50 is the magic number!

I hear many readers say they never write reviews having read a book. I always do, always have and will continue to do so fora variety of reasons. The main reason being, its my way of 'thanking' an author for the entertainment that they've brought to my day. Be it an hour, here or there, over a few days or weeks, they've entertained me with their imagination, spoken gently to me on my darkest days and made me laugh when others failed. I'm grateful for the role books have played in my life, at every stage of the game and I hope that continues long into my future.

Since being published, I now know the sheer delight of seeing my books reviewed and discovering a gem of a comment that makes my day! Seriously, some of my reviews have genuinely made my heart sing, cry and smile all day on reading them, and rereading on certain occasions.

In our modern world of algorithms and on-line marketing the once meagre star review, overlooked by many, has become a powerful player in determining the showcasing of our books. For Amazon, the magic number is 50! If a book doesn't achieve this number of genuine reviews it will begin to fade from view as it is deemed that the general interest and traffic for that item is insignificant on their website. Hit 50 reviews and beyond - magic starts to happen. Depending upon the amount of footfall traffic, on-line purchases and interest paid Amazon begins including the title in their on-line publicity. Publishers are offered specific price costings, authors see their books offered for monthly deals or specific sponsor opportunities are suggested. 

And all this happens because a reader left a simple star rating - it doesn't have to be a page and a half of detailed analysis that would please an English literature teacher! Though I would be quite pleased, but don't expect me to mark and grade it - see what I did there? So next time you finish a book, anyone's book not just mine, log-on to Amazon and Goodreads - even if you didn't buy the book from them, just do it - decide what's a fair star rating and leave it as your 'thank you'. I guarantee there's a very grateful author. If it's one of my books - I'll probably dance around the lounge, smile repeatedly and even cry, if your review touches on my reasons for writing that book. A note regarding my reviews on Amazon.uk.co - if you see there's one 'like' underneath your review - that's me, saying I've read and appreciate your time.

Now, go back and study the photo of my latest book ... 46! Finger crossed, I'll have reached the magic 50 after the weekend.



P.S. that's not an invite for certain 'unkind' types to leave their infamous 1 star and no comment reviews!*

​* one day, I'll tell you a story about a reviewer who stalked me! 

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Update:​​ Thank you, thank you, thank you to the reviewers ... '51' reviews posted!