THE MODERN READER: The modern reader’s power to influence

One of my least favorite parts about launching a new story into the world is the necessity for reviews.  I’m not talking about magazine, ezine, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, or Library Journal reviews, which I have no control over.  The publisher sends out review copies, and they either review it or they don’t.  With my books it’s mostly a case of they don’t, or at least if they do I never hear about them.  The one exception is a pretty decent review Library Journal gave me for Broken Angel.

I still think those big reviews are important, but in today’s world of shared information and the rise of e-commerce, Amazon.com specifically, those big reviewers have a little less clout than they once did.  Now that readers can share their opinions and experiences with a book they’ve read and make their words a part of public record, they are able to more directly influence other potential readers.  This isn’t a new thing, word of mouth has always been important, but now that word of mouth can become a part of the public record, forever attaching itself to a book’s list of particulars and statistics, it often becomes a deciding factor for other potential readers.  Those five stars and glowing review, or one star and scathing deconstruction, you gave a book that you really enjoyed, or really hated, will help others viewing that book’s page to decide to buy it, or not as the case may be.

Some sites that exist to highlight books and bring new reading material to the attention of potential readers won’t even consider listing a book, even if it does happen to be #13 on Amazon’s best-selling Hard-Boiled crime list, if it doesn’t have enough reader reviews (A Face Full of Ugly – From The Misadventures of Butch Quick for example, had around three hundred downloads in the first day of its release, not amazing, but not bad, and zero reader reviews).  So when I’m told We need reviews ASAP, I know it’s a fact, but there’s a problem.  Most readers don’t bother to review a book they’ve purchased, read, and maybe even loved.  They aren’t being neglectful; they are in no way required to review anything they buy.  It’s not their problem. They did their part by paying for it. We shouldn’t ask more of them. But, things in the book business being what they are, we now do.  It’s almost required.  Hell, give it another few years and we’ll be contractually obligated to make sure our books get a minimum number of five star reviews.  You think I’m joking.  Maybe I am.  Maybe I’m not.  I guess time will tell.

So, I have one new story, a novella called A Face Full of Ugly, and a novel from the same series, The Misadventures of Butch Quick, called Sex, Death & Honey coming out on Friday.  I’m excited as hell.  I’ve been writing about Butch Quick for a long time, and he’s just starting to meet the reading public.  I love it, and I love that people seem to be enjoying him as much as I do, but I’ve arrived at that uncomfortable part of the release that makes me squirm.  The necessary pimping to make sure that people are aware Butch Quick has arrived, and to try to make him stand out in the crowd.  There are probably hundreds of other books coming out at the same time, and all their authors jumping up and down and waving their arms in the air to get some attention.  So, after annoying friends, family, and social media contacts with my continuous pimping, I go after the hard core of people who have shown me the most loyalty, the friends and readers who seem genuinely excited about my new project, who have bought copies, read them, fed my ego on praise, and I inconvenience them further buy asking for reviews.

I try not to be too pushy about it.  I say only if you’re up to it, and only honest reviews, if you didn’t like it, say you didn’t like it.  Neither my publisher nor I would ever stoop to soliciting dishonest reviews.  I may be a writer, but I do have some standards.

One thing I’m finding, and much to my surprise, are readers feeling surprised and flattered to be asked.  As if they don’t think their opinion matters … no one cares what they think … who are they, a reader, to post commentary about the work of a published author?

For all of you doubt the importance of the reader in the world of publishing, I would like to correct you, gently though, right here and now.

You, the reader, are the most important person in the writer’s working life.  You, the reader, are the most important person in the publisher’s working life.  You, the reader, are reason there is a book to buy.  Without you, there would be no point.  I might as well be composing symphonies with kazoos and armpit farts.

You, the reader, through word of mouth, your praise and criticism, can lift a book onto the bestsellers list or sink it only feet from the dock that launched it.  You have always had that power, and now you have more of it than ever before.  By making your opinions known in shared information space, making your words visible to more people than will probably actually read the book you’re sharing information about, you can convince other readers to try something new.  You can lift a new author or character from the obscuring white noise of a million competing releases.

It’s not an obligation.  It is a power; a power no other generation of readers has had quite as much of as you.

Now that you know you have this power, it’s up to you to decide to use it.

I won’t give you the With great power comes great responsibility speech.  I’ll leave that one to Steven, who would probably do a much better job of it anyway.

Brian Knight