Church People: a Movie review

As a retired pastor, writer and blogger, I am at times given the opportunity to experience things before others do. They call it being an influencer. I’m not sure how much influence I really have. I just try to live my life the best I can.

Often, I turn these opportunities down because they’re just gimmicks or products I don’t want to be associated with. But this time when approached something (or someone) told me to take this one. So, I did and man, am I glad.

They asked me to watch a movie that was going to be released online and DVD soon. A Christian movie. Now let’s be real. A lot of Christian movies are superficial or super preachy and anyone who knows me knows I don’t like either.

But this time, surprisingly, this movie is neither of those things. They billed this movie as a “Christian Comedy” so I expected it to really stink to high heaven. Again, it surprised me. The movie is called “Church People” I could tell you what this movie is about but I’ll let it tell you check out the trailer:

Now let me tell you, I laughed and cried. I was angry and tickled. This movie ran me through a gambit of feelings. But more importantly, it was FUNNY and a very pointed look at the new church culture of doing anything to put people in church seats. I found it thought provoking as well as entertaining. The cast was well done with not one but two Baldwin brothers playing funny and quirky characters. Stephen Baldwin as “Chad the head church greeter” who makes a Walmart greeter look like a fake. His brother William plays a father with a very “modern” take on parenting. Then there is Joey Fatone from NSYNC as the church worship leader who wishes life was a “musical” and tries to make it one. With a senior pastor who is searching for the next big gimmick to fill the seats and our main character the youth pastor who is “America’s Youth Pastor” who just wants to return to the days of preaching the gospel.

Honestly, the movie was so good and relevant. I think every church going christian should see it. Here’s a link to get your own copy either on several streaming sites or buy a DVD copy. https://churchpeoplefilm.com/#buy

So let me just say if you want a good family movie and a seriously LOL movie with a bit of heart and soul this is the one for you.

#ChurchPeopleDVDMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

 

Breaking the Myths about being an Author- Part One.

I’m trying to stay positive and send out good vibes of love and happiness, but I have to admit it’s hard to do today. See ,I just had to end a series before I wanted to. Why you may ask? Because it wasn’t making enough in sales and Kindle Unlimited reads to make spending weeks writing them profitable to me.

So. I ended it. I was nice about it and told my readers I ended it and why. Now I have people coming out of the woodwork to tell me how sad they are that this series is ending and that kind of upsets me. It upsets me because more people are telling me they are unhappy the series is ending than ever read the books according to Amazon. Which makes me wonder. Where were those people when I was publishing the books?

This led me to another conclusion most readers don’t understand the world of an author. There are some common myths people believe about someone whose book is on Amazon or any other online or physical bookstore. I want to look at some of them and give you the truth that goes to them.

Myth 1.  Author’s make lots of money.

This one makes me laugh and cry at the same time. Here’s the truth of the issue. Unless an author is JK Rowling, Steven King, R.L Stine or some other household name they aren’t rich. They probably aren’t making enough money to even provide for their family. That book you buy for $2.99 or 3.99 we don’t get all of that money.  First off, it cost us to purchase the cover that caught your eye and made you want to buy the book. Book covers can cost anywhere from $45.00-$200.00 depending on how many elements are involved. Mine on average are around $100.00 So before a single word is put on the page I’ve spent around $100.00

Then I write and when the story is finished, it has to go to the editor. Which, again can cost from a little to a lot, depending on several factors. What type of edit it is, how many words in the manuscript, just to name a few. Typical line edit to just correct grammar and punctuation is between .002 and .005 cents a word. So that 50,000-word book costs between $100.00 and $350.00 and that’s before a single book is sold.

Now, if I got paid the whole $2.99 that most of my books sell for, and I paid the minimum for editing; I’d just break even after selling 67 books. But I don’t get the whole $2.99, in fact, I only get 70% of that and then only if the book is Amazon exclusive. If not I get 30%. If your favorite author uses a publisher and isn’t an Indie author then they only get 16% of the sales price. So out of that $2.99 I make $2.09 cents. So I have to sell 96 books just to be back at zero. So getting rich not really happening for most authors.

That’s the first myth exposed. Next week I’ll share another myth people have about authors and books in general. In the mean time go read a good book. 😀

 

 

I Give Up!!

Can you believe my first book was published five years ago? It was “Prayerwalking for Spiritual Break Through.“ It was followed by my first novel, “Redeeming Reputation” a little over a year later. As the “Redemption Books” were published, I kept being called a romance author, a title which I vehemently denied. I went so far in my denial as to get a bit upset when I found out “Redeeming Grace” had been entered by a fan into a romance book contest. I was also shocked when it took silver (2nd place) in the Christian Western Romance category. I couldn’t comprehend why no one understood that I didn’t write romance. I wrote westerns with a touch of romance in them.

Now I laugh about that. Want to know why? Because at the end of last year I realized something. Something that to me was quite shocking. Maybe it will be to you too, but then again, maybe it won’t. You know what shocked me? I realized that (looks both ways to see who’s trying to listen in) I write romance. Up until this year, I wrote Christian Romance. However, I’m giving up!

No I’m not giving up writing so you can put down the nitro tablets. No need for a heart attack. What I’m doing is giving up fighting my true nature. You see while I don’t like to admit it, (thus the five years of denial) I’m a romantic at heart. I always have been. I think the first time I tried to romance a lady was in Kindergarten. I fell head over heels for this little girl in our church and my teacher. Even then I was romantic. Unlike lots of little boys, I didn’t pull her hair or pick on her. I didn’t act up to get teacher’s attention either. I took them little thoughtful gifts. Flowers hand picked from my mom’s flower beds, a little debbie snack, my favorite color crayon. You get the picture.

So I give up. I’m not going to keep fighting my nature. As of this year, I’m officially a romance writer. Not just Christian Romance either. I’m branching out as I embrace my romantic side. I’m writing all kinds of sweet romance. As a matter of fact, besides the last Redemption Book and the “Marshall, Texas Ranger” series it’s probably all I’m going to be writing.

I wanted to take a moment and let everyone know in this blog. OH I’ll still write a few other things as they take my interest but mainly I’ll be focusing on romance novels. I hope y’all will come with me on this journey.

 

 

Revealing a new Series by a cover

Some time ago I posted a review for my friend and fellow author Faith Blum. I told you how good her books were. Well she’s done it again she is working on a new series called “Orphans of the West.” she asked me if I would be willing to show one of the covers for a book in the series. I agreed. You the reader are in for a treat. Check out her post on her blog for finding all the covers and story lines as well as release dates. I get to revel the cover of book 4 “He Leadeth Me” without further ado here is Faith’s cover.

Make sure to go to her website to find out more. http://www.faithblum.com/ while you’re there sign up for her new release newsletter.  Enjoy the new series.

 

 

The Silent Persecution

Those of you who know me, know that I don’t often post Spiritual post on this blog. I try to keep it about books and writers and stories here. But I have, for the past few years, been watching something that I can’t keep silent about anymore. The persecution in America against Christians. Let me state that it is a mostly silent persecution, but it is still persecution. Others have said it and I agree with them that there is an attitude of Intolerance towards those that call themselves Christian. We all know about persecution outside of America.  In Muslim countries they are beaten to death or beheaded. In China they are imprisoned for no other reason than they are Christians.

In our country Christians aren’t killed yet. But the media (televison, movies) portray them as either stupid and something to laugh at or as evil people or crazies. They are belittled for their beliefs, Mems are made about how wrong they are. Posts on social media are made to shame and belittle them for standing up for their convictions. Even our top political leaders ridicule and threaten us for practicing our Beliefs.
While I agree with those that point out Sin is Sin and that we Christians need to be able to love everyone unconditionally like Christ calls us to. I felt the need to point out that there is a definite move to vilify us, which I personally believe will, before the end of my lifetime, lead to Christians being killed  in America for being Christians. Oh and in case anyone has forgotten. Christians have been killed here in America for that reason already. Here are a few of them:

June 17th, 2015: A lone gunman, Dylann Storm Roof, opened fire in a Charleston, South Carolina church, killing nine and wounding another.

August 12, 2007: A lone gunman, Eiken Elam Saimon, opened fire in a Missouri Micronesian church, killing a pastor and two other churchgoers.

May 20, 2007: A standoff between police and a suspect in the shootings of three people in a Moscow, Idaho, Presbyterian Church ended with three dead, including one police officer.

May 21, 2006: Louisiana. Four were killed by a man at Jesus Christ Church.

Feb. 26, 2006: Michigan. Two people were killed at Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church by a man who reportedly went to the church looking for his girlfriend. He later killed himself.

April 9, 2005: A 27-year-old airman died after being shot at a church in College Park, Ga., where he had once worked as a security guard.

March 12, 2005: A man walked into the services of the Living Church of God in Milwaukee and open fired immediately, killing seven people.

Oct. 5, 2003: A woman opened fire in Turner Monumental AME church in Kirkwood, east of Atlanta, killing the pastor and two others.

Sept. 16, 1999: Seven young people were killed when a man opened fire during a prayer service for teens at the Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Finally here is a quote from an USA Today article written in 2013:

In 1999, there were 22 violent deaths — including homicides and suicides — reported at worship centers nationwide, according to statistics.  Last year, there were 115 attacks, with 75 of those ending in a fatality.

So don’t think that Christians aren’t reviled, persecuted and even martyred  in America; because WE ARE. And it’s only going to get worse.

 

Meet Faith Blum and her book”The Solid Rock”

I have had the great pleasure the last few weeks to get to know a spectacular young woman who is a prolific writer of Christ centered Westerns. I want to take the time to tell you a little about her and the awesome series of books she is writing. Let me introduce you to my friend and fellow writer Faith Blum, that Blum which sounds like plum with a B not Bloom.

She amazes me in that at only 25 she has five novels and three Novella’s already published the newest book is the last in her “Hymns of Faith” series and I’ll review it here in a minute.

I encourage you to go to Faiths website and read the about section she has quite the sense of humor.  She lives in Wisconsin on what she describes as a hobby farm with her family. I’ve read all but two of her published works and have added her to my “favorite authors”

I want to get straight to her newest book and give you it’s description. The book is book five of the series and while you don’t need to read them all to enjoy and get drawn in to “The Solid Rock” but you should at least read the first book as it gives a lot of the background information.

Description:

Pinkerton detective, Joshua Brookings, is sent on a job that seems simple on the surface. His fellow detective has been kidnapped and his boss, William Pinkerton senses foul play. Joshua is sent to investigate Edward’s case in hopes of finding the kidnapped detective and helping solve the case that has taken over ten years to investigate.

Arriving in Cheyenne, Joshua finds much more than a simple kidnapping. Yet again, he must go undercover, something he made his boss promise never to make him do again. The only Christian in the outlaw group, Joshua falters and almost loses faith in God’s providence. Will he stand on the solid Rock or drown in the sinking sand?

My Review:

This is a good solid ending to the series. If you haven’t read the others you can start right here but you’ll want to go back and read the rest of them.

The characters in this book are believable and the story is full of action, adventure, and even romance. The book starts with a huge attention grabbing kidnapping. A Pinkerton detective has been kidnapped to keep him from finishing a case and fellow Pinkerton, Joshua Brookings is sent to find the detective and finish the case.  This leads to Joshua being undercover with some of the worst criminals in the west. As a Christian the lies alone  begin to wear on him, and listening to the men boast about past crimes and wicked lifestyles drag his faith down.

I loved the hero and the amount of action in this book. I loved the women and the fact that they weren’t just damsel’s in distress waiting for a man to save them. Every character in the book was true to what people in the west would have been like. The hero’s weren’t perfect and the villains weren’t all bad either.  Just when you think the book should end Miss. Blum adds another twist and draws you right back in. It wraps up the series very well and ties up almost all of the lose ends. The only thing not tied up nice and neat is what happens to five minor characters who the author assures me are getting their own tales soon. Grab this book and enjoy being drawn into the wild wild west once again.

You can grab this and all of Faith’s books at her amazon page: here.

Connect with her at her website here, and on facebook here. Also you might want to check out her blog here.

Until next time, keep yer six-guns loose and yer powder dry.- PG

 

 

Review Or Die! (Not you, the Reader — the Author)

This is a great article on why to review by my friend Mary.

FINDLEY FAMILY VIDEO

It’s a pain to write reviews. If I liked a book, I liked it. I don’t need to review it. Maybe I’ll tell some friends. Maybe I’ll lend the book to someone else. And it sounds stupid to say, “This book was great! I loved it!” What good does that do anyone? Other readers don’t care about reviews. They pick a book because they get pulled in by the cover, they’re a fan of the genre, or a friend or some bigshot blogger they follow recommended it. Who cares about my little dumb reviews?

Honestly, I can sympathize with those reasons for not writing a review. But I’m still going to shoot them down and give you some help to understand why every time you read a book but don’t review it, you are sucking just a little bit of life out of that author. If people keep taking these…

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Redeeming Character is Out on Amazon.

So Book Five of the Redemption Tales just hit Amazon. After two years and three strokes and a stomach bleed as health setbacks I’ve finally gotten “Redeeming Character” published. Below is a short taste of this book. If it peaks your interest then go grab your copy today at http://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Character-Redemption-Tales-book-ebook/dp/B01BU6F7VO

If you haven’t read the first four books in the series you might want to start with Redeeming Reputation and then Redeeming Trail, Redeeming Grace and Redeeming Love. All are available on my Amazon Author Page Here.

Now a peek at Redeeming Character.

The look on Bart’s face told David he was surprised Nathaniel’s father would ask such a question. “Reverend, I don’t understand your take on your son. You raised him to be a Man of God, and that’s what he is. He is the most forgiving person I know.”

David scoffed, “We both know he isn’t forgiving. Just the number of people he has killed since he came West proves otherwise.” The only thing that gave away Bart’s emotional response to David’s statement was a quick tightening of his hands on his reins and the flinty hardness of the gunslinger he used to be in his eyes.

“Reverend, I’m not a Bible scholar but I was in church Sunday and heard your sermon. I got to say that I disagreed with you. You say your son is a killer, and yet since the day I met him, he has tried his hardest not to take any man’s life.”

David shook his head, “I find that hard to believe. In the year we’ve been here I personally know of at least two dozen men he has killed.”

“Yes, but do you know in almost every single one of those cases, and the others I’ve seen in the two years I’ve known him, he has tried to spare every life he can. Take myself and Timothy as an example.”

David’s face puckered in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Reverend, didn’t you know both of us set out to kill him? Instead, he led us both to Christ and offered us not only forgiveness, but his friendship and a new chance at a better life. The same with Sheriff Stevens. Dakota was one of Diamond Dale’s men and had taken over the Dueling N Ranch. David forgave him, and even convinced the town to pardon him and allow him to become the Sheriff to repay the debt he felt he owed. My own personal story with Nathan is, I challenged him to a duel. As a matter of fact, I threatened to kill him and anyone I found him with if he didn’t meet me in the street for a showdown. Do you know what his response to that was?”

“Well, since you are both alive, I assume he didn’t meet you in the street.”

“Actually, he agreed to meet me for the showdown but invited me to breakfast first. Then he shared Jesus’ message of salvation to me. I laughed in his face and as much as told him I’d kill him at noon. He spent the rest of the morning finding out something about me no one before him had realized.

When noon rolled around, he stepped onto the street and made me admit that by being there he had kept his word. Once I did, he dropped his guns in the dirt and refused to draw against me. Instead, he informed me I was not wanted back east by the law, and handed me a telegraph from my wife telling me she was coming to be with me. Then he offered me a job working for him. He did the same thing for Timothy, too.

They actually had a shootout, and Timothy surrendered to Nathan as acting sheriff. The next day Nathan apologized to Timothy for almost killing him. Several days later, he led Timothy to the Lord and gave him a job as well. So when I say he is the godliest man I know, I mean it.”

David pondered on what Bart had told him as they rode the land. Bart pointed out several good places to build small sharecropper homes and natural dividing lines to each sharecropper’s property. He showed David the right land to keep for himself to raise a small amount of livestock. Some cows and enough horses and oxen to keep the sharecroppers, himself, and any workers he hired in milk, meat, mounts and work animals. As they were riding back to the homestead, Bart informed David of one more fact.

“Reverend, earlier you asked me why Nathan sent us to help you. Truth is, I’m the only person on the ranch that knows the two of you had a fight and why. He made me promise to help you because you’re his parents, and he said this to me just before he and Grace left. ‘He may be wrong in how he treated Grace and me, but he’s still my Father and I will honor him by forgiving him even though I don’t want to. Make sure they are both taken care of ‘til I get back.’ So while you may not be welcome on the Dueling Ns right now, one or more of our hands will be here to check on y’all every day ‘til he returns.”

David was about to respond when the two men heard someone shouting their names. Riding hell bent for leather one of the young hands came tearing up to them. “Reverend, Bart; Sandy Bob said to get back to the house quick; there was some trouble on Mrs. Ryder’s way home from town.”

All three men kicked their mounts into a full-out run. David’s heart was in his throat as he asked. “Is Rebecca okay?” The words of the young hand wrapped the icy hand of fear around his heart and troubled lungs.

“Sandy Bob has done sent for the Doc; he should be there by the time we get there.”

Bart asked one question “What happened?”

The one-word answer made that hand clamp even harder on David’s insides. “Outlaws!”

****
That’s all you get for free. If you want to know more then head on over to Amazon and grab yer copy of “Redeeming Character.”

Till next time Pardners. -PG

 

 

 

Two Awesome Westerns

As most of my friends know, I love me some good westerns. I love western tv shows, movies and I really love western novels. It’s one reason why I’ve written five so far and plan to write at least five more.  But I also love reading them. So I like to share when I find some good ones. That’s what I’m doing today sharing two Westerns I just read that were phenomenal. Both were written by fellow Christian Western Writer, Crystal Barnes.

According to her website crystal-barnes.com, “Crystal is an award-winning author, who also happens to be a born-n-raised Texan and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). She has a degree in Computing Science because she loves putting things into their proper place, and she enjoys writing because she gets to share her love of old-fashioned things and the Lord. When she’s not writing or reading, Crystal enjoys knitting, sewing, or crocheting while watching old movies/sitcoms. I Love Lucy is one of her favorites.”

She has two books out in her series of “Marriage and Mayhem” so far. I read them both this past week and loved them. Bellow you’ll see my review for each. I really want to encourage my fans and readers to give her books a try. I know if you love My “Redemption Tales” your gonna absolutely adore  Crystal’s “Win, Love or Draw” and “Love, stock and Barrel”  So here’s my review of both.

Win, Love or Draw

Catherine McGarrett is a strong woman. Life in Texas demands such. For five years, she has built a growing horse ranch while praying for the return of the one man who stole her heart and shattered it in a million pieces when he left.
Now he’s back.
Samuel McGarrett rides into Cater Springs, Texas toting two six-shooters and too many scars. The trouble and pain from the past erupts around the couple. And not just in their marriage.
Can Sam win Catherine’s trust? Will their love survive? Or will his final draw be his last?

My Review:

As a Pastor and an avid Western fan I often have to overlook things in the books I read. This time I didn’t need to overlook anything. This is a well written, exciting Western Romance with plenty of action, adventure and romance. The fact that it is written from a Christian perspective for me was all the better. Unlike some “Christian” fiction books that come across as either preachy or with the Christianity tacked on as an afterthought; Win Love or Draw was just a western romance that happened between to characters that could have been real life Christians. They struggled and feel short at times but they kept striving to live as Christians. The action was fast, the adventures were thrilling and the romance was at times sweet and at times rocky and at times passonate. I loved this book and really loved the plot device of marriage as a waltz the author used. This is a five star read for certain and really should have more than five stars. An excellent addition to the Christian Western Genre.

Love, Stock and Barrel

Hiding from a rat of a fiancé, Dinah Lexington makes tracks for Texas and who she hopes is her late mother’s relative. She’s seeking answers but finds more than she bargains for when she gets caught in a shotgun wedding—with the rifle pointed at her.
Russell Cahill can’t believe his father is demanding he marry the feisty redhead. The sharpshooting female would only add to his troubles, but how does one argue with a gun and an attraction he’s fought to ignore?
Sparks fly. Secrets surface. Loss threatens.
Will a dream for love shatter forever, or will the pair find a marriage worth lock, stock, and barrel?

My Review:

This is the second in the Marriage and Mayhem series. I loved this one as well. There were twists and turns. The biggest of which was Ms. Barnes’ play on the shotgun wedding. I laughed and cried as I read this novel. Again just like the fist in the series I loved the action, the adventure and the romance. This one was very different than the first one and even though part of a series having read the first one isn’t necessary but you should read that book too. Another five star effort from a great new Christian Western author.

 

Seriously ,if you love Westerns or good clean Romance novels with Christian themes that aren’t preachy or phony, then these two books are for you. Go get them right now. Why are you still here? If you got them go read them. -PG

 

 

How to write an Excellent, Well Written Book Review and Why

Can I talk to you the reader for a minute?  I and every other author you know needs your help. I’m serious. If you know an author who has books listed on Amazon, then they need your help. No, I’m not asking you to buy more books, though that would help us as well. I’m talking about leaving excellent reviews.

I bet as a reader you don’t know how important it is to leave a review for that book you just finished. Let me give you some interesting information you might not know. Lot’s of readers choose the book they read next by the reviews they see at places like Amazon.com or Goodreads.com. If they don’t see any reviews or if the reviews they see aren’t well written, they may pass on the book.

Not only does leaving a review help readers pick a good book but here are a few other benefits that Author’s get from having a lot of well written reviews. I bet you didn’t know that after an author gets 25 reviews on Amazon, the company begins to include them in their “Also bought” and “you might like this” lists. This increases that books visibility on Amazon and helps put the book in front of more potential readers. That helps to boost sales.

When a book gets 50 or more reviews, Amazon highlights that book for spotlight positions in its monthly newsletter. This put’s the authors book in front of literally hundreds of thousands of potential readers. This can mean a huge boost in sales for your favorite author.

Are you one of those readers who get emails from sites that promote books that are free or on sale? I bet you didn’t know that almost all of those sites require a certain number of high star reviews before you can submit your book.  For example, before submitting a book to E-Read New Today an author must have a minimum of 10 reviews that are 4 star of above. Some places require even more. One place that I list my nonfiction books when they are free Require 60 four star or above reviews. Without readers leaving those reviews, your favorite author can’t use these advertising tools.

The final reason your need to not just leave a review but leave a well written review is because of a new app that came out recently called “Fakespot”. This app claims to be able to tell you how many reviews on a certain book or product are fake. By that they mean not posted by customers but by friends, relatives of authors or are bought reviews. How they determine if a review is fake is based on the quality of the review.  So Let me give you some Do’s and Don’ts that will help you write an Excellent and Honest Review.

 

Guidelines for Excellent Reviews.

 

1.Do be honest. If the book was good, then say that. If it was bad then say that. People are more articulate when they believe what they are saying. Every author I know, would rather have your honest review than for you to just say “It was great.” We don’t need you to pump us up if we don’t deserve it. We want to write the best stories or information books we can. If you tell us it was perfect, then tell everyone you; how it blew chunks, that doesn’t help us.

2. Don’t leave a 5 word or less review. This is one of the things that Fakespot considers a bogus review. For instance, a review that says “It was great.” Without saying why it was great, is not really a review at all; and will be considered by this App as less than honest. Let me tell you what I think has started happening. Now Amazon has a link at the end of every Kindle book to leave a review right from your E-Reader. However, most people don’t like typing on those tiny keyboards, or hard to use touchscreen keyboards. Because of that, people leave a single word or just a few words review.

The purpose of leaving a review is to help other readers decide if they want to read the book. We have all been taught an informed customer is a smart customer, so we do our research before we make a purchase. We only have so much time to read in this hectic world of ours, so we use reviews to help us decide if the book is worth our time.  “It was good.” Or “Awesome” or “Loved it” don’t help anyone else decide if the book is for them. Tell why you loved it. What made it a good book? Describe the awesomeness. The same is true if you feel you must leave a terrible review. Tell us what made it terrible, how did it suck? You get the picture, use your words.

3 Do share your review once you’ve written it. Post a link to it on your Facebook. Pin it, tweet it. Heck, even blog about it if you want. Those reviews don’t help us sell more books unless people see them.

4.Don’t review things that weren’t about the book. I can’t tell you the number of authors who have poor reviews that talk about a problem they had with the place they got the book. We as authors have no control over which device the book was downloaded from. We don’t control the font size of the book the reader does. (There’s a place on you E-reader where you adjust that.) We didn’t charge you twice, the bookseller did. Don’t post a one or two-star review because of something the bookseller did. Reviews are about the story and cover themselves. Not about the process of getting the book. If you have one of the above listed problems then contact Amazon or the book provider.

5.Do check your spelling and grammar. Nothing makes a review look more like a fake, than someone who use bad grammar and spelling. Books are made up of words and grammar; if yours seems poor, then people who read your review will think- “They can’t even spell or follow basic grammar, they must not have read this book. I’m not saying you have to be perfect, but if you can’t tell the difference between think and thank; people will wonder if you can even read. Seriously it happens.

6.Don’t tell the plot of the book. No-one and I mean NO-ONE likes spoilers. A good review talks about why you liked the book; it doesn’t give a the plot and details of the book. Nothing is worse for an author, than a review that tells everything that happens in the book. If you do that in a review, what reason does the potential reader have to read the book? You already described the whole thing to them.  Imagine you are looking for a good mystery book, and you think the cover and book blurb make the mystery sound interesting. So  you want to see what those that have read it have to say about it. You go to the reviews, and the first one you read gives the book five stars; then tells you who did it, why they did it, and how they did it.  No mystery left for you. This is not a quality review, its a spoiler without a warning.

7.Do make sure you are reviewing the right book. I’ve had this problem myself. I received a 1-star review, and the guy was saying why he didn’t like my book. Yet nothing he talked about was in my book. I’ve talked with other authors who’ve had similar experiences. If you are going to review a book, make sure it’s the right book. Read the book blurb. Look at the cover. If your using your computer to write it get out your E-reader and look up the name and author of a book. Some people don’t know, this but more than one book can have the same title. I have a book out called Redeeming Love, so does another dozen authors including, Francine Rivers. Imagine the confusion, if a review of her book which is a historical romance, but not a western, was posted to my book which is a western with some romance in it.  Or if a review of my Redeeming Love was posted to her book reviews. The reader would not get the book they thought they were getting.

8 Do contact the Author if you find a ton of spelling, grammar, and formatting mistakes.  We know they shouldn’t happen, but they do. Personal example, I paid over 300.00 for editing on my book Redeeming Grace. It was money well spent and I made all the changes the editor suggested. However, when I went to upload the content to Amazon I used the wrong file, the unedited file.  I messed up. But a reader contacted me and said this is so much a lower quality than your books are normally. What happened? I went to Amazon and very quickly noticed, yep, I uploaded the wrong file. I re-uploaded the right file and informed Amazon, who in turn, informed everyone who bought the book so they could re-download and get the correct version. However, I’ve had friends who’ve gotten poor reviews on bad grammar, spelling and formatting. This keeps readers from reading the book, even after it’s been corrected. So give the author the benefit of the doubt, and contact them first to see if they will fix it. Give them some specific examples if you can of what you’re referring too. Again, most indie authors want to put out the best product they can. Most will correct the problems and respond to the reader with a thank you. If you don’t get that after say a month then check to see if a new version is up. Your kindle or e-reader should let you know when that happens. If it still hasn’t been corrected don’t leave a review, contact amazon. They will put a hold on the book, till the author fixes it.

As you can see, it isn’t hard to leave a great, well written review if you just follow these eight simple guidelines. In the end, the author will love you for it. Other readers will love you for it, and maybe, just maybe Fakespot won’t think your review is a fake review.