Please review The Confessions on... Amazon (no, really!)
Let the stars fall as they may!
Well, gosh. A lot has happened in the two days since The Confessions was published.
I did my first book reading, for which Sarah and Eli created this amazing window display…
…and that’s about all I remember from the evening thanks to the combination of exhaustion and adrenaline. I’m told it went very well, and I know Sarah asked amazing questions, and we sold an ass-ton of books, all of which I assume I signed.
The professional reviews of The Confessions continue to be good and kind, which remains a relief. I particularly love the bookstagrams…
BUT what’s really exciting is that the first of the reviews from actual, honest-to-god readers have started to land. I dared to glimpse at Goodreads for the first time and, thank God, folks over there don’t hate it…
Except maybe…
(harsh but fair)
Meanwhile over at Amazon, the first reviews are already coming in…
Oh, Amazon! As much as I dislike Jeff Bezos, there’s no denying his dominance of bookselling and Amazon’s importance in determining which books become bestsellers. In fact, I’d argue that Amazon product reviews carry even more weight than those on (the Amazon-owned) Goodreads.
Books with 4 stars or above on the site (The Confessions is currently at 4.1* and creeping upwards) get more visibility and, therefore, more sales. And of course they also help boost interest in the audio and Kindle versions of The Confessions.
I can’t control if readers enjoy the book, and if they leave a one star DNF or a five star rave. And that’s a good thing! All I can do is write the best book I’m able, and then let the stars fall as they may.
BUT I’m guessing Best Bookstore customers are more likely to have known a bit about the book before buying it, and therefore it’s more likely that they got what they expected/hoped for vs a random shopper who might have though they were buying something different, or who are frustrated at Amazon’s packaging, or some other unrelated thing.
For that reason I find myself in the weird position, for an indie bookseller, of asking you to leave an honest review on Amazon, even if particularly if you bought the book from us or a different indie store, or borrowed it from the library. Amazon is fine with you doing this, so long as you’ve read the book and the review reflects your honest opinion.
So, for the first and probably last time, here’s an Amazon link here on Citizen Bookseller. IF you’ve read The Confessions and IF you enjoyed it and IF you feel so inclined, I’d love for you to...
Leave an honest review of the Confessions on Amazon!
Same if you’ve listened to the audiobook or downloaded onto your Kindle. It all counts!
(I’m listening to the audio version myself now - available on Audible, Libro.fm, etc - and narrator/actor Allyson Ryan did an incredible job. More on that when I’ve finished listening!)
And again, THANK YOU to everyone who has bought the Confessions or borrowed it from the library. It’s such a thrill to know that so many of you are finally meeting Maud, Kaitlan, LLIAM and all these characters I love so much.
Onwards!
Paul