Whenever I’m planning a day out or holiday, looking for somewhere to eat or choosing a book, I always check out reviews. But – confession time – I’m terrible at remembering to leave reviews afterwards and give back to those platforms.
I know they’re important but, since publishing my books, I’ve realised just how important they really are!
Reviews are not just nice for an author to read (assuming they’re positive). They can genuinely make ALL the difference to the success, or otherwise, of a book!!!
On Amazon, I have a few lovely reviews already (thank you!). But it’s not until I reach a certain number of reviews – thought to be around 50 – that the algorithm will start to recommend my books to people who are interested in my genres or similar books.
Until that point, I’m practically invisible. And if people don’t know about my books, then they can’t read them!
Discoverability is one of the most challenging things for self-published writers. Or maybe all writers. That’s one of the reasons why publishers are so keen to take on celebrity books, whether those celebrities are particularly good writers or not – they don’t have to do as much PR and marketing work to catch people’s attention. People have probably heard of them, maybe have an opinion of them. They’re not a complete unknown.
Whereas for me, people rightly have many questions. Who are you? Are your books any good? What are they about? Why should I spend money on them if I have no idea whether I’d like them or not?
I’ve had lots of fantastic feedback about the books directly and it always means the world to me!! But if my books are going to reach a wider audience, then other people need to know about them too.
So, if you’ve read my books and enjoyed them, please tell your friends and family but please also consider writing a review. Giving five stars is obviously amazing – and hopefully gives the message that the books aren’t crap! – but, if you’re anything like me, then it’s the personal opinions and insights that reviewers give about a book that can often be the difference between you buying one or not.
When I’m an international bestseller, I will remember you 😉
(Photo by Diane Helentjaris on Unsplash)
Hi, I'm Mel (you figured that out already though, right?!) and this is where I chat about things that relate to and inspire my writing, as well as share some of it.