My Kirkus Indie Review Arrived!

I was in Australia for my daughter's wedding when I heard about Kirkus Review for Indie Authors. A friend had emailed information about it. I knew very little about Kirkus Indie at that point, but I had an instant gut feeling that it was what I should do. As an author struggling to make my mark, Kirkus seemed like the logical choice but I didn't have the PDF file of "What She Doesn't Know" with me, so I had to wait until I got home to send my book off for review.

I sent it the very day I arrived home. Jet-lag and all.

Yes, this review was a little more costly than what I had previously paid for promoing my work, and Kirkus is well known for being brutally honest in their reviews. Let's face it, they wouldn't have their renowned credibility otherwise.

I still had that gut feeling that I SHOULD do it, and after doing my research I learned that the review would not be posted for the world to see unless I wanted it to be. Therefore, if I got a less than stellar review, I could bury it deep within my files and it would never see the light of day. Needless to say, I hoped that wouldn't happen, but I was well aware of the possibilities.

On the upside, my treasure hunting romantic suspense was receiving very good reviews online. It is currently rating at 4.24 on Goodreads, and 4.6 out of 5 on Amazon. So, I waited - week after week, marking off the requisite time on my desk calendar. Nine weeks later I received an email. I was in the kitchen when the email came in, we'd just rushed home to start a late supper when I took a peek at my iPod and saw that the email from Kirkus was waiting.

Supper was even later that night, let me tell you! :) I told my husband to take over and I rushed down the hall to my computer so I could read the email on a bigger screen. Cliched as it might be, my heart was literally in my throat. My pulse had picked up, I held my breath in nervous trepidation/anticipation....


I read the review. My heart lurched. Wait! Had I read that correctly? I'd gone over it so quickly, I might have missed something. It seemed great to me. I read it again and I started to breathe, and smile and thank my lucky stars.... I had received a review to be proud of. And they even mentioned one of my favorite movies of all time, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

My gut feeling hadn't steered me wrong.

There are indie writers out there who are wondering about Kirkus Reviews. Should they risk it? My response: Writing is all about risk taking from the first moment you put pen to paper. We can say we're writing for ourselves, but the moment you publish, you're writing for your readers and you want it to be the best product you can muster. Kirkus Indie was a great choice for me. I'm thrilled with my review and I'd love to share it with you.

"Gardiner takes everything positive about romance novels, mixes it with a little bit of adventure and throws in an evil villain or two, resulting in a perfect petit four for sating a romantic craving. Just don’t be surprised if you are hungry for more 30 minutes later." -- Kirkus Reviews


https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lina-gardiner/what-she-doesnt-know/

Foray into Self-Publishing

Well, I did it.  I dared to step into the fray.  I thought about it long and hard before I took the step.  So many of my friends were on-board and doing very well.  Luckily, I found a wonderful lady who edited my book.  A general edit -- an overview, rather than a line edit -- that's what I requested.  Plotholes, timelines, etc.   She was wonderful.  Her name is Nancy Cassidy and her webpage is http://www.theredpencoach.com/home/ 
Next, I had a cover done.  And, is it a great cover!  I love it.  It was done by Kim Killion at Hot Damn Designs  www.hotdamndesigns.com/    Kim, took my suggestion for the bookcover to a whole new level.  It really does tell the reader what the story is about in a single glance.

Now, I'm lucky enough to have a friend who offered to format the document for me to get it online.  Thanks Rik!   Rik is one of Mark Coker's formatters.  You can find him online at Smashwords or at his website. www.rikhall.com/ 

Thing is, my friends were all ahead of me and talking about formatting and tweaking, and doing this and that.  I felt out of the loop.  I needed to know what it was they'd done.  I needed to do it for myself to understand the process. 

This experience has led me to understand that there is a mini techie lurking inside me.  LOL  I loved figuring it out and doing it for myself.   That said, my friend Norah Wilson shared umpteen messages with me to smooth the process out.  She's got several books online and is a Pro.   She's also a master marketer.  We all ask Norah for advice.  Thank you, my friend!

Next, I'm back to working on a requested book.  One that is three quarters finished and calling out to me.  After that, another self-pubbed book?   You bet!