What Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Question: What question do you wish that someone would ask about your book or your career or you, but nobody has?

Happy Monday - Brenda here.

I’ve been running this question around in my mind for the past week and am still at a loss. It feels sometimes as if I’ve told the world at large much too much about myself, my work, my career. I'm basically a private person not comfortable with talking about myself, my feelings or my opinions (except when really worked up about an issue). Over the fifteen or so years since I was first published, it seems that I've answered every question under the sun, be it for blogs, on panels, in interviews. So I could turn this question on its head to be what question do I wish I'd never been asked :-)

But this line of thought is not helpful in answering this week's question. The idea that comes to me is that I wish more people would ask me how they can help to build my readership. I receive many private messages from strangers who've enjoyed a book or the series. I'd like to ask them to post a review but this seems opportunistic and crass somehow. Much better if they ask me how they can help to spread the word (because people will not read what they don't know is out there).

My response would be not only for my books but also for other books, particularly for authors who are not well known but whose books they enjoy. The best way to help authors get known is to post a review on a social media site, such as Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram; or on a bookseller site, such as Chapters, Amazon, Barnes & Noble or their local library website.  Even a couple of words or a thumbs up. Tell their book club, friends ... anyone they think would enjoy the read. My understanding is that the book sites give a book more exposure and prominence if it has more than 10 reviews, so success builds on success.

Now, I'd be remiss not to thank all those who've been doing these much appreciated activities without prompting or even recognition. Every so often, I'm delighted by a review or a note from a new reader who tells me that someone recommended the book to them. Word of mouth is still the most powerful and mysterious way of making a bestseller.

So, I've cleverly managed to avoid the spirit of this week's question and I'm most intrigued to hear what my fellow bloggers post on this subject. They will undoubtedly have a more creative answer than I've given. If you have a question that you believe has never been asked of me or any other author, post in the comments below, and see if you can surprise me ... I might even have a good answer for you.

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