Why Authors Should Ask Readers for Reviews

A day after I wrote a post about asking people for what you want on Social Media, I finished reading Ginny Baird's 'The Sometime Bride'. Ginny's was the first ebook in 22 ebooks I've read until now to ask me to engage with her explicitly.

Here's what Ginny wrote -

A Note From the Author

Thanks for reading The Sometime Bride! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other people find this book.

1. This book is lendable, so send it to a friend who you think might like it so that she (or he) can discover me, too.

2. Help other people find this book: write a review.

3. Sign up for my newsletter, so that that you can learn about the next book as soon as it's available. Write to GinnyBairdRomance@gmail.com, with "newsletter" in the subject heading.

4. Come like my Facebook page.





Watch for my upcoming release, Real Romance, due out in May 2012!

Here's why I think more authors should do this.

Unlike most authors Ginny told me to share her book. Most authors tell you that the book you are reading is not lendable/shareable. This makes no sense as if I bought a paper book I would share it with friends, so why can't I do that with an ebook as freely. As an author would you consider the number of people who have read your book or would you just focus on how many people have paid for your book? Isn't the reason we write, to be read?

After reading Ginny's message i stopped to think about the story and characters of her book. I gave the idea of a review a definite consideration. I don't review all the books I read so asking definitely put 'The Sometime Bride' on my review list. My way of paying back an author for taking the time to write a book that I enjoyed is to review the book. Reviews help authors reach out to more readers and they work as great testimonials too. If you love books help authors reach out by reviewing their book.

I considered joining her newsletter and Facebook page. But what Ginny could have done better was check for typos and add a link to her Facebook page. I would have to search for her page on Facebook and thats a deterrent; giving me a link or way to find her page would have made me take action immediately.

I wish more authors would do this, it makes authors more approachable and human compared to that vague image I have of a person bend over a typewriter as I read a book. It gets me to like the author more, want to know more about the author and her books. Most importantly it builds a community of readers for an author for future books!