Last summer, I noticed that ELLE magazine invites their readers to be a part of their Readers’ Prize jury. Each month, they ask 15 people to read three books and rank them best to worst, and submit brief comments on each selection. I emailed the editor about my interest, and a few months later, got a letter in the mail along with 3 advance copies of memoirs. I was in!
I loved being a part of the jury and was disappointed that, although they published the synopses in the December 2011 print edition, they never added it to their website, where they usually posted more of the readers’ reviews. So imagine my surprise, when upon Googling my name (what, doesn’t everybody?), I saw that my review had not only been submitted to the author, but my comments were the only ones singled out by her for her website.
So I may not be a published author, per se. But at least I know that one respects my opinion — and how I express it.