Never two days the same as an Author....

Well, that may not be entirely true BUT day's certainly can get eventful.

I mentioned the other day that I'd entered an Authors Award Competition thingy, The Wishing Shelf Book Awards, yesterday I got the email that said I didn't make it into the 'Finals'. Bit of a downer you might think but it honestly wasn't. First of all had I made it to the 'Finals' I would of had to go along to the Award Ceremony. IF I was going to the award ceremony I should probably get a trade stand there and sell 'Russian Redemption' over the table. That would of created a number of problems for me as the ceremony is being held in Manchester UK. It's a long way from New Zealand. Financially it would of been a real strain, not just the flights but the accommodation, the stock, delivery etc. So, in the weirdest possible way - thanks for not selecting me.

I only entered the competition because if you got through to the penultimate cut, which 'Russian Redemption' did, they promised twenty reviews and feedback from established European Reader Groups, that's what I really wanted.

And then this morning another review gets posted on Amazon from one of their own Top Reviewers 4/5 Stars - That's a total of 3 x 4 Stars, and 3 x 5 Stars - I am really chuffed with that. I sent the lady a 'thank you' email and (seeing as I had contact) I mentioned that I was writing a second book and asked if she'd be willing to review that one prior to release. Her exact words were "count me in!" It's all about building slowly, getting the foundations solid.

Strange as it may sound, 'Reviewers' have their own 'groupies'. People that follow their reviews, and purchase items based solely on the recommendation of a reviewer that they have come to trust. This is another reason why reviews (and reviewers) are so important to an Author. But some people just don't see it.

You can see all of the Amazon Reviews by following the link 'Russian Redemption' or on the website www.ajwilsonbooks.net.

I've also mentioned that I thought it was important to drive customers to the website, and that it should be kept fresh. As a bit of fun more than anything I've put a map of the USA showing all 50 states. Using Google Analytics I can see where visitors to the website originate (unless of course they haven't set their location when they've set up the connection) so I'm seeing how long it takes to shade in all 50 States. If you fancy joining in just visit the home page and at least one other page - I'll shade in your State as soon as Analytics picks up your visit.

OK - not so much to glean from that post BUT there are still some important  pointers in there, you just have to pick them out.