It’s that time of year again! I made it all the way around the sun without getting killed by a faster or more efficient predator, which means I get cake.

Birthdays are weird.

Okay, joking aside, I’m turning fifty today—and mostly I don’t have a whole lot of feelings about that, just like when I turned forty and more-or-less shrugged about it—but there’s one exception to that, and it’s that young queer me never thought this would happen, because young queer me had been told all gay people died—by pretty much everyone and everything—so it’s really, really nice to once again note that “they” were wrong.

The other thing about turning fifty is I don’t need anything. My closest will ask me what I want for my birthday and every year there’s less I can think of—and what a wonderful reality that is, no?—so I fall back on the tried and true: experiences. A nice evening out to dinner, or a play, or a trip somewhere.

That’s what we’re doing right now. We rented a lovely cabin and quite literally are sitting back and watching deer walk by. But—and if you’ve been here for any of my other birthdays, you knew this but was coming—there is one thing authors never run out of needing, and that’s word-of-mouth.

Or, because I’m punny, “Birthday Presence.” Get it?

Sorry. (Not sorry.)

Three Sentences

I started a tradition years ago where instead of presents, I asked people to tell me about a book they loved instead.

When I became an author, I started asking people if they’d maybe take a moment to write a review about a book they loved somewhere. Just one book, and just one review, and only if they were up for it. (And, no, it doesn’t have to be mine. I’m not using my birthday to guilt reviews of my own books.) Making noise about a book you loved gives the book presence—and no matter what you say about algorithms or SEO or anything else, word-of-mouth is pretty much the best thing ever in the world of publishing.

Now, I’m not talking about writing an essay here. Truly. Back when I worked at the bookstore, we had these little “Staff Picks” cards that slid into acrylics, and they were pretty small, so by virtue of their size there was only so much room to write a review. It may surprise you to learn a lot of staff struggled to write reviews. They could hand-sell out loud in conversation like gangbusters, but writing down a review stopped them cold. So I came up with a quick and easy three-sentence review process, and it worked fine.

The Three Sentence Review

An example cue-card review might go like this:

A sentence letting a reader know what to expect from the book (without spoilers). In romance, this is often where I likely mention the main trope of the book, drop a word about the characters, and give a general idea of the tone: “Recommended Reading by Paul Coccia is an awesome YA opposites-attract queer rom-com with a big, match-making, romance-loving hero who has grand plans for a romantic gesture—and starting a romance of his own—that fall apart immediately.”A sentence talking about what was unique/awesome/moving/exciting about the book (again, without spoilers). Something you think really stood out about the book and speaks to why you loved it. Staying with Recommended Reading, I’d probably say, “The heart of this book is in being different, and not just owning it, but deciding not to stop at owning it and instead decorating it, celebrating it, and declaring it to the whole damn world.”A sentence that uses either a well-known author or some facet or genre as an example of the type of reader you think would enjoy this particular book. So, “Anyone who loves an underdog romance but doesn’t undercut the realities of being the underdog—allowing that sense of being unsure even when they’re awesome as they are—will freaking adore this one.”

So! It’s my birthday, and if you’re up for it, drop a line telling me about a book you loved. Or just link to a review you agree with. Or, heck, just drop a note saying “I LOVED THIS” with a link. All of these things are also super-valid and wonderful ways to do that whole word-of-mouth thing. Clicking a “like” or an “agree” on someone else’s review somewhere also helps. I don’t want this to be a guilt-thing, or an imposition. If you’re not up for it—look at the state of the world, who is up for anything right now?—that’s cool. No harm done, truly. 

Ditto if you’ve already got your own method of writing reviews or gushing about books. That little blue cue-card up there is meant to be a helpful guide for people who want to write a review and feel stuck, not a form to fill in if you’ve already got your own, authentic style. (I feel like I keep saying “you don’t have to do this” over and over, but to be super, 100% clear: you don’t have to do this.)

See you next year…