Great Reviews Continue to Sell Novel

Lots of really wonderful books never get noticed by anyone, never get sold, and never get read.  My late father's novel, Firehair:  A Novel of the West is an example--a fine book, but it was a tree that fell in the wilderness and made no sound.  It is still for sale on Amazon, and I still hold out the hope that eventually its merit will be recognized.  So, I recognize the element of luck that has certainly played a role in To Honor You Call Us getting noticed, getting read, and getting good reviews.  For an independent author, reviews are key to getting seen.  People don't recognize the name and say, "Oh, H. Paul Honsinger--he's great!  I bet this book is gonna be good."  People don't look at the publisher and say, "Oh, Ace" or "Oh, Tor" or "Oh, Pocket Books" and say "their stuff is usually pretty decent at least, so I'll give this one a try."

People know that they are taking a chance with a self-published novel.  It was not vetted by a publisher's editorial department for general quality, the literacy of the author, the coherency of the plot, basic readability, or any other index of quality.  All you know is that someone wrote it and that he or they think highly enough of their own work to offer it for sale.  Hardly enough to inspire confidence.

But, when you have twenty-five reviews, none below three-star, and a majority of them five-star, and when what the reviewers say is really, really enthusiastic, people are more willing to take a chance and invest $5.99 for the download or $13.50 for the paperback and give it a try.  So, to the people who read the novel and then took the time to go on the Amazon site and tell other people that they thought it was good, I will forever be grateful and thankful.  You people made the success of this book happen.

And, if you think that authors don't care about reviews, think again.  I read my reviews eagerly, and often respond to them in "comments."  I don't always follow the suggestions (especially since some reviews contradict each other), but I always think about them carefully and take them seriously.  They mean a lot to me.  Every one of them.