There is a larger issue that I've always kept in mind when it comes to promoting books: you will not love every book, but you can still promote them. But Diana, why would you promote a book you didn't like? Good question! Here we go.

It didn't work for YOU, but it might work for someone else. You just finished a book, you thought it was meh, but you like the author and they worked hard so you take a pretty picture for your feed. But what to caption it? Take a neutral tone here:

"I just finished this book by [insert name here] for a little bit of summer reading. It's about [insert plot detail/character detail]. If this sounds like something you're interested in check it out! What are your summer reading plans?"

It's still good marketing material for the author and you don't have to lie! You can even tag them (if you know they're cool with it) and they can RT for themselves. This is still a way to support authors and get eyes on their books.

This is CRITICALLY important when it comes to books by POC. They're already a hard sell in publishing, don't make them a harder sell by blasting them. Especially if you aren't from the culture being written. Okay, but what else can I talk about if I didn't like the book?

The cover! Is it pretty? Do you like the design? The characters! What would they wear? What would they eat in a restaurant? The setting! Would you want to be transported there? How's the weather? Pick any aspect and turn the discussion on your audience.

There are tons of ways to help promote a book that don't involve you having to lie about how you felt. Reviews are different. Reviews are for readers. Promotion is for the authors. Their job is a lot of work and effort and there are ways to support that without being dishonest.

And you SHOULD support them. Especially if you want more books by them or more books in general and more importantly, if they're not white. This is one of the ways we can tell publishing we want more diverse stories. We need more diverse stories. Buzz is important.

So please, before you start shouting about how something sucks, take a minute to ask yourself: is this necessary? Can I frame the discussion differently? Can I support the author in another way? Because a lot of the time, you can.