pretty much like this

I have thanked folks for reviews many times.  I would like to do that again.  THANK YOU!!!  Reading a review, even a three star review, makes me so happy I want to roll around in a hedge of blueberry bushes.  To know that strangers have read a story of mine and taken the time out of their lives to tell other people “hey, this is worth the 3 bucks” is incredibly fulfilling.

Two years ago I had never written a review for a book (or anything else) on Amazon.  Then I read a story about sheep that live in a silo, except no sheep ever showed up. It was still a great story!  I purchased that book strictly because it had amazing reviews.  I was not let down in the least.  This  science fiction adventure about the knitting industry was amazing.  It already had a few hundred reviews, but I put one up anyway. Why not?  I wanted to join the chorus of people hollerin’ about this awesome book.
Since then I have reviewed every self-published book I have read, usually because the author asks for that in the back of the book.  These are not always four or five star reviews, some are three and I think I hit somebody with a  two star review one time.  I figure if i came across a book that was worth only one star, I would never finish reading it in the first place, making a review kind of moot.

Now, as a new author, I firmly understand why these reviews are so important.  Independent authors don’t have much of a voice in the old marketing department, at least newbies like myself. We rely on the good nature of people to want to tell their friends, or anyone else, that “Hey, this was worth my time and money”.  At the core, that’s why people look at reviews….just to see if it’s worth it.  Some reviewers go above and beyond and write a synopsis of the story.  In my case, those reviews sum up the story better than I do in the actual back cover synopsis!

Some books have hundreds of reviews, so people might think it is a waste of time to review it, the word is officially “out” at that point.  While this may be a true assessment, more reviews are always good.  In the least, you will brighten the author’s day.  I can almost guarantee you every author who reads good words written about their work by someone they don’t know has a big grin on their face when reading it, and isn’t it fun to know you have made someone’s entire day( or week) by doing something that only takes about 5 minutes?

Next time you read a self-pubbed or independent book, please think about tossing up a review.  The author probably has a note in the back of the book requesting one, and when you read it, picture the little face below…

“Excuse me human friend, but if you had time, reviews are super helpful.”