A Writer's Best Friend: The Reader

Hello Seekerville.





Sandra here with a pot of chocolate velvet coffee.


I’m still reeling from the blog tour going on since the 20th.  My publicist and editor, Amber Stokes of Editing Through the Seasons has really put me through the paces. And it has been a blast. If you haven’t checked it out, be sure and do so as there are lots of giveaways and a Rafflecopter contest.  The tour lasts until the 31st. And feel free to read past blogs from the tour. Our hosts did a terrific job.


And I love, love, love hearing from readers who have read my books. Which brings me to my topic this month—the reader—a writer’s best friend.

Readers are the most important factor in the crazy mix we call being an author. For me anyway, it is really special when I meet someone who has read my books. After all, the reason we write and publish a book is so someone can read it.

Our first readers are usually our critique partners. I worked with several locally so of course I had met them.  Below are the critique partners who helped with Current of Love.

Sandy Lagesse, Joan Domning, Barbara Larriva, Nancy Damato, Sandra and Peggy Parsons

My first online critique partner was Seekerville's Ruth Logan Herne. We met through the ACFW critique partner program. We critiqued together for a year or two and finally met in person at our first ACFW conference in Denver, 2005.  It was at that conference that we met other Seeker buddies. Since we had all read each other's work, we were thrilled to finally meet face to face.

I have critiqued with most of the Seekers at one point or another.  What a blessing that has been.

Critique partners and Beta readers give an author great feedback and are usually reading our work while in progress.

Special meeting this summer when Seeker buddy, Glynna Kaye invited me to her house for lunch. 

And speaking of meeting readers at a conference, we have been blessed to meet many of you Seekerville friends at conferences.  

Seeker friends in St. Louis 2011

Seeker friends Debby and I met at RWA Anaheim 2012

I will especially remember meeting Carole Moncado because she brought the most awesome chocolate chip cookies to the ACFW conference in St. Louis 2011.  That is how sweet you Seeker readers are.  You are important to us for many reasons--besides cookies.

Carol Moncado sitting by her TBR pile Seeker books
Now this is a serious reader 

The positive feedback you give us keeps us going during those dark moments we all get when we wonder if the work is worth the effort. There have been several times that our buddy Vince Mooney has posted an encouraging word when I needed it the most. I was all ready to give up on my picture books when he posted reviews on his blog Philosophy of Romance, of the animal series. Now how can I stop writing those after reading those reviews from a reader.

My blog tour hosts are mostly Seeker friends.  Look at what a super job they have been doing.  Not only are they giving me publicity, but their reviews give me feedback that is important  to hear. And it is through Seekerville I have met Amber Stokes, my wonderful editor and publicist who set up the tour. 

Amber

Another joy has been to meet readers from other countries.  Surprisingly, most of my books published by Montlake are selling in the United Kingdom. So international readers are important also.  

Missy and Debby were fortunate to meet our friend Jenny from Australia when she came to the United States.  Missy says, "I absolutely love meeting readers who I've only known online. I got the opportunity recently when Jenny Blake (Ausjenny) came from Australia to visit the United States! We had a marvelous lunch with Patty Smith Hall, Debby Giusti and Patti Jo Moore." Missy sent these photos to share with you.

Jenny and Missy

Patty Smith Hall, Debby Giusti, Patti Jo Moore

I have been blessed to meet international readers also.  Marianne Barkman of Canada has written lovely reviews for my books and she won a basket of books filled with Seeker books and chocolate velvet coffee.  But the best surprise was she brought me a gift also--a pan of her homemade cinnamon rolls. yum

Sandra presenting basket of books to Marianne 

Reader reviews are critical to an authors career. Therefore readers who write reviews are special also. Kav wrote a lovely review of Love's Miracles on her blog Best Reads.  This was great publicity, but the best publicity was the review she wrote on Amazon. Amazon promotes books based on reviews.  My book, Current of Love has been selected by Amazon several times for special promotions and that is because there were so many 5 star reviews.  

And sometimes there are bad reviews.  I know that I am not going to please every reader.  We all have different tastes. I got a one star review for Price of Victory. The reviewer said it was "cheesy"  Well if they are used to erotica romance and they received one of mine as a freebie, I'm sure they did think it was cheesy.  smile  But those bad reviews do bring down our ratings for promotion and sales.  So we don't like to see those.  Personally when I read a book I don't like, I do what my mother always taught me and that was "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  It would be nice if all readers followed that rule. 

Another fun place I've met readers is at autograph signings. Readers really make a signing interesting and fun. 

Sandra meets a reader (Martha) at Amazing Grace Bookstore, Tempe, AZ

 I really enjoy meeting the readers because I know how much I like to meet my favorite authors. The first author I met was Irving Stone. I had gone to a writer's conference and was so excited to meet him. He wrote historical fiction. He had interviewed my great grandmother when he wrote Men To Match My Mountains. When I had him sign my book, we talked and he remembered her. That was truly special.  So when I meet readers who ask for an autograph, it is not only special for me, but for them also.

Book club luncheons are another fun event. It is really interesting to hear what different people have to say about your book. Often they read things into your story that you didn't even realize you wrote about. I figure they draw out experiences from the reader, but also are subtle subconscious elements we don't even realize we've written about. One reader asked me why my heroine was hispanic. To be honest, I really don't know.  I thought Debra was interesting and maybe it was because I had been working with so many hispanic children.

Sandra at a book club luncheon 

Traveling in my RV I've met a lot of people. Often I sell my books at craft fairs in the resorts. This is really fun because then you get to talk to readers after they have read your books.  The other day, I was swimming in the pool and this lady swims up to me and asks, "Aren't you Sandra Leesmith?" When I assured her I was she went on to tell me how much she loved Current of Love and could hardly wait to start Price of Victory.  I can't tell you how that tickled my heart. 

My pickleball friends read my books also. Most of the time they buy my children's books for their families. Grandparents love them. 

Sandra signing books for Susan

Susan is all set for the little ones in her family

My friend Becky buys all of my books. What was really fun was her nephew, Taite came to camp with her. Becky had purchased my animal books for Taite earlier in the year. When he came, he knew I was camping with his Aunt Becky so he brought his books with him so he could meet me and get a photo together.  How special is that?  

Becky and Sandra

Sandra and Taite

WE celebrated Memorial day last weekend. Several of us Seekers donated books to our Seeker friend KC Frantzen who is involved with Wounded Warrior Getaway.  She sent these photos and told me how much it meant for the families to receive our books. Each family had been given one of my animal stories also and she told me how excited the children were. That feedback from readers is awesome. All of us donate books all the time so it is really special when we hear back how much the books meant to the readers. These are the moments that remind us to keep writing when the going gets tough.

Seeker books donated to Wounded Warrior Getaway

Copies of Price of Victory

And there is KC at the event having a blast.

Speaking of Memorial Day Weekend I have to shamelessly brag about how much fun I had at Lake Tahoe with my niece and nephew and their son who is my godson. 

Hubby, J, J, and J

Sandra and Justin

I hope you readers understand how wonderful you are and how important you are to all of us authors. We love your feedback and we love meeting you. Thank you so much for your support, your friendship and your prayers. We Seekers love you to pieces.

Celebrating a holiday made me hungry for pizza. So I have trays of every kind of pizza you could think of.  Even anchovies and pineapple.  Yuk.  But I know some of you love those items on your pizza.  My favorite is sausage, mushrooms, peppers and olives.  Of course they are gooey with cheese.  Enjoy and have a great week.

Prize giveaway today to two winners drawn from those who comment will have their choice of one of my books.  

Don't forget to check out the blog tour. You can enter on Rafflecopter for a wonderful grand prize.