If You Like It, Say Something

(The photo above is of my humble little set up at the Lambertville Fall Festival in October. I had a person selling her daughter's artwork to my right and a tarot card reader (see the sign?) to my left. Both were great people and I loved talking with them. Also, I love going to book fairs and other festivals because not only do I get to meet other vendors, but more importantly I get to meet readers.)


As an author, I can’t tell you how hearing that a reader likes your stories can lift an author’s heart and give us the push to continue our work.
 
Recently, I noticed that my novel, Saint Maggie, and some of the novels that follow it, have garnered four and five stars from readers. That is encouraging and tells me that I must be doing something right.
 
I had further confirmation this fall when a young reader came up to my table at a book fair and shouted, “You wrote Saint Maggie?? I LOVE that book! I was hoping you’d be here today! I cried when…” and here she lowered her voice to tell me exactly what made her cry. Which I won’t reveal to you, because… spoilers.
 
That truly was high point for me. There we were, a reader and an author, in the middle of a gymnasium full of authors and readers, and we were nearly screaming with joy and jumping up and down. Maybe screaming and jumping up and down wasn't exactly dignified on my part, but my reader had so much enthusiasm and I was so surprised and delighted… well, who wouldn’t jump up and down?
 
Then, recently, I received an email from another new reader. I had met her and her daughter at a fall festival. She was interested in reading Saint Maggie, and her daughter bought the book for her. In her email, she told me how much she loved the story and intended to purchase the next book in the series (Walk by Faith).
 
Her words lifted my spirits and helped me understand how sharing my gift can have an impact on people and bring them joy.
 
So, I have two takeaways from these things.
 

1. if you’re reading this and you are an author, it’s important to make public appearances, even if you aren’t famous. You never know who might be excited to meet you or who might discover your work for the first time.
2. If you’re reading this and are a reader, it’s important to let authors know that you like their work or that it sounds interesting to you. Write an email or a letter or, if you see them at a book fair or other sort of festival, stop by and chat with them. A few words might inspire that author to keep writing. Finally, leave a review of their book on Amazon or Goodreads or other spaces where you can do that. It doesn’t have to be long. “I loved it” will do, so will a star rating.

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Later, gators! Much love to you all.
 

Janet R. Stafford