Shawna Hunter's Blog - Posts Tagged "reviews"
To-Be-Read...forever?
My sales are in the toilet lately. I do have a lot of stuff coming. A new book being considered by publishers, a short story coming out as part of a Halloween anthology later this year, a golden flogger nomination for Master May I? Being announced in August, a new story being edited and 2 in the process of being written. I have a lot to announce...save for 1 vital necessity.
I do not have any new reviews. Checking my books on Amazon Author Central and Goodreads is a painful daily ritual lately. I can see that dozens of people have my books marked as to-be-read and some have clicked the star rankings but its those actual reviews that matter. Nothing boosts sales more than readers who share their honest thoughts on a book. Readers have my books, my one publisher does a week long giveaway every few months, but it seems that no one is (figuratively) cracking the spines. My sexy stories are languishing in the dust of to-be-read shelves and not getting the attention that they so desperately need.
How do I change this? How do I get people to select my stories from overstuffed kindle shelves? And, once they do, how do I get them to take a moment to type out their thoughts on what they've read (good or bad) so that the discussions can stay fresh? I have no answers at this time.
I do not have any new reviews. Checking my books on Amazon Author Central and Goodreads is a painful daily ritual lately. I can see that dozens of people have my books marked as to-be-read and some have clicked the star rankings but its those actual reviews that matter. Nothing boosts sales more than readers who share their honest thoughts on a book. Readers have my books, my one publisher does a week long giveaway every few months, but it seems that no one is (figuratively) cracking the spines. My sexy stories are languishing in the dust of to-be-read shelves and not getting the attention that they so desperately need.
How do I change this? How do I get people to select my stories from overstuffed kindle shelves? And, once they do, how do I get them to take a moment to type out their thoughts on what they've read (good or bad) so that the discussions can stay fresh? I have no answers at this time.
An erotica author's hardest task
Alright,
So I've got a real challenge ahead of me. I need to find review blogs that deal with erotica without charging a fee. I have advanced copies of Lust Fairy and I need to built buzz ahead of the Nov 7th release date BUT that buzz needs to come from reliable blogs and reviewers. So few will tough erotica, however, as if the genre were something to be ashamed of.
Wish me luck,
The hunt begins.
So I've got a real challenge ahead of me. I need to find review blogs that deal with erotica without charging a fee. I have advanced copies of Lust Fairy and I need to built buzz ahead of the Nov 7th release date BUT that buzz needs to come from reliable blogs and reviewers. So few will tough erotica, however, as if the genre were something to be ashamed of.
Wish me luck,
The hunt begins.
The great review drought
I don't mean to complain...
thank you for reading.
...
:D
Anyway here's a long winded complaint to vent my frustrations. No one seems to review anymore. My sales have been steady (a bit dipped but up and down in general) and I know people are reading but no one is sharing their thoughts. Not here, Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Litsy, Booksprout, etc. It's as if people have simply stopped discussing books. I don't understand this. My stories get the same love/hate reactions as anything else and always seem to provoke people but no one has taken the time to so much as click a star rating.
That is horrible. Not only because it impacts sales but because it leaves me with no idea of what my audience likes or doesn't like. I know, I know, I shouldn't care and just write what I enjoy but I like to have a sense of who's buying, who's reading. As it stands I don't. I'm screaming into a void and sometimes a little pocket change is popping out but I'm getting nothing else back. I love my work and I love to discuss it but in the absence of even a superficial dialogue I just feel isolated.
Isolated
olated
lated
lated
ted
ted
ed.
Hello?
elloooo?
ellooo?
looo?
thank you for reading.
...
:D
Anyway here's a long winded complaint to vent my frustrations. No one seems to review anymore. My sales have been steady (a bit dipped but up and down in general) and I know people are reading but no one is sharing their thoughts. Not here, Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Litsy, Booksprout, etc. It's as if people have simply stopped discussing books. I don't understand this. My stories get the same love/hate reactions as anything else and always seem to provoke people but no one has taken the time to so much as click a star rating.
That is horrible. Not only because it impacts sales but because it leaves me with no idea of what my audience likes or doesn't like. I know, I know, I shouldn't care and just write what I enjoy but I like to have a sense of who's buying, who's reading. As it stands I don't. I'm screaming into a void and sometimes a little pocket change is popping out but I'm getting nothing else back. I love my work and I love to discuss it but in the absence of even a superficial dialogue I just feel isolated.
Isolated
olated
lated
lated
ted
ted
ed.
Hello?
elloooo?
ellooo?
looo?
US and GB (UK?) Codes
Hi all,
I've got a bunch of US and GB audible codes for Unfaithful Confessions. Would anyone like a review copy? Can anyone suggest good free review sites I can offer some codes to?
I've got a bunch of US and GB audible codes for Unfaithful Confessions. Would anyone like a review copy? Can anyone suggest good free review sites I can offer some codes to?
1 star reviews must hurt
Let me offer some insight on how I view 1 and 2 star reviews...they're good. They don't hurt sales, and they don't annoy me. Why? Because writing is a form of art, and art is supposed to be controversial.
If a story has nothing but 5* reviews then it pleases everyone. To do that it can't challenge, can't threaten, can't offend. It's generic, bland, just entertaining enough to divert attention when truly great books sit with you, prompt discussion and debate, provoke emotion.
The best books I've ever read have all had 3 stars after thousands upon thousands of reviews, because they anger as many readers as they excite. When you leave a 1 or 2 star, especially when you fill it with your thoughts and opinions on the work I appreciate that as much as any praise filled 5* because it means I did my "job" well as an author.
Now, if you really wanna hurt me (for some reason), leave a 3* with no comment. It drives me nuts. I am cast into a pit of curiosity with no outlet for escape.
If a story has nothing but 5* reviews then it pleases everyone. To do that it can't challenge, can't threaten, can't offend. It's generic, bland, just entertaining enough to divert attention when truly great books sit with you, prompt discussion and debate, provoke emotion.
The best books I've ever read have all had 3 stars after thousands upon thousands of reviews, because they anger as many readers as they excite. When you leave a 1 or 2 star, especially when you fill it with your thoughts and opinions on the work I appreciate that as much as any praise filled 5* because it means I did my "job" well as an author.
Now, if you really wanna hurt me (for some reason), leave a 3* with no comment. It drives me nuts. I am cast into a pit of curiosity with no outlet for escape.
