The Reviews are Coming In!

Any savvy indie writer knows that when you release a new book, you should send out some advance review copies to people well before the release date, so that when your book goes live on Amazon it will already have a star rating and a few reviews. Not being a savvy indie writer, I did not do this, so Sword of the Feara sat almost two months with no stars and no ratings. This is important because people don't like to buy books without some idea that someone else read it and liked it. Since virtually anyone can publish anything these days, it's kind of understandable that readers want to see some reviews before purchasing.

Well, the reviews are starting to come in and I am very pleased so far. Three people have rated Sword of the Feara, all giving the book five stars! Two of these people have been kind enough to write a few sentences of review (also important for sales). Here is the first: 

I've had family and friends tell me they liked a book, but to see that someone else enjoyed it on this level and liked it enough to take the time to write out these words is the kind of thing that keeps authors going. I nearly wrote two whole chapters of the sequel the day this review came in. The next one was equally gratifying.

While the Tolkien comparison is one that I obviously don't want to invite, I was so glad that this reader was taken back to the kind of old school fantasy novels I enjoyed too when I was younger. What really touched me about this review is that they shared it with their child. I first got into the fantasy genre when I sat with my dad listening to the Hobbit as a kid, and to think I recreated that same thing for someone else's child really makes the act of writing a joy.

I certainly don't expect the string of perfect five-star ratings to continue, and that's fine. No book is for everyone. But I do look forward to reading every review and seeing every star rating that comes in, because that means people are reading my work and it is moving them to take that little extra effort of providing feedback. Hopefully, the more I accumulate, the more people will give Sword of the Feara a chance.