This time of year, we all get asked (and ask others) some version of the same question over and over: what do you want for Christmas? Ask a child and they’re likely to rattle off their list for you. As we get older, it gets harder and harder to think of things we want. I know I struggle to come up with anything when someone asks. I mean, I have pretty much everything I want in life. I have a smoke show for a wife and a genuinely amazing daughter and son-in-law. I have a comfortable house and a car that runs well. I make plenty of money to pay my bills. What do I lack? 

But there is one thing that I’d really love to find in my stocking, and all of you can help me with it without affecting your budget one iota. I have my two front teeth, I have nowhere to keep a hippopotamus, and I call your attention to the whole smoke show wife thing. So all I ask from you this Christmas is a quick review on Amazon or Goodreads or wherever you get your books. 

In case you think it’s too hard to give a review, let me assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. To leave an Amazon review, all you have to do is search for my book, scroll down to “Customer Reviews”, and click on “Write a customer review.” You then pick the number of stars you would give it on a scale of one to five. It even has a handy little scale that describes what each number essentially means. Three is a neutral review. Above that is positive and below that is a book you might want to reconsider reviewing just because you probably don’t have anything nice to say about it. You can then choose to add a title if you would like and also a brief description of your experience of the book. No need for an elaborate plot summary–that’s already there. A sentence or two about why you enjoyed the book would be more than enough. In fact, if you are just completely scared of writing for public consumption, even just leaving a starred review without any text is a long shot better than none at all. 

If you read my book and liked it, it really would mean the world to me if you would take a minute (maybe even less than a whole minute) to drop a positive review. They are like gold to me as an indie author. And if you haven’t read it yet, all you have to do is click the link below, choose the retailer you like best, and download it for your e-reader for absolutely free. (Amazon is .99, but it’s free everywhere else, so just pick another retailer to get it for free.) 

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out. I think I’d be almost as excited to hear from a reader as if you left me a review. Ask me anything, professional or personal. I don’t have a staff, so the answer will come from little ol’ me. 

Godspeed,

Joe