Leaving a review

by Rain Trueax

 waxing moon from February 25th

Wow, it is the last day of February and a Leap Year. I have not heard anything spiritually important about it being the 29th, but kind of cool to see it. There was a time when women could propose to men in a Leap Year-- that was in the old days before that became a more routine possibility. 

We had a wonderful visit with my brother. After years with less time together than we would have liked, a week was a true gift. My mind then was totally on having as much time with him as possible as well as making sure he had some fun experiences.

Now, however, my mind is turning back to writing-- in particular my books and reviews. How much do readers understand how important their reviews are to books, that they are part of the reading experience? It's not just about sales but also letting readers know about stories they enjoyed as well as those they did not. Reviews are about a conversation as sometimes someone agrees or disagrees with a review they read. 

book covers

 by Rain Trueax

At one time to buy a book required heading to a bookstore. For some, it still does. When browsing down the shelves, what you see are mostly splines. The author's name and a title either attract or you go on. Only when you draw out the book do you see the cover. The cover isn't the reason you pull that book out but seeing it might be why you read the back cover and a bit of text. In bookstores, covers might matter to readers; but they are not the initial draw. They are not the hook.

Today, many of us get our books online. As we skim along or maybe get an email encouraging us to purchase, usually, the first thing we see is the cover with its title. It then is very important as a turn on or off (maybe less so in non-fiction). The business of covers changed with eBooks and the addition of writers, who were not in corporations, where the choice of covers was given to "professionals".

when a review turns sour lol

by Rain Trueax

Even though my time is almost up here, I have to share this. I came home from town and saw a review for one of my books at a review site. To say the least, it was not flattering to the book. I thought readers here might like seeing it. It is part of the writer's life.

Facebook Rain Trueax author page

If you check it out, read the review as I did a screenshot of it. Then hey, hit like for my page. Facebook likes it when our pages get likes-- so do I :)