A Gatekeeper's Request - Help The Next Author.

"Boys on Bleachers," 2017 Copyright Brian Braden Photography

You're an indie author whose book caught my attention. Maybe you're on the candidate list, or perhaps your book is already reviewed or scheduled for review. Regardless, as an indie, you did something right. Now, may I please have your attention so you can do something else right?

Pass it on. Pay it forward. Help the next author up the stairs. How do you do that? Easy.When Rule One posts a review or new candidate list, simply like and repost it on X. It costs you nothing. You don't have to provide a quote or endorsement. Merely pass along the news that another indie author has a promising book.

I heard this stat today: Three million titles published on Amazon annually, both traditional and independently published. Supposedly, about 2 million of those are independently published. I don't know how accurate that is, but it sounds reasonable based on my experience. That's a hell of a lot of books exploding into the universe every day. Yours might be one of them. What are the chances it's going to be noticed? Pretty damn slim. Think about that, and then consider this.

As a reader and reviewer, I dove into that ocean of indie books and somehow found yours. Something about it appealed to me, and I bought it—either directly or via Kindle Unlimited. I invested up to a month reading it. At any time, I could have put it down and chosen NOT to review it, but it kept my attention. Then I spent several days writing a review and posting it on my social media because I felt comfortable enough to publicly recommend your book to others.

I asked nothing from the author. I didn't ask any of them to read or review my books. I wanted a clean review, with no quid pro quo. Your book earned it without compromise. I'm a nobody—a humble book reviewer without much of a social media following—but your novel won my little personal monthly book award contest. Your book sits on that shelf with other books that have attained that humble status. Every month, one more title gets added.

​I want to see your book become successful for no other reason than I enjoyed it. It is my hope that eventually avid readers will find my blog and browse my bookshelf. Maybe they'll see a title—maybe yours—and take a chance on it. Maybe they'll come to the same conclusion about your novel that I came to, or even like it more. Maybe they'll come to trust my literary opinion and grab another title off the shelves. Maybe they'll tell their friends, and others will find my library.

​See where I'm going with this?

​Am I a gatekeeper? Yes. I am the gatekeeper of my own personal tastes and opinions. I opened that gate and let you in. Help me find others to let in the gate. Now I'm asking for something in return. Just share the reviews. Let's build a real community—together.

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