Dear Hesitant Reader.

Dear Hesitant Reader,

It's in the back of your mind as you stare at the device in your hand. Part of you is curious. Part of you has better things to do. Part of you has doubt.

Can it really be worth it? Is it any good?

You've seen the posts on your social media feeds. You've seen your friends sharing it. Sometimes you read the post, sometimes you press play, but most of the time you just scroll past. Life is short, after all, and there is so much to catch up on. 

"Well, I would," you justify to yourself. "But I don't know if it's any good. What if it's horrible?"

Sometimes you know the author. Sometimes well, sometimes barely, and sometimes you are only aware of who they are because of that whole degrees of separation nonsense. But mostly I'd bet that you have no idea who this author is because, c'mon, who knows a published author? 

It IS entirely possible that you have known a published author before, or at least someone who enjoys writing, and have read their work only to find it to be bad (ok, horrendous. Terrible. Totally not your cup of tea.) It made you uncomfortable because you had to smile and lie straight to their face, telling them how good it was because you didn't want to hurt their feelings. 

And now, this. You notice only a few people have actually reviewed the author's work. It can't be that good, you surmise from that. It can't. Can it? 

But I'm here to tell you to pay close attention to that age-old bit of wisdom -- Never judge an unknown author's book by its lack of reviews. (Ok, so it's not *that* old and I just made it up, but it is good advice.)

Here's the dirty secret that I'm going to let you in on: Huge publishing houses have teams of people whose sole purpose it is to market and advertise. They place a bet that a book is going to sell and then they market the bejesus out of it. 

But if you're not a huge publishing house, it gets a bit complicated. Sometimes you can pay for people to leave reviews of your book with a script they follow. Yes, dear reader, some of those reviews and ratings are not organic. 

 Authors who'd rather not do that rely on organic reviews and ratings. It takes time. So disregard the lack of stars and reviews you see on a book when making a decision. (If you do decide to read the book, YOU can add your own rating and review.) 

You can also read up on the author's social media page or websites. Authors write. They just have to. It's life. Read what they have written already and you'll know quickly if their writing resonates with you. 

If you're still unsure, download a sample of the book on your device, via the ebook reader or the free ebook app (Kindle is the most popular.) Samples are free. If you're hooked and curious by the time you've finished that, then buy the book.

Still unsure? Well, ask the author themselves. Self-published authors will likely be more than happy to interact with you. Comment on their social media post. Ask them about their book. 

Take a chance. Self-published authors are writing out of love for their books. They usually have other jobs, they likely have spent years (if not decades) writing their novels, and they have more than once questioned their sanity... All the while working to put their book into your hands.

So, is it good? Give it a shot. Try it. Authors are well aware not everyone will like our writing, but for those who do, your enjoyment of our books is the icing on the cake.

Don't be afraid to support self-published authors. They are the small businesses of the book writing world. 

If ratings and reviews are what matters most to you when looking for your next read, then don't forget to rate or review to show other hesitant readers your thoughts on the book. It just might be the one that convinces another hesitant reader to pick the book up, and in doing so, makes another unknown author become a known author. 

Now, if you've read this far, you may be curious about *my* books. What are they about? Are they good? Well, my books are alot like life -- Unexpected and full of imagination, romance, thrills, and adventure. In my last post for "Could've Been Something," I did say, "There is always an adventure in an Em Brooks book..." And that's true - You never know where one of my books is going to take you. As to are they good? Well, in my most unbiased opinion, since I've read them all probably a hundred times -- Why yes, yes they are good. You should read one. 

Thanks for hanging out with me today. 💕 Have a great weekend!

📖✒️🥰

Find all of my TEN (🙌 )of my books in one easy link at Amazon:

www.amazon.com/author/embrooks

If you don't care for Amazon, I have those same ten available at Barnes and Noble, too, in paperback and on Nook. (Search Em Brooks and the title!)

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

If you know of another book retailer you love to buy books from, let me know and I'll see if I can get my books sold there too.

Keep up to date with all of my writing at:

TheAuthorEmBrooks.blogspot.com