It's early morning here. Only one cup of life-giving coffee consumed and THIS lands in my inbox.

 

"This" is JA Konrath commenting on Hugh Howey's analysis of Amazon book sales. It's quite a long post and detailed. If you're interested in the book publishing industry it's well worth reading (I need more coffee!). 

 

The message of the post is that authors should self-publish their books.

 

I've been hearing that message a lot. But I haven't done it. Yes, I have a couple of novellas available free on my website, but that was just dipping my toe in the ocean and deciding that I'd rather stay on the beach a while longer.

 

Self-publishing is a big gamble that takes a lot of energy and has no guarantees -- kind of like life :) 

 

One day, I suspect I will self-publish. There'll be a book that I believe in more strongly than any publisher, and that'll be the book that pushes me to dive in. I already know who I'd ask to do the cover and who to edit it. 

 

But the other big issue coming out of this post on Amazon sales is the power of reviews. Reviews are at the heart of discoverability -- and discoverability is the deciding factor in a book's fate.

 

It's scary. I write the best book I can. Then I choose the best publication method for it. And then...it's in the lap of the book-gods, reviewers!

 

So, what prompts people to share a review?