Review it!

Being an Indie author is hard work! As many of you know, I didn't choose this route but after my publisher closed it's doors in 2017 (two weeks before the release of The Haunting of Monroe Manse), I was thrust into the Indie world. It's taken five long years of edits, rewriting, more edits, more rewriting, and numerous failed attempts trying to upload the manuscript to the distributor. Nonetheless, I persevered (with God's help and a host of supportive family and friends). Now that the book is out in the world, it's time to shift from editing and uploading to marketing. Ugh. These are the days I REALLY miss my publicist!

An Indie author wears all the hats. We are the writer, editor, cover designer, technical support, and publicist. Granted, I paid for the editing and cover design (at some point you have to bring in the professionals:), which is not an inexpensive endeavor.

This is one of the reasons I encourage people to purchase one Indie book for every best seller. There are thousands of talented authors with marvelous stories that get lost amongst the glitz and glamor of the best selling stars. It's disheartening at times. But there's something, you the reader, can do to support an Indie author. It's free and only takes a few moments. Leave a review. That's it. Just log onto Amazon (or Barnes and Noble) and type a few words about how much you enjoyed the book.

Unbeknownst to many, Amazon will promote books once they reach a certain number of reviews. This is free publicity for an Indie author (those of us spending money for editors, cover designers, publicists, bourbon-well, you get the idea). Reviews not only alert Amazon that there's positive interest in your book, but it also informs other readers that it's worth taking a chance on an unknown author.

The process is simple.

1. Click on the book's page on Amazon.

2. Scroll about halfway down the page until you see 'customer reviews.'

3. you will see the following:

click on the 'write a review' button

click the number of starts (preferably four or five:)
Add a title (something brief)
type the review in the box (it doesn't have to be long, e.g., how much you liked the story, the writing, etc.).

when you're finished, click the 'submit' button.

By investing a few moments of your time, you've helped an Indie author spread the word about his/her book!

Review etiquette:

PLEASE do not leave bad reviews because the book arrived late or damaged. The review is not about Amazon or the delivery company, it's about the author. Too many times, I've read one and two star reviews only to discover the reader was angry because the book was damaged or the delivery took longer than expected. Be gracious when reviewing, and leave the review you would want to read if it was you being critiqued. Critiquing can be constructive without being cruel.