Did
you know that right this very minute you could motivate someone beyond your
wildest dreams? It’s true. If by any chance you’ve ever read an indie author’s
work, and enjoyed it, the power is in your hand to fuel that person’s fire.
Does
it require any additional investment? Well if you’re referring to money, then
no. But if you’re talking about time, then yes, although not that much to be
honest.
You
see, motivation is a funny thing like that. You might ask: what difference can
one review make in the life of an indie writer.
The
answer: A TON.
In
general, people have no idea how hard it is to get a review for your work. And
by review, I obviously mean a legitimate review. I will speak in depth in
regards to other types of shady reviews eventually, but for now, let’s focus on
a genuine and real review. I’ve talked about this before and it’s something
I’ll continue talking about because people so often take themselves for granted
and just how much of an impact small actions can have, ESPECIALLY on the Writer
Journey of an indie author or any indie artist for that matter.
To
explain a bit better, let’s see my stats for my books. I’ve been at this indie
game now working on my fifth year. I’ve sold a sizeable amount of books,
connected with hundreds of people, thrown every fiber of my being into the work,
and I post un-monetized randomness all 5 business days of the week to get
people to smile. This includes Visual Typos, Teactionary, Tasty Tuesdays,
SkyThoughts, Sock it To Me, and the random yet popular 00 Bananas. I connect
with people, email thank you notes, never spam, reply to every single comment,
and try to have as much fun as possible. I also have people who borderline
harass me for Book 3 in the Human Cycle. People seem to genuinely like my work.
Yet my reviews are in the lower double digits if I’m lucky.
Some
people might say I’m not using the right tactics, not contacting the right
people, not searching for those opportunities and all of these are valid
points, but I do things my way, hate to pester people for a review, and alas,
Only Human has 28 reviews on Goodreads and my next most reviewed books are the Daydreams onthe Sherbet Shore (11 reviews) and Between the Tides (9 reviews). I have 12 books out and between them,
most of them have single digit reviews. Not only that, 3 of them don’t have a
review to them (For Writing Out Loud, Peace, Love and Maki Rolls, and Pensando
en Metáforas). So this means that the lion’s share of motivation honestly comes
from within, which should be the case anyways if you choose to be an indie
artist. But just one review, one comment, one share that is received and not
hustled for or solicited is huge. And although we appreciate a rating, it’s
never going to be the same. Sorry, but that’s the truth.
A
good review can pump me up when the ink isn’t flowing, when I wonder if the
effort is worth it, when I question the how in regards to the things I do. And
I don’t keep this a secret. I tell everyone how happy it makes me to show my
appreciation. I have dozens of friends who are on the same boat and when we
review any work, we don’t hold back. If it’s a pile of dung, you’ll get the
truth. But when the books hit the mark, we say so in as many ways as possible.
And it fuels us for days and weeks. Hell, on low days, checking an old review
can give new wind to our sails. I’m not joking. On Booktube, when people talk
about my work, it’s pretty awesome, especially when you listen to a comment
where it shows that the person got the concept or paid attention to some tiny
detail you thought most people wouldn’t notice. It hasn’t happened often that people talk about my work in a video, but
trust me, every single time it does, I’m giddy for days. The same when someone
sends fan art or takes a selfie with a book or tells a friend about a book. All
things that cost nothing, yet are priceless.
So
you see, in your power is the ability to talk about something different from
the norm. On your BookTube channel, there is the chance to talk about something
that isn’t a trend, isn’t the fad of the moment, although, hell, you could help
make a trend. That’s something a lot of people don’t realize. If enough people
talked about someone’s work, interest would rise, and more people would give
that author a chance. It’s not science, it’s word of mouth and it’s a hell of a
lot more effective than a facebook ad.
Share
a post, like, comment, all things that can help improve our performance with algorithms,
that are so detrimental to smaller authors. Did you read a book you really
enjoyed? Suggest it to a friend or a book club. Work at a school? See if it’s
something you could recommend to the administration so kids in your class can read. You know why? Because it’s
free and it can help someone’s dreams come true. Don’t wait until these
creators have a bad day. Seize the day and let them know if their work matters.
And if the work sucks, say so as well, but be constructive. All of this feeds
the fire and trust me, as indie authors, often times we’re braving the elements
while cupping our hands around a small flame. It hurts. It’s aggravating. But
that flame is our dream and we’ll be damned if we don’t do everything in our
power to keep that light lit. Still, some kindling is always welcome, and some
motivational gasoline is much obliged.
Peace,
love, and maki rolls
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