I usually try to avoid checking places like Amazon and Goodreads for reviews of my books, but recently I was told A Writer’s Craft has 100 reviews on Amazon, which made me curious to go take a look. That number was correct, though most are star ratings and not reviews with text. The ones I saw with written reviews were mostly familiar to me, which is still a happy thing. I just try not to check on that too often because you never know what you’ll find.
That led me down the rabbit hole of looking to see what other reviews are out there: nothing new on Amazon for my poetry collections, though that’s hardly a surprise. That led me to some other book sites with similar results and finally back to GoodReads, where I had a very nice surprise.
Back in January, Tiffanee Mask Jackson took the time to write a long review that starts out with the tag “Gorgeous– a scrapbook of a place I learned to call home” and has a couple more substantive paragraphs. Naturally, I read them, and it made my day, though I’m writing about it not to brag (too much) but also to point out how helpful it is when someone takes the time to write a thoughtful response.
She reads a lot and posts quite a few reviews: some with stars and some with written comments. I’m grateful and honored she took the time to write what she did about my collection of poems.
If you have a book you’ve finished and can take a moment to write even a short paragraph in response, rest assured, the author will be grateful, especially if you liked the book, and so will other readers who will have a much better sense of what they’re about to buy (or check out from their library)!
Now you can go read her review and like it or comment to thank her for me.
Kendall Dunkelberg 