I’m not a huge old film fan, but I recently watched a movie I would not have typically chosen for two particular reasons.
It wasn’t because the title grabbed me. I don’t care for ghost stories, so the title of this movie was enough to make me easily pass over it.
I’ve enjoyed several clean black-and-white films but wasn’t familiar with the actors in this one, so that didn’t pull me in. In fact, the blurb didn’t convince me it was worth watching, either.
Want to know what made me give up my evening for a movie I likely would not have chosen on my own?
The first thing that made me consider it was I saw a post on FB where someone raved about how good it was and how it was perfect for authors since the main characters write a book. They wrote a review that piqued my interest enough to Google the title. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir* is on Amazon Prime, but I wasn’t willing to pay $3.99 for an unknown.
I didn’t know the taste of the person writing the review, so I texted a close friend, and the conversation went something like this:
ME: “Have you seen The Ghost and Mrs. Muir?”
MY FRIEND: “Oh, yes! Love it! Such a cool movie. Have you watched it?”
ME: “No.”
MY FRIEND: “You HAVE to see it! It is so good.”
Reason number two: I listened to a trusted source. I rented it on Prime and enjoyed every minute.
Neither of these ladies strong-armed me. They didn’t share a long or detailed excerpt of the film or their thoughts on the movie in beautifully written sentences. They simply said it was good and I should watch it. It took two of them to convince me, but it worked.
The same concept applies to books. When you share an unsolicited review about a book you truly enjoyed, you help readers decide. Readers unfamiliar with an author’s work may need a second or third review to put the book on their ever-growing To Be Read pile if they don’t know you. But when your friends, those who know you well enough to appreciate your taste in books, read it…well, you get the idea.
Your social media posts about an author’s book are important. Not only do they encourage the author, but each post reaches a circle of friends that an author may never break into without your introduction.
Please encourage an author today. It can be as simple as reusing the review you left on Amazon, Goodreads, and BookBub. Make the post even more special by showing you holding your paperback or your reading device with the book’s cover showing. If you need help with a graphic, most authors are happy to provide one. Just ask. They love hearing from you…I know I do.
If you’d like to bless me today by posting your review of one of my books on your social media, please let me know if I can provide a graphic for you. You will find all my books on my website.
If you struggle to write a review, perhaps a fill-in-the-blank might help. I have a great resource on using the Mad Lib style.
Thank you for each small act of kindness you show your author friends. We genuinely appreciate every single one.
*Please note this is an affiliate link. As always, it costs you nothing extra, and it all goes to my chocolate fund.