Reviews

Do you know what many writers dislike the most beyond editing? Marketing. 

Do you know what many writers like the most beyond big sales? Reviews.

 Reviews are those pesky things that many a reader skip. It’s good enough that they borrowed or purchased the book, right? Yes, it’s wonderful and deeply appreciated. But for independent authors, reviews help others find their books in the confusing world of algorithms. Reviews are advertising, announcing to potential readers that others enjoyed the book and perhaps you will, too. 

The writing world is vast and full, and if you don’t have a large budget for marketing, you are scrounging for scraps at the bottom. This has created a new thing of paying for reviews. Personally, I could never do that as it feels like cheating. I don’t know how many writers do this, I only know it’s a thing now in this dog-eat-dog world.

I have friends and family who gladly inform me they enjoy my books, which I appreciate. But there is something about hearing your story entertained a stranger that brings a different excitement. We writers tend to be fickle, bouncing between loving and hating our work. Questioning daily if we are only fooling ourselves into thinking we have any talent at all, to bouncing in our chairs at creating a fantastic scene. Just ask my husband.

The point of my ramblings is that if you know an author is self-published/independent when you read their book, do them a favor and leave a few words or at least a few stars. You have no idea how much that minute you took to do that will perk up their day.

The reviews in the picture are a few that made my day when I saw them. It gave me hope and encouragement to keep up the work. Sometimes, that is all anyone needs to put a smile on their face.