Getting reviews

I'm an introvert. Shucks, most writers are introverts. But when you are a self published author all of sudden you have to be a networking guru. I'm not a networking guru but I do like technology (hence the blogs). I still get tickled pink whenever I get a review regardless of what it says. Even the ones that just say 'great book'.

I had intended for this post to be about how to get reviews but really I have no better idea than anyone else. TBH advertising isn't as it used to be. You could spend a few million on ads and product placement and getting your books placed into stores while publishers brow beat famous names to give a few glowing words that they could plaster over anything that stopped moving for a moment. With the advent of Indie Publishing things have also put pressure on the way things used to be.

Nowadays the number one seller of books is word of mouth. So, your book has to have a great cover to first get the readers. Hook them and be a bit different so they will remember your book over the masses that they read every day. It helps if it is well written but that is not actually essential. After all look at the success of Fifty Shades of Grey and you will know that quality isn't always part of the recipe.

Publishers have managed to keep themselves a small little niche in the market by having contacts. They have the clout to get people to read the books they push out. Although they generally will only bother to use this clout for their big named clients who they already have. So newby writers, like myself, the only way to get out there is to get people to review your books. To get people to talk about your books.

So back to introverts. Please, please review every book that appeals to you. A few words, a star rating, anything. You DO NOT need to be a wordsmith and say anything really enlightening. Hopefully, if every newby writer does this for the other newby writers out there word of mouth will beat the clout of big named authors and networks.