Warning: There may be sarcasm included in this post.

Many people have taken it upon themselves to instruct others in the fine and delicate art of writing book reviews. Some have given examples of how they themselves do it. Others attempt to break down the reasons behind the intricate and complex do’s and don’ts of book reviews. And yet, sometimes no helpful reasons, or examples can truly prepare us for this important task. With that in mind, I would like to break this down to a simple and easy 9-step formula to ensure you too can write a book review.

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• 1. Read a book – This may seem obvious, but it is a very important step and cannot be ignored or skipped. You may vary this step by not finishing a book if you so desire, but writing a book review on a book you have never read, skimmed, or looked at will cause your review to become obsolete.

• 2. Close the Book and Put it Down – If you are unable to close the book and put it out of your hands, completing the rest of the steps will become very difficult. You might also be suffering from a severe case of “Book Fever” and may need medical assistance.

• 3. Get Something to Write On – Just composing a review in your head does not count. This could be anything such as a file on your computer, a sticky note, the back of a library receipt, the wallpaper in your room if you are going to rip it off anyway, or numerous other things. My favorite place to write my book reviews is a blank email. It has no address, but since my email is always open on my computer, I don’t have to open Word or something any time I want to write a review.

• 4. Decide How to Start – If you fail to complete this step in writing a review, steps 5-8 will become invalid and you will fail in your review.

• 5. Write Your first Sentence – This could be something about how much you loved or hated the book. It could be a comment about why you read it. It could even be (Horrors! Please don’t start it this way!!!!) with AFDOJASDSGN and “I can’t even!” *shudders* I tend to skip those reviews because obviously the writer is having some trouble.

The next two steps can be interchanged depending on the book, the style of review you are going for, or personal preference.

• 6. Write About What You Love – You can tell about the setting, the characters, the action, the fact that you lost all track of time and should have put the book aside three hours before you did, or whatever you liked.

• 7. Write About the Problems – If you found things in the story you didn’t care for, feel free to mention them. Don’t bash the author, but mentioning what you didn’t like can be helpful for future readers.

• 8. Finish Writing – Yes, reviews should be finished. Perhaps you think you might want to add something later, then do so, but make sure you finish. You can always go back to your review later and add to it.

• 9. Share – There are so many places to share book reviews now days. You can share them on your own personal blog, on Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, YouTube, email, magazines (if you happen to have a way to get your reviews published in a magazine). Just make it happen. Otherwise, what good is your review?

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And now you should be ready to tackle the daunting task of writing a book review on your own. Of course, it make take some practice since you have to read a book. Hopefully you will not need medical aid, however, in setting your finished book aside. So get ready and write that book review!

Do you write book reviews? Do you share them with others? What are some tips you would recommend?