Ebook reviews are already in! Whoa!! Last Friday, I launched the ebook version of my self-help book Brain Injury, Trauma, and Grief: How to Heal When You Are Alone. Even though I’d posted a lot on social media about my ebook’s imminent launch and set a special pre-order price — what everyone says will boost your sales rank and thus visibility to new readers — I got a total of zero pre-orders. No, wait, just checked again, 4! All on the day before my ebook’s official November 15th launch. These are the small sales most authors get.
Despite the hype during workshops and conferences for Indie Authors, most writers’ sales are miniscule. So you shell out for Amazon-approved promotions — meaning you can’t buy sales or reviews, only exposure to potential verified readers on Amazon. Amazon has a habit of tossing out reviews that aren’t verified, meaning the reader didn’t buy the book through their sales channels and they know you personally.
During the promotion, potential readers decide whether to read your book or not. You take your chances on whether you’ll receive one-star or five-star or somewhere-in-the-middle reviews. But generally speaking without these promotional activities, you get no reviews…unless someone really hates your book or is active online, loves to read your books, and wants to give you a shout out. Those are not my readers.
I received a 4.5-star editorial review when I launched the paperback version back in 2022.
Approaching the cognitive isolation, physical impairment, and emotional struggles brought on by neuronal damage, Brain Injury, Trauma, and Grief: How to Heal When You Are Alone by Shireen Anne Jeejeebhoy is an accessible and eye-opening read for patients, caretakers, and anyone else whose lives have been touched by this tragedy.” SPR Review.
So far, only one post-launch order of my ebook, none for paperback, on Amazon. On Tuesday. No sales reported for any other bookstore.
That’s the usual-make-yourself-OK-with-teeny-sales news.
The Good News:
My self-help book is #44 in the Physician & Patient Healing category!
Let’s ignore the other rankings…unless they drive you to purchase a copy and get everyone you know to buy one! Now’s the time to make a difference in how visible this “essential resource” is to new readers!!
Read the ebook reviews to see what your fellow readers thought when they gave it 5 stars!
It’s an essential resource for individuals with brain injuries and their loved ones, offering valuable tools for recovery and emotional healing.” Amy K., Verified Amazon Reviewer.
As usual, my readers mostly hail from the US. Canadians aren’t big supporters of my novels or non-fiction. Figure that one out!
It is an important book since it covers the part that usually no one takes care of, the functional and emotional recovery, especially the latter.” quirru, Verified Amazon Reviewer.
These first three reviews woke me up from my same-old, same-old day. Actually, I had been doing better than usual because I’d had little sleep and felt good about the chapter I’d written this morning for The Soul’s Reckoning, the second novel in The Q’Zam’Ta Trilogy.
I highly recommend this to anyone who is trying to deal with an injury or trying to help someone who has gone through this sort of recovery.” Phil Bolos, Verified Amazon Reviewer.
