More fan mail

I have to admit, getting emails from readers makes my day. As an author, we pour our hearts out into our books. We slave over them, crafting every word. We second guess ourselves. We then put the book out there and worry, will the reader like it? Will they think it sucks? Have we done the best job we possibly could have done?

The waiting is sometimes pure torture. Then the reviews come in, and they're good so I feel a little better. Then, if an author is lucky, the emails come in that don't chastize or let you know you screwed up somehow. Instead you get short, sweet little things that make your day, like this one from Melba:

I just read the Christmas Date and I couldn’t put the book down. This book is a keeper. Thank you.

Those type of emails, which means the reader went to my website and used the response form, make my day. Writing is a job. But unlike my teaching job, I don't receive immediate feedback. In my day job I can see my students' reactions. My principals and colleagues stop by and pat me on the back, like they did after the first high school newspaper my students produced this year.

As an author, our only real feedback aside from our sales numbers is reader feedback. To have reader stop by the website and drop you a line makes you feel that all your effort is worth it. It gives that positive push when the muse leaves and you wonder if you can really tell a story at all.

So thanks Melba, and all those other readers who let us authors know we've touched you enough to write. You make our day.