A note before we begin: you can also find this post on my Substack page, where I’ve been posting for the past year! Moving forward I’ll sometimes cross-post important blogs like this one.

. . . Firstly: I do not have 100 reviews on Amazon. (Well, cumulatively across all my books, I might?) On the book that matters most right now, I have 17.

Sigh.

I could blame this on many things, some more true than others. The book in question is a second edition, and I lost reviews when I replaced the first edition—that’s the most practical factor. Everything else could just be me prevaricating . . .

Because this is tough stuff to be vulnerable about! (I literally just walked away from my laptop. To get water, but still. Who needs water? I’m supposed to be sharing something Important here.) So. Here are the facts on my end:

  • The writing world is subjective.
  • There is no right way to succeed.
  • But there is an enormous amount of pressure, both internal and external . . .
  • And reviews are quantitative things.
  • Quantifying things makes us feel better (or worse) about subjectivity.

Okay, before I get lost in a rabbit hole staring at my own navel, let me try that again. With more specificity this time:

  • I know that no number—be it of reviews, of stars, of average ratings, of sales, what have you—changes the fact that I love my book and many readers do, too.
  • I know that tech giants like Amazon thrive on making buyers and sellers feel insecure, and that reviews (and needing them) feeds into this.
  • I know that the best way I personally sell books is in person at fairs or bookstores, where there is less impetus for a reader to leave a review (they aren’t getting a reminder email from an online store!).
  • I know that context is important . . .
  • But nonetheless I feel sad/inadequate/doubtful of myself/embarrassed/frustrated/ineffective/small when I share an amazon link to my book with friends in the industry or someone I admire.

Phew. There’s the hard emotional stuff out—in a nutshell, at least.

In a professional space, one of my biggest fears is that someone will meet me, totally get my vibe and agree with my philosophy and be on board with my work—and then look up my book and be disappointed.

There’s a lot of things to unpack there, and trust me, over the next year, we will get to it.

Because I’ve decided to take that fear and turn it into a public campaign.

One of my new goals for 2025 is to get 100 reviews on Beauty and the Alchemist.

In the past, I’ve shied away from setting goals like that. I’ve told myself that it’s bad practice to set a goal that’s outside of my control, and that might still technically be true. I can’t force people to write reviews. I can’t fake reviews or buy them, or I risk being banned; there’s even rules about when and how I can ask for them. To be honest, up to this point, I’ve been one of those authors who doesn’t really ask for them at all. Sure, I’d put a note at the end of a book about it, but the note itself was often vague and tongue-in-cheek, because it was easier to make a joke at my own expense than to ask someone for help.

If you’re in the same boat—or even just curious about this aspect of the book world—I invite you to come along on this journey with me. Talking about reviews can feel a bit gauche. But there is true desperation there, too: one quick internet search will confirm that there are plenty of people making a living off of telling authors how to get reviews, or selling them through uncertain loopholes. I’m going to wade right in and do it my way, one step at a time.

It’s purely a numbers game. And if the right number will make me feel better, then I’ll start moving towards it. Who knows what more I’ll learn along the way?

First up: honesty.

This is a yearly goal, remember. So for this month, my plan is to start talking about it. This post, for example; my actual bookish newsletter; a new special bookmark I can hand out when I sell books in person. It seems like a slow start, but that’s because there are some old self-effacing habits here to break—it’s uphill going!

But I keep reminding myself that I know that more than 100 people have already read the book. Now I just have to let them know that I’d like help.

And in future months—we can dive into all the surrounding factors: editorial reviews, advertising, lessons learned, and whatever comes up!

Why bother, you may wonder? It’s not just vanity. In a world where traditional publishers are no longer the sole gate keepers, determining whether or not a book is quality, reviews have become another gate. A hoop to jump through, a stepping stone. You must have certain numbers of reviews before certain newsletters or awards committees will consider you; you must have even higher numbers to get passive marketing opportunities; you must impress readers in an age of Goodreads and Bookstagram. You must—if you want to—show your friends and people you admire that you’re playing the game. And that’s not totally a bad thing.

It just means a little more work and coming out of the shadows is required. 😉

How about you? I’d love to hear your thoughts: how you’re feeling, what you’ve done, what your plans are. Though we so often forget, we are in this together!