” section for readers in their niche, gaining that author even more exposure.

Love a particular author? Leave a four or five-star rating for their book! You don’t have to write a review in order to leave a rating, and each one counts.

How To Leave A Book Rating Or Review On Amazon

• Log into your Amazon account
• Go to the title you want to rate

• Select the number of stars you’d like to award the book. Write a quick review of at least 20 words telling other readers why you liked the book and if it reminded you of other books (At least 20 words tells Amazon you actually read the book, and the books it reminded you of helps Amazon know which books to pair it with for those “Similar To” results.) Don’t want to leave a review? No worries! Just skip the text box.
• Click submit. You should receive an email from Amazon thanking you for your rating/review.

Quick Note: Not a big Amazon shopper? Reviews matter on every platform, so head to Goodreads, Bookbub, or your favorite online bookstore instead! If you haven’t spent $50 in the last six months on Amazon, you might receive a “this item is not eligible for review” message when you try to leave a review.

Want to know more about how to write a kick-ass book review? I’ve got you covered with this post here .

More To Explore

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From beachside sunshine to Christmas in July, these wholesome reads are sure to sweeten up your summer! My Book Boyfriend by Kathy Strobos Fiesty heroine.

Ten New & Upcoming Summer Releases

Pool, beach, or mountainside these sweet, new releases are sure to perk up your summer reading. The Billionaire’s Backup by Elizabeth Maddry Best Friends. Marriage

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• Free books: okay to giveaway
• Paid reviews: okay to pay
• $50 Amazon spend eligibility requirement
• How to disclose a relationship

Amazon Book Review Policy Demystified for Authors

Book reviews are important for all books, but they're especially so for self-published books, because most of their sales are online. And when it comes to selling books online, Amazon customer reviews can make or break shopper interest in a book.

Let's begin by defining the difference between customer reviews and editorial reviews, and by debunking myths.

• Customer Reviews: Written by a reader—ideally by someone who bought the book—who also assigns a number of stars (1-5). Most authors are referring to customer reviews when they reference “Amazon reviews.”
• Editorial Reviews: An editorial review is a formal evaluation of a book, usually written by a professional reviewer or expert within a genre. These are also often called blurbs, endorsements, and testimonials.

Editorial reviews are added by the author via Author Central. See our guide: Create and Manage the Perfect Amazon US and UK Author Central Page.

Myth 1: You cannot pay someone to write a review.

False . Amazon permits payment for editorial reviews.

Myth 2: You cannot give people your book and ask them to review it.

False . You can, as long as you are clear that you welcome all feedback, both positive and negative.

Before Amazon became the dominant book retailer—in fact, before the internet—publishers would haul cartons of advance reading copies of their forthcoming books to book-industry tradeshows. These would sit in piles, free for the taking, with no requirements that someone write a review, much less provide their contact information to receive a copy.

The $50 spending requirement

Sometime in 2017 (they do not date their policy changes), Amazon inserted a new requirement into their Community Guidelines under the heading Eligibility:

To contribute to Customer features (for example, Customer Reviews, Customer Answers, Idea Lists) or to follow other contributors, you must have spent at least $50 on Amazon.com using a valid credit or debit card in the past 12 months. Promotional discounts don't qualify towards the $50 minimum.

Some have complained that this is overreach and another way for Amazon to force people to buy from them. We don't see it this way. In fact, we consider it a positive.

Many shoppers rely on customer reviews to guide our consideration of a product. How can we make an informed choice if those reviews are polluted by paid reviewers who never bought the product? And that's what was going on. Anyone could write a review; in fact, reviews were being posted by fake accounts.

Here’s a look at what’s permitted, what can get reviews removed, and how reviewers should disclose their relationship to the author.

What’s permitted

• Amazon says this: “You may provide free or discounted copies of your books to readers. However, you may not demand a review in exchange or attempt to influence the review. Offering anything other than a free or discounted copy of the book—including gift cards—will invalidate a review, and we'll have to remove it.”
• Reviewers can remove or edit a review after it is posted.
• Amazon says that just because a review is written by a friend or a social media connection doesn’t necessarily result in that review being taken down.
• A reviewer can link to another product—such as their own—if it is relevant and available on Amazon.

Friends & family

A common question we hear is whether friends and family can review a book. Amazon says this:

We don't allow individuals who share a household with the author or close friends to write Customer Reviews for that author’s book.

It used to be that Amazon encouraged authors to have their friends use the customer discussions feature to promote their book. That feature has been discontinued, and readers are being referred to Goodreads Groups  (requires login).

TIP: One way Amazon can monitor who your close friends are is by comparing the reviewer's contact information with the contact information in your account's address book. For example, if you've used Amazon for Christmas shopping, you probably don't want to bother asking any of those people to write a review.

When reviews are removed, or Amazon never posts it

• Never invite (or allow) a family member or someone you have a close personal relationship with to review your book.
• If a reader says they wrote a review, but the review was taken down or they say it was never posted, tell them to send an email to [email protected] .

When you want to get a review taken down or modified

If you feel a review violates guidelines , you can click the “Report abuse” link or email [email protected] .

Examples of guideline abuse may include use of obscenities, a privacy violation, impersonating others, and the usual libelous, defamatory, harassing, threatening, or inflammatory statements.

NOTE: If someone makes a negative comment about your book, and you fix what they are referring to, neither they nor Amazon are required to change the review to reflect your correction. You may, however, consider replying to the comment with a thanks to the commenter and a note that the issue has been fixed.

How to disclose your relationship

If you give your book away for the purpose of getting a review, you must instruct your prospective reviewer to disclose how they received your book.

There are many ways for the reviewer to do this; it just must be conspicuous. They can put it at the end of the review (most common), the beginning, or in the subject line.

Here are some sample phrases you can suggest if asking others to write a review for your book.

• In the subject line: I received an ARC for an objective review.
• I received a copy of this book via [name of source, i.e., NetGalley, Edelweiss, the publisher, author] and I’m reviewing it voluntarily.
• I wrote this review based on an advance reading copy that the publisher sent me.
• This review was based on a complimentary pre-release copy.

Knowing that someone reading an “author-encouraged review” might discount its value, some people will add an additional comment (if true), such as one of these:

• I've since bought two more copies; one Kindle for myself and a paperback for [my mom/dad/friend]
• That said, I liked it so much that I bought . . .

Amazon resources for more details or help

NOTE: You might need to be logged in or have an account to see some of these pages.

• Community guidelines . There are several pages with this title, but with different URLs. From what we see, it’s the same content: find the guidelines here .
• KDP has a good resource in their help section. Login to KDP, in the top menu click Help . On the left, click Promote Your Book , then click Customer Reviews . There you will find several FAQs and answers.
• Amazon has guides devoted to Promotional Content and its relationship to reviews; find them here .
• Most of us sell books on Amazon using one of their book-specific selling tools: KDP, Advantage, or a third-party such as an IngramSpark. You can also sell books via Amazon Seller Central’s Marketplace, which has its own policies. Turns out, these policies are the same for books. Create and Manage the Perfect Amazon US and UK Author Central Page. .
• Email Amazon to report problems or issues with reviews: [email protected] .

About The Author

David Wogahn

30 thoughts on “amazon book review policy demystified for authors”.

Thanks for sharing this quick primer on Amazon’s book review policies.

Allow me to show my ignorance. How do you set up an advanced review copy? How do you send it to potential reviewers? Do you pay for each ebook sent? Do you offer some code in a newsletter or during a conference presentation? (So far, I have the best method of getting book reviews is giving away exam copies to fellow English teachers at teacher conferences or professional development workshops.) Giving away free ebooks sounds far less expensive. Or can you set up ARC for hard copies too? How do get the attention of potential book reviewers? Is there a service you recommend? Why?

Another question: can you use or set up an ARC for a book published last year? Or is that verboten?

I do offer free sample chapters on my website, and I encourage readers to share their positive experiences with the book online. So I do some things to generate reviews. Thanks!

Very helpful info, David. Unfortunately, Amazon is often totally unresponsive to questions about why they removed reviews. I’ve posted reviews since 2009, more than 100 of them, and about three months ago Amazon deleted EVERY SINGLE ONE of them. They will not tell me why, except to refer me to the guidelines. Yeah, many of the reviews I posted were for advance reader copies authors gave me to review, but many were verified Kindle purchases. All of the reviews were honest, very few of them 5-stars, and I always included a sentence saying I received a copy of the book without obligation to post a review. Now, Amazon will not let me post any new reviews. Go figure.

This article is FANTASTIC–thank you so much for researching and writing it!

I did note, on the Prohibited Seller Activities page (the “find them in a different place” link in #4 above), about 40% down the page, it read, “Additionally, you may not provide compensation (including free or discounted products) for a review.” Hopefully, this admonition is rendered null and void for books, based on your Amazon quote early in the article, “[These] changes will apply to product categories other than books. We will continue to allow the age-old practice of providing advance review copies of books.”

Eric, you can learn more about the how question by reading my post here: https://www.authorimprints.com/advance-reader-copy-arc-books-ingramspark/ . As to some of your other points, I have a short email course about pre-release marketing here (it’s free): https://www.davidwogahn.com/book-pre-launch-course/

The A in ARC stands for advance, so it wouldn’t be an ARC after the book is published. Nevertheless, you should always be looking for people to review the book and many won’t review ebooks. The Book Reviewer Yellow Pages is the best place to start to get connected to potential reviewers. https://bookrevieweryellowpages.com/

Sounds like you got caught up in a “dragnet.” So no books whatsoever? Not even a “NY Times Best Seller”?

That’s right, books are excluded. The crackdown last year was on all sorts of “review clubs.” Links to those sites are now dead, or have been sold for their traffic. (Yeah!)

Amazon Reviews can make or break a book. I am a veteran Indie author and tried various marketing techniques, but nothing beats a reviews. For authentic book reviews, I use: http://www.usabookreviewers.com I get a few reviews and also exposure for my book.

People bought my book through Amazon. I offered no deals. Only thing I asked was the review to be honest. Reviews were done and Amazon would not post them because they were friends of mine on my Facebook link. I got the reviews on my FB wall however– other people never saw them. So the reviews are not there. The positive nor the negative. All were positive on the actual book– the kindle version was really bad. I saw it was and took it down myself. Friends felt bad for me but it is what it is. A good book –I believe with all my heart will make it regardless of circumstances. It is being redone and it is a very good read.

I published Garage Band Theory 4 years ago, it’s a music education book has been doing OK on Amazon and elsewhere since day 1.

Currently I have 57 Amazon reviews, am trying to push to the 100 mark.

I played professionally for 30 years, met a lot of people and a big % of the people on my FaceBook friends list are musicians – most are what you’d call ‘casual acquaintances’ – played some gigs with some, met lots at a job, mine or theirs – more than a few are teachers, and I thought it was time to reach out to them, offer a free digital copy if they’d consider leaving a review, be sure to tell them to include “My remarks are based on complimentary copy of this book that I received from the author. ”

I have endorsements from a few well known ‘stars’ and a few of my good friends and family did leave comments early in the process – but none of the people I plan to contact are going to leave a positive remark unless they feel it’s deserved.

I recently had heard that Amazon was not allowing any FaceBook friends to review – I did a search, found this post, and suddenly it seems that it could be a very bad idea to go through with the plan.

Is this gonna do more harm than good if a few were to leave positive comments?

Hi Duke, good to to hear from you. This is a really tricky area with lots of variables. My advice is to try a sample size group and see how it goes. Execute your plan in stages or phases.

Thanks so much for the explanation – I think Amazon scares all of us who’ve self-published. I just found out that I can’t buy any advertising with AMS. It is only for people who published with them, on Kindle Direct, and my company, Mill City Press, will disown me if I try to go Kindle Unlimited, the only way I can buy a sponsored ad. Mill City said they’d never done an Amazon ad, which just chilled me. These are the pros in advising self-published authors?

But there is one thing you haven’t addressed, and that’s the ghetto reviews can find themselves in if they are not Verified Purchase. No one will answer this question. Apparently, no one really understands, and Amazon won’t take questions. A review may appear, or it may not. So, when you’re madly giving away expensive copies of your novel on Facebook, in the glimmer of a hope of a review, you need to be aware of this.

There are no easy answers. You just have to try and know some won’t make it through. I’ve heard some crazy stories about reviews blocked or taken down. I’ve been blocked, too. That’s very interesting about Mill City, surprising in fact.

Regarding the requirement to “have spent at least $50 on Amazon.com using a valid credit or debit card in the past 12 months.” I see this as a discriminatory policy if you bought a book at AMAZON. In my case I want to post a review and am not permitted due to I didn’t spent $50.

Unfortunately, there were businesses that specialized in writing bogus reviews of products they never bought and this policy helps to stop or limit that activity. It has as much to do with toothpaste as it does books.

I would like to “advertise” my book on Amazon but I did not have it published by Amazon. When you look up a book, at the bottom it will say, “If you like this you might also like…..” and it lists other books or it might even say “Customers who review this might also like….” or other types of advertising for books with comparable content. How do I go about getting my book in these space?

I’m new to KDP, and my question doesn’t specifically apply to reviews, but can’t seem to find an answer explicitly stated on Amazon’s policy info. I’m doing low content books, journals, coloring books, kids activity books… I wanted to get a couple for my nephew and ordered through my Prime account because paying full shipping cost for author copies was twice as much as the books! Is ordering a couple coloring books from my account an issue? I guess it adds to my sales rank, but how big a deal is something like that? I think my mom ordered some journals as well.

You are buying them as an customer would, at the retail price, so no problem.

Those places you reference are decided by Amazon based on what people are buying. It works like any retail store–the retailer decides these things.

Can an author, as of August 4, 2021, register with any of the book reviewing companies found on the internet and pay as much as $500 and have them provide book reviews and then post them on Amazon?

Don, the answer is a qualified yes. I cannot confirm “any,” but there are many reviewers and review businesses you can use, free or paid. Most of those reviews would be editorial reviews and they are posted using Author Central. Here is a list of fee-based editorial reviewers: https://www.authorimprints.com/paid-editorial-book-reviews/

I can never figure out how to ask an author question on amazon. My self-published book recently won a Bronze Award from READER VIEWS. I’m wondering if it can be displayed on my Amazon book page, not just the Amazon author page. Thanks for information.

Put it on the cover of the book.

A couple of professional contacts wrote books which I bought, and I wanted to leave reviews to support them. However, Amazon says there has been unusual review activity associated with my account and will not let me leave a review. I don’t think I’ve EVER left a review, so someone must have done so using my name. How do I remedy this? I really would like to leave a couple of reviews.

This is not uncommon and Amazon won’t explain. You can try emailing them to ask. If you bought the eBook, try leaving a review from the eBook. there should be a link at the end. You can also leave the review on Goodreads.

Hi, What about author’s swapping books and reviewing each other? Are there restrictions against this or is this permitted under all circumstances? Thanks!

Can a person leave a review if they only read a few pages of your book? I have a poor review from someone who said they only read a few pages. Is that even allowed? Don’t you have to read a certain percentage of a book in order to leave a verified review? The person actually said in the review that they only read a few pages.

There is nothing preventing authors reviewing other books as long as the reviews don’t violate policies. But what you describe has been tried many times and it works until Amazon figures out what’s going on. Lots of risk in this case.

No rules about that and it applies the other direction as well. You can always protest.

This is a great article. Very insightful. Thanks for the post.

I appreciate the emphasis on continuous learning and staying updated with the latest trends in Amazon selling. Your blog is a great resource for sellers like us who are looking to stay ahead of the competition. Thank you for sharing your expertise!

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How to leave a book rating or review on Amazon (even if you didn’t buy your book there)

It's the #2 question* I get from readers: "Can I leave a review for your book on Amazon, even though I didn't buy your book there?"

The answer is: You  can leave a rating or review for a book that you didn't purchase on the site.

Why Amazon ratings/reviews are important to authors

A rating is the number of stars a book has. Amazon allows customers to rate a book with one to five stars.

One is bad.

Five is freaking awesome .

A review is your viewpoint on the book.

What you thought of it.

Why other readers should get the book (or stay away).

Amazon keeps their algorithm and business plans closely-guarded, but the bottom line is this:

The more ratings and reviews a book has, the more relevant Amazon sees it.

And when a book is relevant, Amazon will suggest it to more people.

How to leave a book rating or review on Amazon

• Log into your Amazon account.
• Go to the book title you want to rate/review
• Select the number of stars you'd like to rate the book. If you'd like to just rate the book without leaving a review, go to step five.
• Write a review in the Customer Reviews section. A review should be a minimum of 20 words and should tell other readers why they would like the book. (What did you like about it? What other books is it like?)
• Click submit. Amazon will usually send you an email that lets you know your review was accepted.

Want to take it a step further?

Share your review on BookBub and Goodreads.

Do you like spicy romantic comedies with couples over 35?

I have a whole bunch of books like that.

Check 'em out here .

In case you were wondering - the #1 question I get from readers is: "What happens next in the series?"

Follow me on Amazon and never miss a new release alert.

Amazon Best-Selling Author Dawn Dugle is the creator of the Flamingo Cove Quartet , Saber Sisters , Pleasure Point , and Wysdom Ward Case Files series.

Let's connect in bookish places

Privacy overview.

How to Leave a Book Review on Amazon

As writers, we know that the success of our book can depend on reader reviews. Yet, when I polled a group of authors, less than 10% of them had written a review for a book in the last 12 months.

There are plenty of excuses for why we don’t take the time to review the books we read. Even if when we decide to write a review, we might hesitate because we are unsure if we have anything worth saying or don’t know how to post it.

The truth is if you can briefly answer three questions about the book, you can easily write a review:

• Did you like the book?
• What was your favorite part or most valuable takeaway?
• Would you recommend it?

If you answer the above questions and put the answers together, you can write a book review. And if you want readers to support you with reviews, it’s time to start leading by example.

Reviewing books on Amazon

You got a new book. You read it. Maybe, you even enjoyed it enough that would like to give a shout-out to encourage and help promote this author. The obvious answer is to leave a review on Amazon.

What do you need to know?

First things first: To leave a review on Amazon, you must have an active Amazon account in good standing. “Active” according to Amazon means you must have purchased $50 in product from the site within the past year. Subscriptions like Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime don’t count towards the $50 minimum.

Second: You might assume to leave a review, you have to purchase the book on Amazon, but that is not the case. You might have checked the book out at the library, bought it from your favorite Indie bookstore, or received a free copy from a publisher or marketing firm, like New Shelves. As long as you have read the book, you can leave a review.

Review rules for Amazon

Authors may not pay anyone to review their book. The same goes for publishing houses and marketing firms. The person reviewing the book must freely give that review.

This includes payment via:

• Cash payments
• Exchange of goods – yes, even the book itself – for a required (positive) review

No quid pro quo a.k.a. no review swapping.

(Are we sensing a theme here?)

No reviewing books that you have a personal stake in. This rule is a bit broad, but in general covers anyone who may have a personal interest in the book that would lead to a biased review. Top examples of this include the author’s family members, anyone working with or for the publisher or anyone who has made a financial investment in the book.

While the rules do change from time to time, the goal is always the same: unbiased reviews that Amazon shoppers can trust.

You can check out AMAZON’S community standards and current rules for reviews here .

Review a book purchased on Amazon

You purchased the book on Amazon:

• Log into your Amazon Account

• Find the book that you would like to review.

• Choose how many stars you want to give the book. Remember: five stars is the highest, one star is the lowest.
• Optional: You can upload a cool photo or video pertaining to the book.
• Create a headline. It can be simple: Great Book .
• Would you recommend this book?

(Call out) Example:

I really enjoyed this book. It showed the seedy side of life while developing interesting and likable characters in a great mystery. Highly recommend.

Review a book NOT purchased on Amazon

Now, how do you review a book on Amazon if you didn’t buy it on Amazon? It’s just as easy! You still need an Amazon account.

• Locate the product page of the book by searching for the name of the book and author in the Amazon search bar.
• Once there, scroll way down and on the far left, you’ll see Customer Reviews with stars.

• Click on that hyperlinked button and follow steps 5-9 exactly as listed above for leaving a review of a product purchased on Amazon.

What happens next?

It usually takes Amazon between 24-48 hours to process a review before it shows up on the product page; however, this step may take longer if they sense something is not right. If there is any question of the validity of the review, Amazon may choose not to post the review.

Support an author, review a book

Getting reviews can be one of the most challenging aspects of launching a book. You know this. And now you also know how to quickly and easily leave a review on Amazon.

If there are specific authors you enjoy, show your support by going to Amazon (or Barnes & Noble or Goodreads , for that matter) and leaving reviews on their books. Let’s show the world how supportive the Writing Community can be.

*Want an easy-to-follow Amazon review how-to video to share with your readers? Try this one !

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13 responses.

hello nice article i reaally liked it

Amazon has one of the most popular bookstores on the web. Thank you for sharing a great and informative post.

Thank you for providing such a helpful guide on how to leave a book review on Amazon. Your step-by-step instructions were clear and concise, and I appreciate the tips on how to write a constructive review. The examples provided were also useful in understanding how to structure my thoughts and opinions. Overall, this website has been a valuable resource for me as a reader and reviewer.

We’re so happy to hear that! Thank you for the feedback; it is much appreciated.

friendly guide! The step-by-step instructions offered make the process easy to follow, ensuring that your review is informative and impactful. Whether you’re a seasoned reviewer or new to sharing your thoughts on books, this article will equip you with the knowledge to leave thoughtful and influential reviews on Amazon.

Thank you for this helpful guide! Now I feel confident leaving meaningful book reviews on Amazon

Great insights on the importance of book reviews and how to leave them on Amazon. I’ve always wondered about the process, and your step-by-step guide makes it so much clearer. I’ll definitely be showing my support for authors by leaving reviews more often. Thanks for sharing this valuable information.

Thanks for posting this information, it will help us alot.

Nice article.keep up the good work.thanks

very good content!!!!!!!!!!

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How to Leave a Book Review on Amazon and Goodreads (and why you should)

Reviews help readers find good books and help authors find new readers, but there are other reasons why you should leave a review on a book that you enjoyed. This blog post is all about the why and how to leave book reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Okay, firstly, let's talk about the WHY.

5 reasons why you should leave a book review:

Reviews help readers determine whether a book is worth spending time and money on - Some readers will decide to read a book based on a pretty cover, but MOST readers decide whether to read a book as a result of a recommendation or a book review. A reader is able to browse reviews to find out whether the book might be something that they will enjoy or whether it meets their needs.

Reviews help authors find new readers - Reviews help to promote books and spread the word about a good read. Authors love to write books, but many of us don't love marketing. Reviews help us market our work (which gives us more time to spend writing).

Reviews help to make sure that Amazon promotes the books worth promoting - Now, I don't claim to understand the 'Zon algorithms, but I do know that Amazon will help to actively promote books with higher numbers of positive reviews, which increases our book's visibility. Yay.

Reviews help to ensure that readers receive emails with better quality and more appropriate reading suggestions - Have you ever received an email with some really odd recommendations? Yeah, leaving a review might help to avoid that.

Reviews give authors helpful information to learn and grow - Not only is it super encouraging to know that people are actually reading and enjoying what we write, it is also helpful to find out what people liked best or didn't like at all, so that we can improve our writing in the future.

Now you understand why, let's talk get practical and talk about HOW you can leave a book review.

How to leave a book review on Amazon:

First up, to leave a review on Amazon, you need to meet 2 requirements:

You need to have an Amazon account (and be logged in), and

You need to have spent $50 on Amazon within the last 12 months

If that is you, then you are good to go.

Let me tell you something awesome:

** You can leave reviews for books that you did NOT purchase on Amazon **

The only difference this will make, is if you did purchase the book on Amazon, your review will have a little orange ' verified purchaser ' label on it.

Now, if you really don't want to have to write any words for your book review, then you can just give the book a star rating out of 5.

To leave a star rating on Amazon:

Log into your Amazon account

Find the book that you want to leave a rating on

Scroll down to where the customer reviews are

Click on the button that says 'Write a customer review'

Click the number of stars that you wish to give the book out of 5

That's it. The star rating saves automatically and you will see a little green 'Submitted' message (see the picture below).

To leave a book review on Amazon

Follow all of the same steps above, but continue to add more details:

You can add a headline, photo or video, and a written review

There are no requirements for what it needs to say or what you need to include. You can make general comments about what you thought of the story, how it flowed, and if you found it to be an easy read, or you can include more details about what you liked or didn't like, or whatever else you wish to share.

Then, click the 'Submit' button.

Done! The author and all other readers who find their next read by reading the reviews on Amazon all thank you for your time and efforts.

How to leave a book review on Goodreads:

To leave a review on Goodreads, you need to have a Goodreads account. If you don't already, I highly recommend that you set yourself up with one becase not only can you browse and leave reviews, but you can also set yourself reading goals, track your own reading, and save books that you hear about and want to read in the future. This will mean that you will never forget a book title again! Someone says "hey, have you read xyz? It was really good!", then you can open your Goodreads app, find the book, and click the 'Want to read' button. Honestly, this is a gamechanger.

Okay, so now you have your Goodreads account,

Use the search function to find the book that you wish to leave a review for:

The, when you have found it, you can click on 'Read' (to show that you have read this book. This will add it to your list of read books and you can add start and finish dates if you want)

Give the book a star rating out of 5, just like on Amazon. And, if you wish you can also

Click the button to 'Write a Review'

Here, you will have the option to add more details:

Then click the 'Post' button and you're all done! Awesome!

Now, there are lots of different ways that you could interpret the star ratings and I'm not going to tell you how many stars to leave. Some people freely give 5 stars for books they enjoyed reading, while others will only give 5 stars on rare occasions for a read they deem to be perfect. Some people say that 3 stars is a good read, while others say that 3 stars is pretty average. How you interpret that star rating and is up to you. As an author, I can says that a book with 5 stars has likely only been read and reviewed by friends and family members and a 3 star rating is a little bit disappointing to receive. That being said... now i'm going to say something a little controversial here...

I would rather receive an honest 'bad' review than no review at all.

Something to remember: You cannot stuff up a book review or get it wrong!

As long as:

You have actually read the book, and

Are not trashing the book or the author

Then what you write is up to you. Book reviews are subjective. What you loved might be what someone else hated! Your favourite character may have been someone elses least favourite. Write whatever you are moved to write.

Yes, Amazon and Goodreads are the top places to leave a review, but if you they don't work for you then I assure you that an author will be more than happy to receive your review in any way that you would like to give it! Send an email, post on social media and tag them, write a blog post, do a video review on TikTok or YouTube, whatever works for you.

Any questions? Please let me know and I can do a follow up post.

Hopefully this has motivated you to go out and reviewth thine books ! Please do. It helps.

P.S. If you wish to review any of my books on Amazon. You can click HERE if you're in Oz, or HERE if you're not. If you wish to review any of my books on Goodreads, click HERE . And remember, if you're not feeling wordy, clicking those stars helps a lot too! You rock xx

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Anthony Nanfito

Sci-Fi Writer | Haiku Poet | Podcaster

How to Leave a Review on Amazon (with Video)

When someone does a good job on something, it’s great to let them know. In the age of the Internet, some of the best ways to do that are to give them a shout out on social media or leave a review. In my case, as an author, I love hearing readers’ thoughts about my book. Especially when they share on social media and tag me in it.

But the best way to help author (or anyone who sells a product/service) is to leave them a review. You can often leave a review wherever you purchased the product (e.g. Amazon) or sometimes on the creator’s website. This is important because it helps other readers (i.e. buyers) learn about the book (i.e. product) and those reviews are used in algorithms to help boost books/products that are selling well.

To help make the process of leaving a review easier for you, I’ve put together a four step guide and a tutorial video .

• Step One: Go to http://www.amazon.com/
• Step Two: Use the search bar that the top to search for the book/product. (e.g. 2149: Emergence by Anthony Nanfito )
• Step Three: Once you find the book you’re looking for, go to the book’s product page. 
• Step Four: Scroll to the bottom (Not there yet? Keep scrolling! On Amazon, it’s WAY down there at the bottom) and leave your review.

There are TWO main reasons why you should leave a review:

• It tells other readers what to expect and helps them make their choice about a book.
• It helps (new & experienced) authors build their careers. Reviews are viewed by potential readers and used in algorithms for search. 

In terms of leaving reviews, here’s a simple rule to follow: If you enjoyed reading a book, leave a review and tell the world! 

Happy reading!

Did you find this guide and video helpful? Share in the comments.

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Published by Anthony

A creative soul expressing himself thru sci-fi stories, haiku, & podcasts. Podcast 🎙 host of Blinded by Science & The Haiku Pond. Visit my website to explore my creations: anthonynanfito.com. View more posts

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• How to leave your book review on Amazon
• Reader Club

Thanks for joining my Advance Reviewers’ Club (ARC). Your help in spreading the word about my books means a lot to me.

I know from talking to a few readers that some folk find the actual process of writing and leaving a review on Amazon (and the other book selling platforms) a bit tricky.

So I set out to write a really simple, step-by-step guide for you, in case you need it.

But first, I want to get one really, really important point across. Ready?

You don’t have to write a long, essay-type review with lots of fancy language.

In fact, the more it sounds  like you writing from the heart the better. It’s more believable and more authentic.

A handful of words are fine – as are a few paragraphs. Just put down whatever you feel sums up your feelings about the book.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, here’s my step-by-step guide to leaving a review on Amazon.

STEP 1: find the book

Log in to Amazon and search for the title + the author’s name. As an example, I typed in “andy maslen fury” but you can search for whichever book you’re reviewing. Then you click on the reviews link I’ve highlighted below.

STEP 2: scroll down to the reviews.

Clicking that link takes you down to the existing reviews. Hit the grey rectangular button that says, “Write a customer review”.

STEP 3: write and post your review.

That takes you to this view. Just type in what you want to say (or paste from Word) and hit the yellow “Submit” button.

That’s all there is to it. Remember that although on Kindles you have the option of rating the book there and then, you still need to go to Amazon to leave an actual review.

If you have any queries on this, please email me and I’ll sort it out with you.

8 responses

Hi Andy, Just finished reading Hit Back Harder, which is (trying to not swear) awesome. I really didn’t stop reading your book. Totally loved it, and this isn’t because I’m part of your ARC. Hope Stella doesn’t think it’s anything to do with PPM. Well the thing is your book isn’t on Amazon’s Kindle, and I really want to shout how good your book is, it would be a crying shame if I missed leaving a review. I done everything you said above on how to leave a review. So am I too early for leaving a review or have I messed up. Karl

Just finished “Hit Back Harder”, talk about leaving the reader on a knife edge. All I can think of now is what happen to Stella.

Really enjoyed the read and as soon as Amazon have on their site will leave review as promised. The story line was good with believable characters,if sometimes losing my way when the “Orther Stella” took over. The only thing I felt negative was the long narrative on the character of the plastic surgeon Yiannis Terzi. I personally think it was too long but that is a personal thing.

Looking forward to the next book

Delighted to read another of your books as an advanced reader. Wolfie is such a dynamic personality. I just have to finish SAIL by James Patterson and Howard Roughan then I am diving into it! Thanks!!!

Hi Andy, I’ve tried leaving a comment on Amazon UK but for some reason they keep saying my review could potentially be seen as being biased towards you. So with that in mind, I thought I’d leave my review here. I must say I personally think this is probably your best piece of creative writing to date, the way you’ve gone to extreme lengths to make the reader feel like they’re part of the story is incredible. The amount of fine detail you use to describing something is amazing, it enables the reader to visually see it in their minds eye. I loved the way you’ve incorporated characters from Gabriel’s past, along with totally new ones but not only did you managed to make that work, you’ve also managed to incorporate characters from your other series of books (ie the DCI Stella Cole books), brilliant. This book pulls you in straight from the get go and it won’t loosen it’s hold on you until you’ve reached the very last part. It’s a thriller that’s packed full of murder, mystery and suspense with a very cruel twist to it, it leaves you wanting so much more. One things for sure and that is, this book shows once again how talented a writer you truly are. Totally brilliant.

Amazon is now telling me that I have to spend $50 before being able to leave a review. Isn’t there any other way that you can get reviews bypassing Amazon completely.

Amazon – Another Monopoly In The Making…………………….

Its about time that this step by step was put out there. Thank you

Hi Andy I have read all your books and find them all very very good reads in fact I have to stop myself from reading them in one go. So please keep up the good work. Hope a new Stella Cole is out soon. Shirley

I do agree with all of the ideas you have introduced for your post. They’re really convincing and can definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for newbies. May just you please extend them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.

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About andy maslen

Andy Maslen writes thrillers. Action, crime, psychological, horror. You’ll find all  his ebooks, paperbacks and audiobooks on Amazon.

© Andy Maslen 2016 ->