It takes a village

Everyone knows that it takes an entire community of people interacting with children, supporting and encouraging them, in order for them to thrive. Well, the same principle applies to books. It takes a village to effectively promote a book. But what exactly does that mean?

There are over two million books published every year. Over 300,000 in the U.S. alone. Stop to think about that for a minute. Of course, that includes fiction and non-fiction and I don’t have the statistics by genre. Still, imagine how many mystery novels are released in a twelve month period. Now, picture one book lost in that sea of books. The bottom line: an author can’t successfully promote his or her book alone. We need your help.

So, as a reader, what can you do? Here are a few suggestions: 

1. If you read a book and love it, spread the word. Tell everyone you know about it. Because the most effective means of promotion is word of mouth.
2. Write a positive review on amazon and Goodreads. I know this sounds like a lot of work but, believe me, once you do it, you’ll see how easy it is. A lot of readers have the mistaken impression that writing a review is similar to writing a book report. It isn’t. One or two sentences telling what you enjoyed most about the book can make all the difference in the world.
3. Purchase a paper copy of the book you enjoyed and give it to a reader on your shopping list. An avid reader will love nothing more than receiving a book for Christmas or their birthday.
4. Follow your favorite authors on amazon and Goodreads. That way, you’ll get a notification whenever they publish a new book.
5. Take a chance on a new (to you) author. It’s fine to read the novels by Big Name authors but you’re missing out if you don’t give small press and self-published authors a chance. Not all writers can be a Mary Higgins Clark or a James Patterson but we all have stories to tell that you just might love.

It takes a village

There are a staggering number of books published in the world every year. Although it's difficult to pinpoint the exact number, it's safe to say we're talking about several hundred thousand in the U.S. alone. Stop to think about that for a minute. 

With all that competition, here's the bottom line: an author can’t successfully promote his or her book alone. We authors need your help. So, as a reader, what can you do? 

·       When you read a book you really enjoyed, spread the word. Tell everyone you know about it. Because the most effective means of promotion is word of mouth.

·       Write a positive review on amazon and Goodreads. I know this sounds like a lot of work but, believe me, once you do it, you’ll see how easy it is. A lot of readers have the mistaken impression that writing a review is similar to writing a book report. It isn’t. A four or five star rating and one or two sentences telling what you enjoyed most about the book can make all the difference in the world.

·       Purchase a paper copy of the book you enjoyed and give it to a reader on your shopping list. An avid reader will love nothing more than receiving a book for Christmas or their birthday.

·       Follow your favorite authors on amazon and Goodreads. That way, you’ll get an email notification whenever they publish a new book.

·       Take a chance on a new (to you) author. It’s fine to read the novels by Big Name authors but you’re missing out if you don’t give small press and self-published authors a chance. Not all writers can be a Mary Higgins Clark or a James Patterson but we all have stories to tell that you just might love.

Book Bashing

We authors are constantly asking our readers to spread the word about our books. To tell their friends, to review them on Amazon and Goodreads and to recommend them on Bookbub. 

There are so many books out there and we want our books to “stand out in the crowd,” to be read by as many people as possible. After all, that’s why we write. We have something to say that we believe will benefit others.

Word of mouth, reviews and recommendations are crucial to the success or failure of a book. Words have power! The more positive reviews a book gets, the better its chances. By the same token, too many negative reviews can result in fewer readers.

One of my favorite quotes, “One man’s garbage is another man’s gold” says it all, which is why my personal policy is to NEVER write a review unless I believe a book deserves at least 4 stars. 

Because reviewing a book is not the same thing as reviewing a toaster.

The toaster either performs as it’s supposed to or it doesn’t. If you review the toaster, you’re helping others to make a decision as to whether or not they should buy it. That’s a good thing.

But a book review is subjective, based solely on the reviewer’s opinion. Not on fact. Because the fact is we all have different tastes. I might not like a book you would love and vice versa.

So, if you're ever tempted to write a negative review for a book, please think twice. Ask yourself this question: Do I want to be a book promoter or a book basher?

Word of Mouth

Everyone knows the best promotion is word of mouth. One person tells another person who tells another person who tells someone else and the word is out. 

Although I’m sure the BIG NAME authors rely on word of mouth too, it’s crucial to those of us who are lesser known authors. You see, we don’t have a staff of promoters and an unlimited advertising budget. For many of us, it’s just us. We do what we can to get the word out about our books but without readers to help us do that, we’re not going to sell many books. 

And, let’s face it, that’s why we write. We spend long hours at our computers telling our stories in order to get our books in the hands of as many readers as possible. Because we believe that what we write will help other people. That, through our books, they can escape into another world where they'll be entertained and possibly enlightened.

In addition to being a mystery writer, I’m an avid mystery reader and many of my friends are too. They’re very supportive of my books, which I greatly appreciate, and they frequently ask me for suggestions on other books to read. I love to pass along the names of authors whose books I’ve enjoyed and I encourage my friends to spread the word to their friends.

I hope you’ll do the same.