This is a confession .
I’ve come to realize that I do very little to help the authors who work so hard to write the books I love. I derive a lot of pleasure from the books I read. Long wait at the oil change place? No problem, I’ve got a book. I don’t do enough to support the writers of those boredom-repelling novels.
Okay, in the pure commerce sense I do support them. I buy the books. I trade my cash for their commodity. Fair, right? And yet… when I read something that really hits home, something that transplants me to another place, another life, I wish that I could do something extra to say thanks. When the experience is worth more than what I paid for it, I want to show my gratitude.
Here’s my confession: I’ve never once written an Amazon review. Or an iTunes review. Or a review on Barnes and Noble.
How terrible is that? I used to beg for reviews every week on my podcast, but I never actually wrote one myself.
Writing a review is quite simply the easiest and most effective way to help an artist you love. Artists live and die by their reviews on digital platforms. Amazon reviews factor into buyers’ decisions. If I loved a book, why wouldn’t want to tell others they might love it too?
Sure, some of the authors I read and loved last year probably don’t need my review. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King is sitting pretty at 4,483 reviews on Amazon. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman has 2,207. But other authors I enjoy do need my help.
The Last Kind Words by Tom Piccirilli has only 102 reviews. Come on! That was the best crime novel I’ve read in years! So why don’t I make it 103?
Robert Swartwood’s Man of Wax has 59. A concept that cool deserves a bump up to 60.
The awesome short story collection Diving Belles by Lucy Wood has 29. And I already have a review written right here in this website! All I’d have to do is paste it into Amazon!
So it’s resolution time. This year, every time I read a book I love, I will post a review on Amazon. Every time.
Join me. Support your favorite authors. Help them to be found and read by other people just like you. It’s the best way of saying thanks.