“Shadow People and Cursed Objects” Reviews

As I posted over on Haunt Jaunts, this was a big weekend for Shadow People and Cursed Objects: 13 Tales of Terror Based on True Stories…or are they?: It received its first reviews!

I noticed Sunday there were finally some stars by the title. Not just “some” stars either. Five stars! Followed by the number “2” in parenthesis.

Two reviews? How exciting!

I went to read them and was so excited to hear the readers had enjoyed the book, especially the fun of trying to figure out if the stories were real or not before finding out in the Truth or Fiction section.

Then today I went back, I think to copy the link for something else, and noticed the “2” had grown to “6” and the stars were now “4 1/2.”

There were three more 5-star reviews and one 3-star. You’d think I’d be sad about a 3-star, but I’m thrilled. Everyone wants glowing criticism, but the fact is it’s the honest criticism that helps you grow. Or at least it does for me.

I made sure to click the “Yes” button in the “Was this review helpful to you?” section under each review.

Because it is. In so many more ways than one.

I shared a mini-infographic from Tallpoppies.org that an author friend of mine shared on Facebook the other day.

What a phenomenal graphic! Well done!

Reviews really do help in so many ways, but three key ones:

1. It lets the author and publisher know what they’re doing right (or perhaps not).
2. It lets other readers know if this is a book they should invest their time and money in.
3. It can ultimately affect rankings and exposure.

So if you’ve left a review for any of my books, thank you. Heck, I’ll be so bold as to thank you if you’ve ever left a review for any author. I know I keep repeating this but…it really does matter oh so very much!