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I Liked Your Book

“I loved your book.”

“I really enjoyed your book.”

“Your book was wonderful.”

It’s always a treat to hear comments like that. And whenever I read a wonderful book, I usually tell the author those same things. But now that I’ve heard some more specific comments, I realize what a difference the exact words make.

“I liked where they’re fighting in the kitchen and the kid comes in.”

“Nobody’s ever surprised me in an epilogue the way you did.”

“My favorite scene was the one in the restaurant where she’s trying not to sit too close.”

Those comments are a joy! Not only do I know that someone read my book, I know they enjoyed something in particular. I feel as if we truly shared something — I put together a scene that I thought people would like, and they actively appreciated it.

Looking back on all the fan letters I’ve written, I regret not having been more specific. It’s one thing to tell Nora Roberts, “I really liked Dance To The Piper.” It’s another to tell her, “I really liked how Reed takes care of Maddy’s plants.”

So next time I want to compliment an author on a particular book, I’m going to tell her what I especially enjoyed about it. And hope that it gives her a moment as pleasurable as what she’s given me.

Author:

Laurie Campell
Laurie Schnebly Campbell loves giving workshops for writer groups about "Psychology for Creating Characters," "Making Rejection WORK For You," "Building A Happy Relationship For Your Characters (And Yourself)" and other issues that draw on her background as a counseling therapist and romance writer. In fact, she chose her website (www.BookLaurie.com) so people would find it easy to Book Laurie for programs. Her first novel was nominated by Romantic Times as the year's "Best First Series Romance," and her second beat out Nora Roberts for "Best Special Edition of the Year." But between those two successes came a three-year dry spell, during which Laurie discovered that selling a first book doesn't guarantee ongoing success. "What got me through that period," she says, "was realizing that the real fun of writing a romance is the actual writing. "People ask how I find time to do all that," Laurie says, "and I tell them it's easy. I never clean my house!"

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