How to Love an Author

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA

Dear Reader,

As the year comes to a close and a new one is on the horizon, I want to thank you for being a faithful reader of this blog. You are the reason authors write. You are the reason I write.

Readers sometimes ask how they can help to support the authors whose stories they enjoy reading. So I thought I'd give you some suggestions from an author's point of view. Perhaps you'd like to implement some of these suggestions during the coming year.

1. Read the author's books. This may seem like a pretty obvious suggestion, one that rates a 5-star DUH!  But over the years, I've discovered that some of my closest relatives and friends have never read my books. Not even one of them! 

While on the one hand this surprises me, on the other hand it does not. Sometimes when we are very close to a person, we know them in one way and find it difficult to perceive them in another way. For example, a close friend with whom I grew up may still remember me as that girl who loved to play hopscotch, but she can't envision me as a novelist. Her lifelong perception of me prevents her from viewing me as anything other than the way she remembers me and has known me all her life. (In case you're wondering, I still play hopscotch with my grandchildren. So my friend may have a good point! :)

2. Post reviews of the books you read. Reviews are the lifeblood of an author's career. The best type of advertising has always been—and continues to be—word-of-mouth advertising. This is advertising in which one reader tells a friend about a great book she has read, and the friend then buys and reads that book as well. When you post a review of a book, you are helping your favorite authors in a huge way.

You see, when an author's books sell, she can pay her bills and write more books for you to read and enjoy. (If you're interested, I may do a future blog post on the cost of being an author.).  So, posting reviews goes a long way in helping an author keep you supplied with good stories.

The review doesn't have to be long, only two or three sentences at most. It's not like a high school book review, so don't panic. :)

3. When you love a story, tell others about it. A book may be outstanding, but if no one knows about it, no one can be blessed by the book. So when you enjoy a novel, tell others about it. Again, the best kind of advertising is word-of-mouth.

4. Buy your favorite authors' books and give them as gifts. Books make outstanding gifts that never stop giving. So when the next birthday or anniversary comes up, consider giving those people the gift of a book.

5. When you enjoy a novel, write to the author to tell her (or him) how much you enjoyed the novel. You will make the author's day, guaranteed. Authors work very hard to create novels. Few people understand what goes in to writing a novel. So when you tell an author you appreciate her and her storytelling, you will catapult that author into writing her next great story for you.

So, these are just a few ways to love an author. Why not start today? Think of those authors whose novels have transformed your life in a special way, and start loving that author now!

Thanks and Blessings,

MaryAnn

P.S. Before you leave, please check out my latest releases:

THE CAPTAIN AND MRS. VYE

A 19th-century, middle-aged widow learns that her late husband has left her destitute.

PRINT

E-BOOK


A CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING

When a woman's teenage daughter goes missing, the mother faces losing her mind,
her family, and her faith.

PRINT

E-BOOK


MIRACLE AT MADVILLE

An angry young princess discovers the greatest power of all.

HARDCOVER

SOFTCOVER

E-BOOK

SUBSCRIBE TO MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER

____________________________
Copyright 2022 by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD. All Rights Reserved.

Why Authors Need Book Reviews

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA

Have you ever wondered why authors often ask readers to post a review after reading one of the author's books? If so, here are a couple of reasons:

1) Authors write books to bless readers by entertaining them, inspiring them, and offering solutions to their problems. When a reader does not know about an author's book, that reader will miss out on the blessing of that book. 

One of the chief ways authors get the word out about their books is through reader book reviews. You, the Reader, are the primary means of promotion for a book. Whether it is by word-of-mouth or by writing a review, your opinion carries a lot of clout.

A book review does the following for an author:

__It lets other readers know about the book.

__It helps prospective readers decide whether to purchase the book.

__It expands the author's circle of influence which, in turn, helps more readers.

__It helps the author earn a living, or at least to pay some of her bills.

2) Authors invest a great deal of time, energy, and money into creating and producing a book. Indie authors especially now bear the expenses that traditional publishers used to bear. For example, indie authors pay high prices for editors, illustrators, formatters, and marketers to get their books out before the reading public. 

When you publish a short review of their books, you are doing your favorite authors a great favor. And you are doing yourself a great favor as well. You are reaping the joy and satisfaction of promoting the cause of good books that will make readers better people.

So, on behalf of authors everywhere, thank you, dear Reader, for posting reviews of our books. We could not do this writing / publishing thing without your valuable help. You are the BEST!


Blessings,

MaryAnn

P.S. Before you leave, check out my latest releases:

THE CAPTAIN AND MRS. VYE

       A 19th-century, middle-aged widow learns that her late husband has left her destitute.

PRINT

A CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING

When a woman's teenage daughter goes missing, the mother faces losing her mind,
her family, and her faith.

PRINT




MIRACLE AT MADVILLE

An angry young princess discovers the greatest power of all.

HARDCOVER

SOFTCOVER

______________________________

                                     SUBSCRIBE TO MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER.


                                             _______________________________
 

Copyright 2022 by MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.

The Writer-Reader Connection

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA

Writers and Readers are two sides of the same coin. Both form a whole, and that whole is the currency for the sharing of ideas, emotions, and experiences that benefit both.

Let's explore each side of the coin.

THE WRITER

The Writer is the one who creates the object of the Reader's pleasure. The Writer is the one who gives the story to the reader. Without the Writer, the Reader would miss out on a vicarious experience that would benefit her life. Writers write with readers in mind. Readers often choose books with particular writers in mind. When the two connect, something mysterious occurs. 

The famous French author Jean-Paul Sartre wrote that writing "is the joint effort of author and reader which brings upon the scene that concrete and imaginary object which is the work of the mind." So, both writer and reader contribute with their individual minds to the creation of a story. The Writer imagines the story in his mind, while the Reader also imagines the story in his mind. While each story is fundamentally similar, they are different in that both the Writer and the Reader bring to the same story different interpretations and insights.

You've very likely had the experience of imagining what a particular character looks like in a story only to see afterward a picture of the author's image of the character. The two are usually completely different. 

This brings us to the Reader side of the coin. 

THE READER

Just as the Writer is the giver of the story, the Reader is the recipient of the story. The Reader becomes the beneficiary of the Writer's gift. How?

As the Reader reads the story, the Reader feels the emotions of the characters through the plot. The Reader shares in the emotional experiences the Writer felt while writing the story. When the Reader shares in the emotional experience of the Writer by reading the story, the Reader is giving a gift in return to the Writer. It is the gift of affirmation that the Writer's story accomplished its purpose. It has touched the heart of the Reader, making her life better in some profound way.

The Writer-Reader Connection is a sacred one. Don't take it lightly. Writers often pay a great price to write a story. They sacrifice much in order to carve out time to write. They deal with health challenges, family challenges, financial challenges. Yet, they write because they love the Reader.


Readers also pay a price to read a story.  They give of their time and their money. They sacrifice sleep. They give of their hearts and their mind to the Writer's work.

Both deserve our deepest respect. And both are necessary in the feeding of the soul. 


Blessings,

MaryAnn

P.S. Before you leave, check out my latest releases:

THE CAPTAIN AND MRS. VYE

       A 19th-century, middle-aged widow learns that her late husband has left her destitute.

PRINT

A CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING

When a woman's teenage daughter goes missing, the mother faces losing her mind,
her family, and her faith.

PRINT



MIRACLE AT MADVILLE

An angry young princess discovers the greatest power of all.

HARDCOVER

SOFTCOVER

______________________________

                                     SUBSCRIBE TO MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER.


                                             _______________________________
 

Copyright 2022 by MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.