Sunday 27 April 2014

Where to leave a review of Granny Rainbow?

I had a bit of a surprise today - I received an unexpected email, copied here:

Hi Katherine, hope this will find you, Can't find where to leave a review.
Granny rainbow should be in every kids story box, a lovely selection of stories about someone that could be your own dear granny. My G kids loved it and I thought it was great WHAT NOW! is there more from Granny rainbow 


It's an anonymous comment. At first sight I thought it might be spam, but I don't think it is; it was added to an old post about Granny Rainbow and is too specific for a spambot. 

But it set me thinking about reviews. 

Reviews seem to be very important in selling books. I can have the best cover in the world to catch your eye, the most enticing blurb which promises you a fabulous story, but at the end of the day it's what you, the reader, thinks of what lies between the covers that's important to a book's success or failure. A review - whether by word of mouth (Have you read x? My son really enjoyed the action in it) or on the internet (How many stars? I didn't like it at all!) - is what prompts people to see what all the fuss is about or give a new author a try. 

Amazon is one major source of reviews but as I'm direct selling at the moment, Granny Rainbow is not currently listed there. 

Instead, there are two other options for anyone who would like to post a review.  

1. Goodreads. Granny Rainbow is the only book with that title, so it's not difficult to find - feel free to leave a star rating if you don't want to write a 'proper' review. 

2. Email me. For emailed reviews, I've got to work out whether it's best to have a separate page for reviews and whether it should be here on the Scribbles or over on my website, but I will find a way of publishing them to a wider audience. 



Thank you to everyone who's already told me what they think of Granny Rainbow. The positive response to the book so far has been a huge boost and there are around 160 copies already 'out there', being read!

To everyone who's considering writing a few words (and that can be young readers too - I'd really love to know what the kids think!) please, please do!

And to Anonymous, who sent me the email which sparked this post - YES, there will be more Granny Rainbow stories! Probably next year. (And don't forget to check out the competition on the website, where YOUR idea for a Granny Rainbow story might make it into the next book!)

And if you still need to purchase Granny Rainbow to see what Anonymous is on about...buy it here. 

2 comments:

  1. And, just think of the effort that person went to to send the email - it's the sort of thing you wouldn't bother doing unless you really loved the book!

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    1. I know - I feel like I should be tracing the person and sending them an email in letters six inches high! Perhaps they'll be happy knowing I wrote a whole blog post?

      Always, always delights me to know someone's enjoyed the book...

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