Two weeks ago, despite the wonderful interaction that I have regularly with my amazing readers, I was really questioning whether I should continue writing at all.

I bet you’ve seen authors begging for reviews before, right? I am sure some of us even make a nuisance of ourselves begging for them. It’s a tough gig, writing. In some ways, it’s tougher now for new and emerging authors (even established authors!) in many ways than it ever has been in the past.

But Jess, you might be thinking, how can it be harder? Anyone can write a book now. Everyone can get their book out there. How is that harder?

Well, like many indie authors, I have found that word of mouth has been the way that a good percentage of people discover my books. Before the invention of the Amazon Kindle, which made e-reading an easy way to get your paws on virtually millions of e-Books, authors were at the mercy of literary agent and publishing houses. With so many gatekeepers in place, it was often impossible to even get noticed, let alone published. 

Now, it’s true that anyone *can* write a book. Does that mean that everyone *should*? Well, that is not for me to say, of course, but with the market flooded with hundreds of millions of titles (if not more!!) indie authors like myself might as well be a single drop of water in the ocean trying to grab someone’s attention.

Which is why we beg for reviews. 

Amazon is certainly not the only e-retailer available, but the absolute truth is that it is the BIGGEST. It’s the elephant in the room, so to speak. And love it or hate it, because of it’s enormous clout in making or breaking the careers of new and established authors, the reviews left by YOU are vitally important. 

First, they let other readers know what your honest opinion of an author’s work is. I can’t tell you how many times I have purchased an item online based on reviews alone. Second, the number of reviews left on a book’s Amazon link is one of the major deciding factors in whether it gets into the also boughts section — that place around the middle of the page that tells you “Customers like you also bought” — which gets our stories in front of people that might never have been looking for them.

So, back to two weeks ago. I was feeling pretty down about the quantity of (or lack of) reviews on my titles, and, like an angel sent from literary heaven, a wonderful reader of mine reviewed book one of my Getting Back to Oz trilogy, Winnie’s Courage, and y’all, it SAVED MY DAY. 

It’s so easy to leave a review on products that let us down, but when it comes to books, leaving a review could quite possibly be the one thing that keeps your favorite author going another day, pushing to finish the next book, and refusing to toss in the towel. Do you usually leave reviews? If yes, what motivates you the most to leave one? If not, is there a specific obstacle to you writing a review (good or bad)? 

I’d love to know!