Power to the Reader. Power to the Writer.

Before the digital age the reader did not have that much power. Readers as a group did in so far that they could express their like for a particular author by buying their book but the individual reader, they had very little influence. Since the revolution, however, the power of the individual has grown exponentially. Whereas previously publisher only took notice of sale figures and the comments of reviews appearing in Sunday newspapers the rise of social media and internet based market platforms like Amazon has shifted that focus somewhat.

This shift has come about in a response to the growth of independent authors. Previously writers the output of such writers was termed ‘vanity publishing’ and scorned accordingly. There was even a belief that if you published your own work in your early struggling career then you were highly unlikely to be picked up by a literary agent or publisher later on.

Curiously this attitude never took root in the music industry where many fledgling artists, Elvis Presley amongst them, recorded their own work first. Indeed, the ‘demo tape’ became an essential method of attracting record company attention and was considered a legitimate means of doing so. No one ever referred to it as ‘vanity recording’.

Of course writing a book is a little different to writing a song. Books need to be proof-read and edited before they get anywhere near being published and that is a process that can take almost as long as writing the thing in the first place. For an independent author this represents a major task but in comparison to getting a literary agent to take on your work it attains a degree practicality.

With the arrival of the e-reader in the shape of Kindle and Kobo the market for electronic books has exploded. In fact the market has grown so quickly that a void appeared that traditional book publishers could not fill and it is this that has led to the appearance of the independent authors. Many were quick to exploit the new technology and to offer readers who were experimenting with this new form original work at a discounted price. A significant proportion of the readers liked what they found.

As with anything the quality of e-books varies enormously. There are some very good writers out there who failed to win attention from agents and publishers and yet who have found an audience in the e-book world. There are also some writers who turn out sub-standard work. To separate the wheat from the chaff marketplaces like Amazon offer purchasers a chance to both rate a product and write a review about it also. This has proven to be a very helpful tool that allows shoppers to get an idea about the product that they are thinking buying, however:

Like so many human inventions the review is open to abuse. There are, sadly, some people who have a habit of posting negative comments. I do not understand this approach but then I acquired the skills of constructive criticism at college. When I review a product on Amazon or a hotel of Trip Advisor I always do so honestly. I simply cannot see the point in taking the time to write a review, particularly about a book, that is intended to be hurtful only. Even if the book is that bad, a ‘stinker’ as Stephen Fry calls them, then follow the precept that if you cannot say anything good then say nothing at all. A product that has been out for some time and garnered no reviews is not likely to be on anyone’s shopping list after all.

It follows, however, that there is another side to this argument and it is one that I wish to make in respect of the independent author particularly; if you have something good to say then say it! New authors need reviews and ratings. It is beneficial in two ways. First, a series of good reviews brings attention to the author and this is what they both need and want. Having invested an awful lot of time and effort in their work the independent author would like someone to read it and express an opinion. They are not selfish in this respect, songwriters, actors, painters, in fact any instigator of a creative enterprise wants to know if the public likes what they do. It seems to be a natural human requirement.

In respect of independent authors the reader possesses tremendous power. They can talk almost directly to the author and tell them exactly what they thought of their work. For me as one such independent author it is a leap of faith to actually put my work out there into the public arena but I will never forget my response to reading the first detailed review of my book; it made everything worthwhile. I don’t have that many reviews to my name as yet, only 22, but they all mean something to me. They do to anyone who has spent time crafting a project, in whatever format, and putting it out there for people to consider.

I wonder if many readers appreciate the power that they have at their disposal through their digital connection with the e-book world? By taking the time to put together some comments, it does not have to be a critical essay after all – unless of course you are so motivated – the buyer can actually help an author that they like to reach a much wider audience. This is a power that the reader possesses. They can influence the career of someone else. They can become instrumental in spreading the word about a book that they have read and opening up the world it contains to other readers.

The majority of independent authors sell their books at discounted prices to begin with and although they dream of commercial success, I know I do, the reality is that they make very little money at it. My royalties do not amount to much even after selling over 1600 books but I love what I do. I create my won worlds in fiction and share them with other people who, for the most part, seem to like what I have done. I would like to reach more people, to have more readers, and everyone who buys a copy of my work can help in that respect. Hopefully, after reading this post you might be one such person who will do me the honour of rating my books and writing a brief honest review so as to encourage others to take the plunge,

Reviewers Required

Feedback, it is more important than a royalty cheque!
Of course it is always a happy moment to see that royalty payment being credited to your bank account but it is a fact that the size of your royalty also reflects the size of your readership.

Like so many other things in life it could be bigger!

Now one of the proven methods of expanding your readership is getting people to talk about your book and the best person to do that is someone who has read it. We all need someone to right us a review.

For some reason I have found getting a review rather difficult. To date I have sold over 1,200 books on the Kindle platform alone and yet I only have 12 reviews! 2 of these are on Amazon.com and the other 10 on Amazon.co.uk. This is pretty paltry by anyone’s standards, or so I think.

I don’t know what the secret is to getting people to write even a simple review of a book that they enjoyed (these are, after all, the best reviews). I know from my own experiences as an Amazon customer that they do their bit to encourage people to give some kind of feedback, even if it is just a rating of how many stars. The Amazon approach is something of a blanket however, it doesn’t seem to consider what you have bought. For example I bought a replacement iPod lead; does that really need a review? I rated the company because they offered the product that I wanted at a good price and with a speedy delivery, but I didn’t think that the lead itself required any comments. When it comes to something like a book or DVD or a CD, however, I always go back and leave a comment.

I don’t have any reticence about doing this but then I can use words, writing holds no fear for me, which is useful considering what I do! That said I generally do not leave critical essays on books simply because I do not believe that that is what prospective readers want to read. I know that when I browse sites like Amazon I always look at the reviews before buying. I have a habit of looking at both the best and the worst and then scant he others to find any patterns. This is useful because it means that I can discount those reviewers who have just uploaded their personal vitriol, most of which is usually unwarranted. Sadly I find many such examples when looking for books by independent authors.

The point is that reviews are immensely useful to both the author and the reader. An honest review not only give validation to the writer it also helps them discover what they are good at and what they may need to work on. I have certainly found some valuable guidance in the 12 reviews extant on my book The War Wolf, it helped me change for the better, I believe, the text in the second book, but how much more improved might that volume be if more than 1% of my readers had offered their comments on what they had read?

I posted on Twitter a few weeks back that giving an author a review was like giving them a hug. If you genuinely liked what you read then there’s something to that. Books are more personal than iPod leads, they touch our emotions, they take us to fantastic places, they expose us to new ideas, in fact a good book can give an awful lot to the reader; is a review and a star rating too much to ask for in return?

The Value of Honest Criticism

I have this intention in my writing life, when I encounter the work of another independent author I look to offer them a review of their opus. Reviews are useful for lots of reasons; people do actually read them on marketplaces like Amazon. They help get potential readers to at least glance at the book on offer. They are important.

It is because they are important that they should also be both honest and accurate. I am not of the persuasion that just because someone has put something into the public domain then it is fair game to be shoved through the mincer regardless of how this might hurt the feelings of the originator. The best criticism is constructive by nature. It is not enough to just post “this is crap!”

Just recently I finished a couple of books and wrote critiques for both of them. They were both works of historical fiction but I do read other genres. In each case when I went to post the reviews on Amazon, to whom I attach no blame whatsoever, I found that someone had posted very uncomplimentary reviews.

Although the writers were not the same the content of the reviews were similar in spirit, that is, they both awarded a single star and rubbished the writer’s efforts. In my opinion this was uncalled for, not least because it is totally unhelpful, in fact all it seemed to do was allow the post-writer an opportunity to vent their spleen. About what? About a book! Not a contentious book, nor one that was offensive. In both cases the books in question offered the reader an interesting tale set in the early medieval period.

Now a critic can talk about plot construction, the use of language, style, accuracy, syntax, character delineation, the engagement of the reader. Indeed, that is what a critic should do, but it takes a degree of skill and training to do this effectively; a bit like writing a book actually. The two one star posts did none of these things. They nit-picked without example, expressed personal opinion as an argument, offered no encouragement, and concentrated on the negative. They were not useful.

For a new author such critiques can have a far greater impact and lasting resonance than the actual weight of their content deserves. Such is the nature of the writer’s art that what we put out there is personal and sometimes it is difficult not to feel such barbs as a personal attack also.

I sincerely hope that the critiques that I post are both helpful and encouraging to new authors and prospective readers alike. It is easy to be cruel in this world but it does not take that much effort to be honest to someone who has taken the time and trouble to put their heart into their work.