Let’s start with some complexity: writing is part of an unwritten contract binding writers whose job is self-explanatory with readers whose job needs to cross over into the writer’s domain in order for the writers they like to continue to write. Confused? Let me explain.

There is little point to my writing anything if there is no one to read it. Writers need readers. But readers don’t just appear like snowflakes falling from the sky. In order for someone to make the decision to give you their money and buy your book you need to connect with them at a level that makes the associated uncertainty and calculated risk negligible. This is bridged by trust which, in those cases where it is not formed as part of some kind of already established relationship, it is calculated through either extended contact or social proof.

Extended contact is certainly possible. As a writer I put out a lot of useful content that has practical value to readers which I publish on my blog. My reason for that goes beyond the purely transactional. I genuinely want to help others because I have been helped by the generosity of many in the trajectory of my own career so this is part of my giving back. In addition it provides a handy means through which readers and potential readers get to know me and when they engage either through comments or emails, I always take the time to interact.

Social proof is, really, nothing more than reviews. And here things get tricky. Most readers think that once they buy a book their job is done, after all, they have forked out money and given their trust so that should be it. Unfortunately it isn’t. Readers also have a responsibility to themselves, other potential readers and the writers they like (and even those they do not) to provide as honest a review as possible.

This makes it tricky because readers now have to write. Although sites like Amazon try to make the process as easy as possible, with reminders and channels through which a star rating system and a couple of words are enough to pass as a review, it still takes time and effort and thinking and all of this are obstacles that a busy reader with a life to live and a living to earn, barely sees as his remit.

So that leaves us at this impasse. Writers really need reviews from readers in order to increase the visibility of their books, establish a connection with their readers, better understand their audience, improve their own writing and continue to hone their craft. Readers think that writing is only what writers do.

Here are a couple of inescapable truths: Reviews are hard work and they put your name, as a reader, in the public domain, in writing. Reviews are a bridging point between writers and readers that shows exactly how successful the former has been at communicating with the latter.

If you read a book and write a review afterwards you will, usually, have to think a little about the book itself and its overall structure and message. That will help you, as a reader, but it will also help the writer. You will be giving something back from what you got.

The Sniper Mind: Eliminate Fear, Deal with Uncertainty, and Make Better Decisions