Reviews matter. As an author, illustrator or publisher, reviews matter. Not only do they help readers find books that might suit their reading styles, they also help convince booksellers to promote your books to prospective customers. Reviews are particularly important for authors and illustrators working with smaller independent publishers who don’t necessarily have the marketing and promotional heft of larger publishing houses.
I have been encouraging (one step above begging) my readers to share their reviews of my books on Amazon, as I am currently woefully low on reviews on this retail behemoth. As the Raincity Software Engineer rightly pointed out, however, I haven’t exactly been an active reviewer myself! How hypocritical of me to ask others to do something that I haven’t been doing myself! And so, starting now, I have decided to put my money where my mouth is, and start dedicating a few minutes each week to share reviews of the many books I have discovered and loved. I’ll be writing reviews on both Amazon.ca and Indigo.ca – I am Canadian, after all, and I want to spread the book love and knowledge as far as possible!
If you have a minute, would you consider sharing a review for one of my books on your bookselling website of choice? I completely understand that not everyone shops on Amazon (in order to share reviews on Amazon you need to have spent $50 on the site in the past 12 months, which obviously not everyone does), but a review on the Indigo website, Barnes & Noble website, or wherever you make your book purchases would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for your continued support!