The Value of a Review

By and large most authors write to have their words read by others. Sure, some of us may write for the shear pleasure – and I have found myself doing so – but at the end of the day we are hopeful that somebody…anybody…will find value in our creativity and want to read more. Sadly, publishing isn't simply an "if you build (write) it they will come" business.

Reviews are an integral part of marketing a novel. They can also be extremely difficult to come by. There are paid sources to gain a review, but I always looked at these as having your mother tell you how good looking you are – it's her job to do that! For me, the challenge of getting Asylum Lake reviewed in mainstream media outlets proved to be a great motivator; it made me work hard not just at writing, but at selling. Trust me, I sent out plenty of free copies of Asylum Lake to media outlets only to never hear back, yet I pressed on and eventually found myself to be successful. The first review is always the most difficult to obtain. My best advice — start local and then expand. Of course, every author wants to be reviewed in the New York Times – and maybe one day I will – but the satisfaction from seeing my review in On The Town Magazine was tremendous.