Reviews: Do They Matter?

Happy Labor Day weekend! I hope you've had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to the changes fall might bring into your life; whether it's back to school for you or your kids, or a welcome change in the weather. Enjoy your day.




      

 

Good intentions. We all have them. Many times we act on them, but sometimes we fall short. I often find myself on the short side of good intentions when it comes to promoting books I really like. I tell myself as I'm reading, "I'm going to be sure to write a review for this one!" But when I close the cover on the last page, it somehow slips my mind.

As an author, I should know better. I know how important reviews can be, as well as the value of word-of-mouth promotion --- especially word-of-mouth promotion. When looking for a book to purchase, I often check the posted reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I realize that many of the 5-star reviews come from family and friends of the author, but you can still glean a lot from what people say about a book.

The competition for an author these days is fierce. Even with social media as a means of getting the word out, one voice can get lost among the oh-so-many. But we still have a sphere of influence, and we ought to use it when we can. The books we read that are really good, that move us in some way, need to be shared with other readers. And posting reviews, or promoting a good book on FaceBook, Twitter, or other outlets, is a good way to do that.

I appreciate any review my books get, but I love it when someone I don't know says something good about one of my novels in a review or in a post somewhere. And I especially love it when that reader takes time to contact me personally. It's made me so much more aware as a reader that I should do that as well. And I have, many times.

Readers and writers, we're in this together. Writers are looking for readers, and readers are looking for writers. Proverbs 15:23 says, "A word in due season, how good it is!" A review or other means of promotion for an author or book we like can be that good word. It can benefit other readers who are looking for something worthwhile in which to invest their time and money, and it certainly benefits the author, who works so hard to build their audience.

Do you rely on reviews when selecting a book to read? If you hear a good review about a book, does it entice you to check it out?

A Too Social Media

The winner of a copy of Latayne C. Scott's The Mormon Mirage is Edna! Hey Edna, we have your e-mail address and Latayne will be in touch with you to collect your mailing address.

We'll announce the next book give-away Wednesday, September 2.

And yes, we are reading through the entries for the Audience with an Agent contest. We are close to choosing the winning entries, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit longer before we announce them. I know! I know! Ick to waiting!

If I had read Patti's most recent post a few weeks ago, I might have come up with a different response - but I read it this week, and it just so happens that this week is the week several things happened in tandem to reshape my thoughts about the writer and social media.

I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Shoutlife, Virtual Bookshelf, and several other social media sites - truthfully? I've managed to forget about many of these sites. Yesterday, I received a friend request in my e-mail to a group I didn't think I'd ever heard of never mind belonged to. Turns out I do belong to the group.

Later, I was on Twitter reading a few tweets - and I read a jaw dropping tweet from someone I'm following - the person broadcast details of a phone conversation she'd just had with a friend of hers. Personal details. Very, very personal details. I felt betrayed by proxy - my heart broke for the friend who would have never guessed that the details of the conversation she'd just had with her trusted friend would, moments later, be broadcast to the internet. Frankly, it stopped me in my tracks. And it got me thinking more carefully about not just the time I spend online, but the quality of my contribution.

I haven't chosen to fast from being online, but I have recently trimmed down my online activities to the most valuable, interesting, and compelling sites that I will participate in on a regular basis (you can bet this site tops the list!). I also have a short list of questions and criteria I run by everything I post - especially those quick 140 characters, so tantalizingly easy to write. But once they are out there - they are out there. You can't "un-send".

I've found an online rhythm that works for me. And I promise you won't see me my Facebook status reporting a friend's secret, or me tweeting the details of my PMS episode, or how bored I am (all stuff I've seen). Instead, I'm working to succeed at the most important thing about being online; connecting with people in meaningful ways.

How about you? Have you seen things online that made you rethink what you were doing? Have you found your online rhythm? We'd love to hear about what you've learned and accomplished.