How to Self-Publish: Review Other Writers!

In the modern world, with social media networks, online retailers, ereader devices, smartphones and tablets the job of a writer, any writer, is more rewarding than ever before. Your work can be published more quickly, you can engage directly with readers and the community of writers is vocal and supportive.

In the last week or so I’ve been taking a good look at online reviews, particularly those of writers on writers (take a look at this site by Jade Varden (author of the Deck of Lies series), for instance which has both a terrific post on this subject and a range of useful comments from many different writers). 

With the explosion of self-publishing the competition between authors to gain those rare places in lists of the traditional trade houses is greatly reduced, because anyone can, and many are, doing it for themselves! The number of indie publishing houses, author co-operatives and self-publishing blogs has blossomed into a huge eco-system. The liberating effect of the internet and the obvious need for all writers to seek advice has created a supportive framework that celebrates the fact that the community of writers is part of the greater community of readers, participating and engaging with each other –  helping, commenting, critiquing.

This is considerably more healthy that the competing network of professional reviewers whose views we all seek for the kudos and authenticity, but whose job it is to entertain, often by taking a negative or deliberately contrary view. 

On the whole, writers are cultured people, with considered (often wildly differing) views, who work hard and juggle their daily lives with the joy and pain of writing. Anyone who writes often or regularly, understands the efforts of another writer. We might dislike the subject, the story, the angle or the characters, but we take a fundamentally empathetic view of the effort. And that leads to a degree of compassion that can turn constructive criticism into a powerful force of good.

So, if you read a book and have something to say about it, go to Amazon or your blog, or the author’s blog, and say it. It doesn’t have to be long, but make it constructive, useful, think about how you would respond to a comment, how you might use it to make your next book better. Dictatorial comments are not required, but genuine responses are very helpful to an honest writer and the mirrorball of comment in the form of multiple reviews can be the most helpful teacher for all of us.

Perhaps this is the great liberation, the great release of the Internet, not just that anyone can publish, but that anyone can comment on anything that’s published. Of course, we have to write well, submit ourselves to editing, to market ourselves and our books well, but ultimately we can now listen to the wide range of comments of our fellow writers and our readers. It's a virtuous circle that benefits us both as readers and as self-publishers.

Coming Soon: Audiobooks for Promotion and Podcasting for Fun!