You Too Should Write A Review

My newest book, Easy Evil, will be out in a few weeks and already I'm trying to dream up ways to persuade my friends and fans to write reviews.

Reviews, you say? You mean those things in the New York Times?

I wish I could be reviewed by the Times. But no. There are professional reviews, written by journalists, and then there are the reviews written by everyday folk who like, or dislike, a book and then feel compelled to share their feelings about it.

My goal for Easy Evil is to collect so many reader reviews that potential buyers on Amazon and elsewhere, are stunned by the numbers. And, hopefully, motivated to purchase the book based on the good things people have to say.

Reader opinions shared on Amazon, on Barnes and Noble, Good Reads and other sites are called Point of Sale reviews. They can be critically important to the sales of a book because they reflect the way consumers feel about it.

Say I read a Twitter post about a book, click through to its Amazon page, and see dozens of five-star reviews and great commentary. A bunch of 5-stars. You can be darn sure I'll edge my finger ever closer to that button that will buy and send the thing to my e-reader.

Now here's the catch. A lot of ordinary readers don't understand that their reaction to a book is so important to the life-cycle of that author's work. But, frankly, it's the electronic equivalent of shouting from the rooftops.

You don't have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning writer to write a review. And what you write doesn't have to be more than a few sentences long. What's essential is that you make your opinion known...on Amazon, on Barnes and Noble...and even on your blog or Twitter page. Even on Facebook. Anywhere you have online friends...you have a ready audience.

A simple "I liked Easy Evil by Doug M Cummings because . . . will spread the good news.

Even a "I didn't like Easy Evil by Doug M. Cummings because . . . is useful. As someone once said, "all publicity is good publicity" or something like that.

Notice how I've gone from talking generally about reviews to casually suggesting you write one?

Give it some thought when the book comes out, will you? Maybe even go to Amazon and see how it's done. The process is easy and ... bottom line ... I will really appreciate your taking the time to do it.