The Best Way to Thank an Author

If you enjoy a read, please consider posting a short review on your favorite outlet. Ratings and reviews are the currency by which authors gain visibility. They are the single greatest way to show your support and keep us writing the stories you love.

Every creative endeavor has a ladder of success attached to it. In the writing world, it is exceedingly rare for an author to achieve notoriety right out of the gate. It’s not as simple as writing the next great novel. There are thousands of fantastic books out there that linger inside a dark well of obscurity. Authors are forced to farm their own acclaim by spending a lot of time in the marketing trenches. It’s an exhausting effort that can often feel demoralizing, especially when happy readers whisk away in silence.

Ratings and Reviews have become the currency by which authors gain visibility (especially on Amazon). In fact, most promo companies require authors to meet a ratings threshold in order to use their service. To make matters even more challenging, Amazon will only feature authors who have reached a certain ranking. It’s a frustrating catch-22 that we all endure.

Happy readers are quite literally the gatekeepers to an author’s success. If you enjoy a book, then posting a rating and review is the single greatest way to thank the author. They provide much more than visibility. They are gifts of positive reinforcement, the light by which we keep writing the stories you love.

So if you are willing to toss your favorite authors some much-needed kudos, I created a handy instruction guide below. Amazon is the preferred target due to its high visibility, but please feel free to post on your favorite outlet, be it Kobo, Nook, Apple, or Google. They are all valuable and your time is greatly appreciated.

Posting a review on Amazon is quick and easy, and you don’t need to have purchased through them. If you got a title from a book store, an event, or just borrowed from a friend, you can still post a review. All you need is an account and a minimum annual spend of $50.

How to Post Ratings and Reviews on Amazon

1) Log into your Amazon account.

2) Find the book page, scroll to the reviews section, and click the “Write a customer review” button.

Below are some helpful links for my own esteemed readers. “Click to Review” will save you a few steps and take you straight to the review form.

Immortal Wake:
Click to Review : Transient
Click to ReviewThursday Midnight
Click to ReviewThe Mortal Vestige
Click to ReviewThe Bone Maiden
Click to Review : Box Set

Max and the Multiverse:
Click to ReviewMax and the Multiverse
Click to ReviewMax and the Snoodlecock
Click to ReviewMax and the Banjo Ferret
Click to ReviewThe Item of Monumental Importance
Click to ReviewNibblenom Deathtrap
Click to ReviewSparkle Pirate
Click to Review : Hiss Bot Hank
Click to Review : Box Set

Puki Horpocket Presents:
Click to Review : Roy
Click to Review : Nimi
Click to Review : Phil
Click to Review : Boo
Click to Review : Max
Click to Review : Box Set

3) Click the “Overall rating” star.

Authors love to receive those five-star ratings from happy readers (if we’ve earned it, of course). They’re the closest we get to actual trophies.

4) Enter a review title in the “Add a headline” box.

Headlines can be simple and subjective. “I loved this book” is perfectly acceptable.

5) Enter your review text in the “Add a written review” box.

Unless the book has sparked a whirlwind of emotion, there’s no need to overthink this one. You’re not crafting an opinion piece for the New York Times, you’re just telling other readers what you enjoyed about the book. Did you like a character? Did you enjoy the setting? A brief sentence or two is more than enough.

6) Click submit. Done!

Now pat yourself on the back because you just helped an author further their dream.

As always, thank you for reading!

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