As Yoda would say: “Remiss, I have been!” And it’s too true, I fear. I have received two blog awards from very kind people and I have said nothing. I am ashamed! Let me correct the situation now.
Super Sweet Award and the Very Inspiring Blogger Award
I’m afraid that I must break all the rules. Having received two awards already, and obeyed the rules, I’m afraid I’m lost for selecting more bloggers deserving of these awards. That’s not to say that I couldn’t find any. Far from it. The problem is entirely one of time. I’m endeavouring to write a third tale in the G1: The Guardians series and things are really not going as they should. It’s my own fault. I keep allowing myself to be distracted. I hope I will be forgiven.
Support Your Local Sherriff Author
This is an appeal, and it’s one all too familiar for authors, I’m afraid. We happily, and determinedly, put our work out there. We do it in a spirit (usually) of sharing. We hope that others, however few they may be, will gain some reward from reading what we have offered. I know, for instance, that some of my free ebooks have been downloaded many times. I’ve even had sales of my novelettes. Sadly, like most authors, the ratio of feedback to sales/downloads is very poor. It is disheartening, and some authors might even be so discouraged that they give up entirely!
What I’m asking readers to do is really not as difficult as might be supposed. If you read a book (however long and whatever format), please leave some kind of feedback! We commonly use the word ‘review’ and I understand fully that it sounds daunting. In truth, we’d love to get full blown reviews, but we understand that not everybody has the time or desire to devote time and effort to that. We are happy, therefore, to just receive a few honest comments and a rating (which is usually a matter of clicking on the number of stars you wish to award). The simplest way to leave comments is on the site you obtained the book from. If you’re very kind and generous, however, it would make us ecstatic if you could copy and paste your comments onto certain other sites commonly used by both authors and readers. These are: Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, and Smashwords. Different authors have a different ‘spread’ of feedback sites and their websites/blogs will usually show you where they hang out. It is also extremely helpful if you share your comments through social networks like Facebook and Twitter, which is usually a matter of simply clicking on ‘Share’ buttons when you submit you comments on one of the other sites.
Some readers may expect the courtesy of a ‘thank you’ for their kindness, and I wish I could say they would receive that. Unfortunately, the fact is that most writers simply can’t respond to all feedback! Most are busy writing or keeping blogs up to date, and maybe a Facebook ‘fan’ page. Rest assured, however, that your comments are appreciated! If you wish to interact with an author, check their activity on Facebook, Goodreads and their blog (if they have one). I’m afraid that you might find that they are not hugely active online, and it can seem rather foolish to respond to a comment made some weeks previously. Also, a few don’t actually run these places at all. They are run by fans, agents or publishers. It comes down to a choice, really. Do you prefer direct, quick interaction or another book?
One last thing. If you didn’t enjoy a book, that’s fine. It’s your prerogative, after all. We might be disappointed, and regret that we failed to please you. That doesn’t mean that it’s alright to post inflammatory comments. A wise author will ignore such comments anyway, and if they’re of a personal nature, then the site is likely to delete them. Be honest, by all means, but be courteous too!
I’ll close this appeal with my personal “Thank you!” to everybody who has left comments, of any (courteous) nature, for any of my books.
~ Steve
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