Author Etiquette: Writing Testimonials

It’s interesting, once you become an author it’s like you automatically become a part of some secret society: The Author Society. Having been there, done that, gone through this, other authors can relate to how you feel about your book and the value that feedback or a purchase holds. Prior to releasing my first book, CONTRACTORS: Doing it Right Not Just Getting it Done, I didn’t know about this society or the support that it can provide—it blew me away and taught me many valuable lessons. Since the release of that book, I have also released Hiring a Contractor. Having a complementary, but very different target market, there were more lessons to be learned, but overall it was nothing that I wasn’t really expecting. I know I am being vague about these lessons, but I want to highlight one that I just learned from a new friend of mine, Sharon Sayler, author of What Your Body Says. Sharon and I met at a recent conference we both attended and as soon as she found out that I too, was an author she immediately took my book, offered to read it and write me a testimonial on Amazon. I was blown away, first because she took the only copy of my book that I had with me and because she offered to write me a testimonial! I was nervous and excited all in one. Fast-forward a short 24-hours later, and she finds me amongst the other 200 conference attendees, hands me my book and says “I posted a testimonial for you on Amazon and great book.” Now I am speechless, I was honestly expecting a testimonial to arrive in a few weeks at best. So the lesson I learned from Sharon reinforced what I have been learning since I released my first book but also taught me a new way to support other authors: write and record testimonials for them to use in promoting their work. Thank you Sharon! Your testimonial is on its way! What kind of support have you received or have you learned from The Author’s Secret Society?