You’ve bought the final book of your favourite trilogy, taking the time to read all 300 pages, and have turned the last page of that final chapter – now what? With so many great authors in the self-publishing space, it is important to give your favourite writer the recognition they deserve. Reviews and recommendations are important in achieving this, helping to build-up new indie authors and drive the momentum of the self-publishing world.
Cream rises to the top
Similar to most other industries, authors rely on their audience to be the driving marketeers of their product. For centuries, word-of-mouth has played an important role in determining book-reading habits; anything from the Gutenberg Bible to Journey to the West and even the recent TikTok “phenomenon” – Iron Flame. Of course, traditional marketing methods of promotion go a long way for building popular bases, especially in the beginning, but readers always want to hear from other readers to determine which book they pick from the shelf. Building consumer trust, these reviews ensure the safe development of an active audience which encourages new authors to come to the fore. We should consider this particularly important for our indie authors, who may lack the sizable marketing budget without a giant publishing company behind them. Instead, a strong set of book recommendations can be a driving force for helping the indie author shine through, as good as any £1000 put behind advertising.
To ensure the book industry continues to be as creative, thoughtful and ambitious as it already is, we need to make sure that we are continuing to bring the right authors to the limelight. Supporting your favourite authors, self-published or otherwise, can keep ensuring that the cream continues to rise to the top.
“Have you heard about this author?”
There are many ways you can review books, including using common platforms such as social media, GoodReads and Amazon. Beyond these well-known review spaces, it is also important to support authors by recommending great novels to friends and inviting new finds to book clubs too. Despite the individualistic characteristics required of reading (shutting myself off from people around me on a crowded bus comes to mind), there is still a strong social aspect when it comes to the hobby; encouraging whispered recommendations to friends, family, colleagues and communities. The importance of these recommendations cannot be understated. If you ever glance at the back page of a book, you’ll spot a series of quotes from a range of authors (mostly George RR Martin these days). Reviews are an intrinsic part of the book industry, playing an important role in driving the readership of your favourite authors books.
It’s easy to move onto the next book without taking time to consider what you’ve just put down, I know I’ve done it in the past. But if we take the time to support the authors we like, we can build a better and stronger platform to ensure the best of literature (self-published or not) gets the attention it truly deserves.