Say Thank You with a Review
Many readers don’t realize how important those reviews are to authors. Your simple message could be the difference between an author’s successful career and giving up completely. Yes, your little review could mean life or death, especially when an author is new.
And I’m not talking about touchy-feely stuff. Anybody who puts in as much effort as it takes to write, produce, and market a book isn’t going to cry if somebody doesn’t tell them how good they are. It has nothing to do with building ego. It doesn’t even have much to do with reputation, although reputation is always good for sales.
It doesn’t have much to do with sales- at least not directly. If people see a good review, they may be more inclined to purchase the book, thus making the author more money. Though this is true, it’s not the main reason why authors haunt you for that review.
Then what’s all the hub-bub about readers leaving reviews? You got the book, you read it, surely more people will buy the book if you don’t leave a review. But what if the book is being ignored entirely? That’s right, I said ignored. By who? The one powerhouse all authors rely on for their plight- Amazon. That’s right. The very source of an author’s existence will ignore them if they can’t prove on their own that they are worthy.
When I say “on their own” I mean, with no help at all from the mother ship. Amazon will intentionally make it difficult for an author’s book to be seen until the author can prove that book is accepted by Amazon’s customers. Every author is forced to go through a “right of passage” sort of initiation ritual.
Basically, Amazon wants to see an author’s book have at least 50 positive reviews before the eCommerce giant will take it seriously. And it has put in place some very strict rules of how that can be done.
First, you can only leave a review if you have purchased at least $50.00 of goods from Amazon in the past year. If you’re not spending money, you’re not allowed to leave a review.
Second, the reviewer must be a confirmed purchaser. Yes, you have to buy the book on Amazon in order to leave a review most of the time. That means you have to find it without Amazon showing it to you, buy it, then leave a review.
Third, you can’t be a relative, friend, relation, or know the author in any way. And yes, Amazon has ways of checking. Are you friends on Facebook? or other social media? Too bad, Amazon will remove your review. Did you talk on GoodReads? Amazon owns GoodReads.
The author could pay for an ad on Amazon which will get the book in front of potential buyers. Did you know that each time an ad is clicked it costs the author up to 50% of their profits? And that’s even if they don’t sell a book on that click.
The list goes on. To make a long story short, it is very difficult for a new author to make his or her debut. They need help. Lots of help. Fifty of them to be precise.
Think about how you heard about the book you’ve been asked to review. Was it from the author? At a book signing? A convention? A chance meeting at work or an evening out? That author is trying very hard to be seen. Not just by you, but by everyone. By #Amazon.
The odds are stacked against authors. So, do them a favor. If you purchased a book. Please leave a review. Once the book gets the required number of reviews it will start showing up when people search for the proper key words. It’s a difficult life, but it gets easier as sales increase. It’s those first fifty that are hell.
Photo and article by Jeffrey David Montanye
#Jeffreydmontanye #selfPublishing
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