Learn from Reviews

I once heard an author say she never looked at the reviews on her books. I can't imagine. I look at mine almost daily, and I gain insight from them. I evaluate whether any criticism is valid, and how I might improve if it is. And the positive comments and high ratings serve as an encouragement to motivate me.

Sometimes, I even get marketing ideas from reviews. This happened recently. Here is what one reviewer wrote about my novel, Unexpected:  "... I loved this story! It focuses on how young girls like myself, seek love from a man when they don't feel it at home from the family. I can

completely relate to the ease to go down the wrong path. But this book speaks about grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and trust in God's plans! It is a wonderful and entertaining story but also a very educational one. It can show young innocent women how manipulative and selfish some men can be while highlighting the kind and self-sacrificing nature of other men. I highly recommend his book for girls twelve and older."

I write for the inspirational adult market, but sometimes I inadvertently write crossover books that can go into another category. This happened with "The Farmers" trilogy (Promise, Peace, and Pardon). I've had high schools buy them for their students. And the reviewer mentioned above thinks Unexpected could also fit into the Young Adult category, as well as the adult market. I find reviews like this interesting and helpful. It shows that authors can learn and gain much from studying their reviews.

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