{"id":1473,"date":"2019-07-21T20:05:01","date_gmt":"2019-07-21T20:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/?p=1473"},"modified":"2021-03-14T06:37:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-14T06:37:50","slug":"dear-christian-book-reviewer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/2019\/07\/21\/dear-christian-book-reviewer\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Christian Book Reviewer,"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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“Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife: A Novel” by Christina Ryan Claypool<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for all you do to promote the faith-filled books, which are written to both entertain and minister to folks in some way. Without all of you incredibly special reviewers and your steadfast support, I don’t know how I could have had any Kingdom success with my book, “Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife: A Novel.” <\/a>I am very grateful to all of you!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet for a very small number of reviewers, when you are reviewing and rating a self-published book, please remember your review holds significant weight. Indie authors often spend a lot of their hard-earned money on editors, book designers, formatting issues, etc., and sometimes also have to purchase large quantities of their books from self-publishing companies in order to get published. This can total thousands of dollars. There is no publishing staff putting a book together, rather an individual writer with a God-given vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Self-published authors can spend thousands of dollars to produce a credible book.

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One negative review or rating from a highly-followed reviewer could be damaging to a book’s sales potential, especially if this review is posted during the title’s initial release. After all, self-published books already have a questionable reputation in general due to some being poorly edited, which is a huge hurdle for a diligent author to overcome anyway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewers do need to warn their followers when a book is poorly written or not edited well though. But when an author has produced a credible work, please consider that any three star or even 3.5 star or under review accompanied with criticism might mean to a reviewer, “I still liked the book,” but to a potential reader, it says, “This is a mediocre work, and there are plenty of really great books out there, so why bother with it.” This is especially disheartening, if the book truly promotes the Gospel’s message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not referring to mean-spirited reviewers, who enjoy posting caustic or damaging things about a book just for fun. Most authors have suffered unfairly from their destructive words on occasion, since we can usually count on a small number of insensitive and emotionally troubled individuals in this world to be unkind or even cruel. There’s not much a writer can do to combat this type of hurtful viciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead I’m talking about well-intentioned faith-driven reviewers who might not realize the intense weight their review can carry. Of course, if a book truly deserves a mediocre rating, a reviewer must follow their conscience in the matter. Plus, an author needs and can learn from constructive criticism from a wise reviewer, but only when it is cushioned and balanced by the positive attributes within a book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewing books myself on occasion, I simply do not leave a review or rate at book if it is 3 stars or under, or if I find it poorly written or edited in a sloppy manner. Still, I am not a reviewer called to recommend books to readers, so again, they might feel called to leave a negative review if they feel this is necessary when following their heart. I would never want a reviewer to be forced into being dishonest to support a book that should not be supported, but honesty and kindness do not have to be mutually exclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Although, despite dozens of good reviews, self-published authors frequently do not have the support base to overcome even one negative review by an esteemed or major reviewer. A less-than-positive review, is also devastating for an author in a personal sense and emotionally painful, whether they are self-published or traditionally published. There is a fragile human being behind that author name on a book, one who is probably trying to do his or her very best to serve God as His wordsmith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again though, my deepest thanks to all of the caring and compassionate Christian reviewers who took the time to read and review my novel. I am grateful for every single one of you, and for your invaluable ministries of promoting God’s army of writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christina Ryan Claypool has been featured on Joyce Meyer Ministries “Enjoying Everyday Life” TV show, and on CBN’s 700 Club. She is also an a national Amy\/Ohio AP award-winning columnist, and two-time Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor. Her most recent book,“Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife: A Novel,<\/a>” is available on all major online outlets. Contact her through her website at www.christinaryanclaypool.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#reviewers # Christianreviewers #book #books #review #bookreview #self-publishing #Indieauthor #self-publishedbook #theGospel <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thank you for all you do to promote the faith-filled books, which are written to both entertain and minister to folks in some way. Without all of you incredibly special reviewers and your steadfast support, I don’t know how I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1022,1023,1020,1021,226],"class_list":["post-1473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-book-review","tag-book-reviewer","tag-review","tag-reviewer","tag-self-publishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1473"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1648,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1473\/revisions\/1648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}