Reader Reviews – We Indie Authors NEED Them!!

From time to time I request people who have read my books to please consider writing a review on Amazon in order to share their thoughts with other potential readers. I know I have said this before, but if a book receives a certain number of reviews Amazon will begin to include those books in their promotions.

People e-mail me and sometimes speak to me in a parking lot or an aisle in a supermarket … or recently in a doctor’s office … to tell me they’ve read and enjoyed one of my books. I generally don’t ask them on the spot for an Amazon Reader Review under those circumstances! But the point is, many people have read at least one of my books and expressed their enjoyment. Many more people than have left reviews. Reader Reviews are not only helpful in making Amazon notice us in the vast Amazon Book Jungle … but another potential reader might just read that review and actually buy a book!

One thing I don’t believe people know: it’s not necessary to have bought a copy of the book. You can borrow it from your neighbor or mother. You will see “verified purchase” on many of the reviews, but not on ALL. You can express your thoughts, or at least rate a book, simply because you have read it. It’s really not a difficult process, and the review doesn’t have to be long or “scholarly.” A very recent review which I loved finding over the past weekend reads:

“This is the third book in the "Carousel Trilogy "and I have read all three and the each were so moving in their own individual way!
This book tells Jamie's story and we did get to know him in the first book of the series when he plays the male lead in a high school production of "Carousel ".He plays Billy Biggs and Melanie plays Julie Jordan.We get to see his great talent and his love for music in that production but he has sung all his life inspired by his beloved mother.
After a failed marriage to a woman totally wrong for him he is encouraged,by his mother,to pursue his musical career..
Since I don't want to give too much away you will just have to read this story and fall in love with Jamie Logan!”

I love this review. I have no idea how this reader stumbled across my books, but I love so much that she loved all three of the books in “The Carousel Trilogy” – How I Grew Up, Eli’s Heart (for which she also wrote a glowing review), and You Are My Song (the subject of this review). I also love that she fell in love with Jamie Logan. That’s what I had hoped the reader would do.

Writing a review, and I have written many for other indie authors because I know each one means so much, really takes very little time. It’s a round of applause for the author. If it’s a five-star review, it’s a standing ovation.

Every nice review warms the author’s heart. Yes, I write for myself. It’s a solitary process. But when I get a review that tells me a story of mine has moved a reader, it means more than you know. Our readers are our audience and we thrive on the applause!

Please visit my website www.susanmoorejordan.com

You will find information about and links to all of my books.