Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

“Hey, Rob, I bought your book!  Loved it!”

But . . . but . . . but . . .

I’ve actually been hearing this a lot, which is great.  It’s remarkable that people read my book and enjoy it.

That is the basic goal of storytelling, but it helps to have the affirmation.

More than that, it’s been so great to have so much support from friends, family, acquaintances and even some wonderful strangers.  I’ve received such an outpouring of assistance, you’d think the tap water was spiked with Xanax and nutmeg!

It’s not.

I checked.

Twice.

Sometimes, when I'm sad, I stop being sad, and start
being awesome.  True story.

So why do I seem so frantic?  Well, one of the things every author needs is reviews.  From Stephen King on down to little ‘ole me, reviews are what help drive interest.  Lots and lots of reviews.  Interest drives sales, sales drives success and success means more books!    Every notice those folk who come on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report usually just happen to have a book with them (unless they have a movie)?  Yeah, they’re trying to drive interest through Stewart’s or Colbert’s review.

The same thing applies to the indie author, but it’s much more important.  If my name was J.K. Rowling, getting people to review my writing would simply be a matter of letting them know J.K. Rowling has a new novel, no matter what name I originally published under.  It would actually be their job to tell the audiences if the book was awesome or really, really awesome.

In case you need help writing the review.

But my name isn’t Rowling, so I’m reduced to the time-honored tradition of begging, bribing and blubbering for reviews (like this article).

If you love an author, whether or not they can actually write, and you want to show your affection (or just get them to shut up about it), write them a review.  You don’t have to write at a Pulitzer-level, just have an opinion and share it.

While you’re at it, write one or two for me as well!