500

If it seems like the time is accelerating for First to get to each successive hundred ratings on Amazon, well, that’s because it is. It hit the 400 mark at the end of June, which took almost three months. From 400 to 500 didn’t even take a month-and-a-half. First flirted with staying at 4.5 stars for a few weeks, but once again has leveled out at 4.4. What’s interesting is that the book is getting lots of ratings, but very few written reviews. In fact, I only count one review in July and August. At least it was a good one. Anyway, I find this milestone to be gratifying. 500 is a nice big number. And the way the book has been selling lately gives me hope I’ll keep seeing the number grow. From the statistical standpoint, it’s also a nice sample size. Ten people saying a book is 4.4 stars is suspect, at best. Not enough opinions to provide confidence. 500, though? That’s a good group size where you start to realize if that many people like the book, then it must be pretty good. As I’ve said before, I’m grateful to each and every person who leaves a rating, and extra thankful for those who leave a written review. If you’re the type who reads a book but doesn’t leave a rating, please do. Authors appreciate it more than you know and that simple act resonates with the author in multiple ways. It gives them feedback on the book, clearly, but accumulating ratings also helps sales. More ratings feed into the recommendation algorithm Amazon uses. Okay, enough preaching. Go forth and leave ratings.