Every author loves to get feedback on his or her work. At least, I assume every author does. I know I enjoy. And I have yet to meet an author who doesn’t like to get feedback on that work.

What we don’t like so much is asking for that feedback.

For me, asking for the feedback is especially hard. I am very much an introvert. I prefer to spend time alone writing or surrounded by a group of close friends. While I might enjoy brief moments in the spotlight, I am uncomfortable being out front all the time. I don’t like asking people to buy more books and then asking those who have bought and read them to please leave a review of the book on Amazon.

But I am not opposed to reading and then sharing the posted reviews of my work!

Last week, for example, I was looking at my books on Amazon. I check every now and again, just to see if people are talking about my work. I was surprised to see some reviews with 4 and five stars, from readers I didn’t know. These were not from friends or family members—they came from people who had come across one or more of my books, read the books, and then posted their thoughts about them. Here are some snippets from a few of the reviews you can find on Amazon–

On Shattered:

This story really dealt with some real life issues with a depth that I did not expect. Faith and forgiveness take on a greater meaning. I don’t want to go into the story itself because I could never do it justice. Kudos to Lynn McMonigal for a job well done.

On Miracle Play

This book deals with some very deep emotional stuff. Keep the tissue box ready. The book is done tastefully. It is not graphic so you can read it without being offended even though sin does abound. I am very sensitive to that. As long as you can deal with the deep emotions of the mother of the 10-year-old, the wife of the husband who fathered this child, the 17-year-old daughter that is so upset about learning this side of her father and her 14-year-old brother that wants to meet this 10-year-old half-brother he just found out about this is a good book to read. If you can’t deal with the “drama” as it is drama, then I would not suggest this book to you.

On The Ladies of Faith:

This author sure is good at working up emotions, not just in her characters, but also in you as you read the book…. This is a very emotionally draining book but also is an encouraging book as it leads through the Word of God. Lynn McMonigal’s book don’t always have happy endings but they do resolve the issues and emotions dealt with. This book deals with life and death issues so it is not for the faint at heart. It is very tastefully done so that bad circumstances are talked about or referred to but not described in detail. I enjoyed this book and plan to read others but this author.

And then there were the comments that were posted on Facebook during the week, after Shattered had been offered free for the Kindle:

Lynn, I just wanted to tell you that after you posted about your book, “Shattered,” I decided to go get it. I started to read it last night, but knew I needed to sleep. So, I put it aside for another time. However, I woke up around 1 a.m. and couldn’t sleep. I picked up my Kindle and began reading. I had never read any of your work before, but I just wanted to tell you that, like your other reader, I could not put it down once I started. I tried to sleep a few times, but I ended up rolling back over to continue reading. Around 5:30 this morning, I finished reading your book. I just want to thank you for the red, stuffy nose I’m dealing with now. I cried a LOT while reading. Excellent story!

And…

Finished reading Shattered today. It was really good. I enjoyed it. The book was good and the message of forgiveness was awesome! Forgiveness is more for the person offering it than for the person receiving it. I think you did a great job expressing that.

My favorite review and by far the most priceless one that I have received is one that was not typed up at all. This past Sunday, a young man stopped me after church to apologize for not returning the copy of Forsaking the Call his mom had borrowed from the church library. “She’s done with it,” he said slowly, “but I am not yet. Can I bring it back next week?” I told him it wasn’t a problem at all and that I was happy to know he was reading it.

Now, there is something that you need to know about this young man. He is part of the SNAP (Special Needs Adult Program) group at the church. He and his mother told me that he really likes to read, but has a hard time finding books that hold his interest. Most books that are written on a level he can understand have story lines that are too simple for him. Most books written for adults have too many complicated plot twists and he can’t follow them. “Your books is just right,” he said. “It’s not too easy and it’s not too hard.” He said there were a few words he needed to ask his Mom to help him with, but he has read most of it on his own. And then he asked me to please keep writing good books so that he has more to read.

That has kept me smiling most of the week. I love that God knows when I am getting down about my writing and lets me get just the amount of feedback I need to fire me up and keep me writing.

I have self-published six books.

Six? Is that right?

Um, let’s see…. Five novels, one devotional. I am not good with math, but I am pretty sure that five plus one is six.

Wow. Six books. And all since my youngest son was born, just six years ago. Amazaing.

But I digress. I didn’t come here today to talk about how many books I’ve written in a short amount of time. I came to talk about self-publishing.

All of my books have been self-published. I chose to publish through CreateSpace for a variety of reasons. There are two main reasons I chose this company, though. One is the quick turnaround. Yes, I will admit it. I was impatient to see my first novel in print. For twenty years before I wrote it, I had dreamed of being a published author. And while I was proud of my book and the work I had put into it, I was scared to go the traditional publishing route.

Yes, I was scared. I freely admit it. I was afraid that I would send my completed book, my baby, to publishers and agents who would tell me it was not as good as I thought it was. I know myself well enough to know that it would only take one, possibly two, rejections to make me question my writing ability enough to give it up. The joy I get from this craft wouldn’t matter; if someone told me my work was not as good as I believed it was, someone in the publishing industry, rather than work at it, I would have walked away. Knowing that about me, I chose to pursue self-publishing rather than traditional publishing.

The main reason I went with CreateSpace, though, was the minimal costs involved. I have a decent amount of writing talent, but I don’t have a lot of money to invest in my talent. CreateSpace has no upfront costs. I order the number of books that I want, and that is what I pay for. Sure, I have to do the marketing work to sell copies of my books. My understanding, though, is that I would have to do this with a traditional publisher anyway. So really, that’s not a big deal. Sometimes, I feel lost with the marketing, though. That’s why I follow a few blogs by writers, especially by self-published writers.

This morning, I read one by a woman who seemed to be complaining about her decision to self-publish. She was moaning about the lack of money she has brought in and the lack of fame she has seen from her writing. She said something about wanting to see her book, her baby, shine in the limelight and how that is just not happening with self-publishing. She didn’t come out and say it, but she implied that she had been duped into believing that all she needed to do was come up with a good story, write it well, and the readers would be flocking to her to purchase her book. And since that wasn’t happening, she was a failure.

Now, self-publishing isn’t for everyone. It’s not an easy thing to do. For that matter, publishing PERIOD is not an easy thing to do. This is not a field to get into if you want to make a lot of money. It’s not a field to go into if you are hoping to get noticed or become famous. I mean, yeah, those things CAN happen, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Especially with self-publishing. If fame and fortune are how you define success in writing, self-publishing probably is not for you.

My definition of success changes with each book that I write. While I wouldn’t say no if a healthy dose of fame and fortune (especially fortune, as finances are tight) were to come my way, those are not the things that keep me writing. Success to me is a completed book, a book that one person, just one person reads and enjoys. I am a successful author if my book reaches someone who has never heard about Christ before. All I want to do is plant the seed with my book. That is where my success from self-publishing comes in.

The rest is just a bonus.