Simone Pond's Blog - Posts Tagged "book-reviews"
The City Center
I'm down to the last rounds of edits and the book cover design for The City Center.
While my manuscript is with my editor I'm contacting bloggers for book reviews. I won't lie, it's not my favorite part of the process, but I've been in advertising for twenty years, so I know marketing is vital.
In a time when we're constantly being bombarding with information it can be tough to stand out. You just never know if your book is going to take off. But I know for sure that the best marketing tool ever invented is Word of Mouth.
And that is one tool nobody can buy.
While my manuscript is with my editor I'm contacting bloggers for book reviews. I won't lie, it's not my favorite part of the process, but I've been in advertising for twenty years, so I know marketing is vital.
In a time when we're constantly being bombarding with information it can be tough to stand out. You just never know if your book is going to take off. But I know for sure that the best marketing tool ever invented is Word of Mouth.
And that is one tool nobody can buy.
Book Reviews
I love readers who take the time to write a review. Readers might not know how much this means to an author. Let me tell you - it means A LOT.
We spend countless hours alone in our heads with characters who we'll never actually get to meet and then we release them into your care. It's nice to know when the hard work has been enjoyed by someone. When a reader takes the time to write a review this tells the world they care about books. New authors, especially independents like myself, can't make it without the help of engaged readers. Reviewers give us a voice to reach other readers. I don't even mind the harsh reviews (well, unless they're hurtful and offer zero constructive criticism). I try not to invest my emotions in the harsher reviews, but rather try to glean something from them. There's always something to learn and apply moving forward. On the contrary, when I accidentally come across a review that is just plain mean and pointless, I try to conjure up some compassion for the person. I tell myself there must be something deeper going on in their hearts and souls. Or . . . maybe they just really hated the book.
One of the most important lessons I've learned is that you can't please everyone.
I'm writing this to give a note of thanks to those who have taken the time to share their thoughts with an endless sea of strangers. Thank you for reading my words and sharing yours with me.
We spend countless hours alone in our heads with characters who we'll never actually get to meet and then we release them into your care. It's nice to know when the hard work has been enjoyed by someone. When a reader takes the time to write a review this tells the world they care about books. New authors, especially independents like myself, can't make it without the help of engaged readers. Reviewers give us a voice to reach other readers. I don't even mind the harsh reviews (well, unless they're hurtful and offer zero constructive criticism). I try not to invest my emotions in the harsher reviews, but rather try to glean something from them. There's always something to learn and apply moving forward. On the contrary, when I accidentally come across a review that is just plain mean and pointless, I try to conjure up some compassion for the person. I tell myself there must be something deeper going on in their hearts and souls. Or . . . maybe they just really hated the book.
One of the most important lessons I've learned is that you can't please everyone.
I'm writing this to give a note of thanks to those who have taken the time to share their thoughts with an endless sea of strangers. Thank you for reading my words and sharing yours with me.
