You know those sweet little this-is-the-best-book-I've-ever-read kind of comments that are usually found on the first few pages of a book? Or sometimes highlighted on the front or back cover? Yeah, those are endorsements. Marketers figure that if famous people have something nice to say about a book that it will sell like crazy-go-nuts. So . . .  guess what I'm doing this week.

Yep. I'm knocking on cyber doors with my puppy dog eyes and fluttering lashes trying to scare up some big names to endorse Brentwood's Ward. It's not as tough as it sounds.  I simply sent out email queries to authors that write in the same genre. Some of them I know. Others not at all. I've had years of experience with rejection, so a big fat "No" or a "Get lost" doesn't make me all teary eyed.

The thing that really ramps up my emotions is when someone asks me to read their book for endorsement, I do, and then I discover I really don't like the story. That's tough. Should I put my stamp of approval onto mediocre writing? How will the author feel if I admit I think their book is a stinker? Why is it easier to take rejection than to dish it out?

Here's a word of advice next time you have to humbly ask someone for potential words of praise: let them know ahead of time that it's okay if they don't want to, even after they've read it.