Ohio University alum Will Bashor talks about how a “Kirkus Star Led to Increased Sales and Invitations to Book Festivals.”
Will Bashor
Will Bashor earned his M.A. degree in French literature from Ohio University and a Ph.D. in international studies from the American Graduate School in Paris, where he gathered and researched letters, newspapers, journals, and plays for his biographies: Jean-Baptiste Cléry: Eyewitness to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette’s Nightmares, Marie Antoinette’s Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution, and more recently Marie Antoinette’s Darkest Days: Prisoner No. 280 in the Conciergerie.
A professor at Franklin University in Columbus and a member of the Society for French Historical Studies, he is currently working on the final tome of his Marie Antoinette trilogy, Marie Antoinette’s World: A Labyrinth to the Queen’s Psyche.
After almost three years of intermittent writer’s block, an incredibly hectic schedule, and nonstop rewriting and polishing, my first book, Jean-Baptiste Cléry—with its inspiring cover—was just a few steps away from being subjected to crowds of fans grabbing the first copies off the bookshelves. Glowing reviews from the press could only follow.
Well, so I thought. My book did make it to the bookshelves, but there were no crowds—other than family members—and there were no reviews. How could I get reviews if no one was reading my chef-d’oeuvre? and, if I didn’t get any reviews, how could I sell more books?
When I came across Kirkus Reviews, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about investing in a review. But after some diligent investigation and considering the work I had put into this project, I was assured when I read that Kirkus gave readers a concise, unbiased opinion that could be “positive, negative or neutral.”
I took the plunge but, alas, I didn’t get the magnanimous praise I had expected. I was a bit discouraged when I read the review..,.
It was not long until I realized that praise was only for my ego. I bit my lower lip and took the review to heart for my next book, striving to keep a neutral stance and backing up my claims with substantial citations and footnotes. I was soon humbly grateful for such honest critique that helped me grow as a writer. It also influenced how I approached my very next project.
And, to my surprise, Marie Antoinette’s Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution, not only received a Kirkus Star, but sales increased and I was invited to numerous book festivals, signings, and campus readings. When the book was also featured on two television programs, I could only attribute its popularity to its first review, an unbiased opinion from the Kirkus Reviews team!
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