A Rare Note on Reviews from the Blogger

I am your The New Book Review blogger and thought I'd weigh in on the state of reviews these days. I hope it will benefit both authors and readers. 
 
Recently someone on one of the forums I frequent expressed the idea that readers are impressed by any review--good or bad. I responded to the audience of writers, but it behooves readers to understand the review process better, too. Just like advertising, reviews can be manipulated to put them in the best light. A note here to readers: If you decide to write a review of a book, be fair. Try to temper a critical review with constructive criticism and a rave review with, yes, constructive criticism. 
 
Anyway, here's what I told authors about the state of review in this Internetted world:

I've seen some authors weigh in on positive reviews with negative comments because they're sure the reviewer has an agenda (And that's a really stupid approach to marketing, if I do say so). I've also seen them dispute negative reviews and that isn't a much better tactic in terms of public relations.

 I’ve also seen them pay for reviews, apparently unaware that librarians and bookstore buyers don't give either paid-for review or Amazon reviews much—if any--weight. They may also be unaware that there are other ways to get reviews. Namely by asking their readers for them. Or asking bloggers for them. Or using alternative online review sites like this one where you’ll find guidelines for submission in the left column).

That said, we all need good reviews and we can even make the bad ones work for us. We should keep the gems in any review to use in media kits, on our Web sites, etc. Yes, even negative reviews can sometimes be excerpted to find little jewel soundbites.

And as long as we're on the subject, I've heard that a good review on Amazon can up sales by 10%. I don't remember the source. I  suspect that reviews also help with Amazon's logarithms and whatever formula Amazon uses takes hold, they start sending out your book in their mass e-mails for suggested reading--obviously a very targeted advertising campaign we should all aim to be part of.

I also encourage authors to post reviews of others’ books on Amazon. It’s a lovely gift for a fellow writer in 2014.

Here’s a real upside to reviews. Since they have (mostly) moved from the pages of literary journals into the hands of amateur reviewers (meaning—sadly—readers!), we authors have more power over getting reviews for our books. We also can more easily determine how effectively good reviews can be used. There is always a risk factor with reviews, but even ones we might consider bad can be learning tools.

One technique I like is picking up little positive soundbites from a review. Say even a bad reviewer says the characters are dazzling. The author can then quote that one little tidbit in their media kit, their newsletter, their Website. It would look like this:

 "...dazzling..." ~ Kirkus Review

The ads for movies do this all the time. You can, too. 

So have at making the most of reviews. Just don’t pay for them.

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From your New Book Review blogger. Learn more about the review process in the Writers Resource section of my HowToDoItFrugally Web site, http://howtodoitfrugally.com/reviews_and_review_journals.htm.

Poet J. R. McRae Urges Celebration of Earth Day with Poetry

Sublime Planet: Celebrating Earth Day and the Universe
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball
ISBN 9781482054705
Publisher: Compulsive Reader
Available as paperback or for e-readers on Amazon
"I recommend Sublime Planet particularly to those individuals who reside on this planet." ~ Suzanne Lummis, UCLA poetry instructor

Reviewed by J. R. McRae

SUBLIME PLANET,  includes a section called Sacred Lessons, Poems by Carolyn Howard-Johnson and one called Tipping Point with poems by Magdalena Ball .

Two very different poets, very different styles of writing, have produced a collection united by their passion for environment, for the world that touches their skin and imbues them with its presence with every breath they take.

This collection, is their tribute to their world, both physical and mental, our world.

It is replete with flashes of insight,

forcing myself to see
all these stories
left to grow
viral in rubbish

[from Toxic by Magdalena]

memorable lines that linger in the soul.

 

Writing in my sleep, metaphors that sit on the bridge
of my nose.

[from My Favorite Things by Carolyn]

The collection is sprinkled liberally with stunning images that catch and hold the eye –

Van Gogh brushed sea

marked with freighters,
lights twinkling.
smudged parentheses afar,
looming presences up close.

[From Malacca Strait by Carolyn]

grain of sand in your speculation oyster

truth taken for granted

[From Walking Into Eternity by Magdalena]

Acerbic or more subtly needling, comments, hit home –

Forgotten history meets trashtree

another landfill specimen
pink, fragrant, invasive
easing pangs

you wear like designer clothes.

[From Trashtree by Magdalena]

 

He unaware
he is endangered,
I unaware he might
be dangerous.

[From The Giraffe by Carolyn]

 

This is a collection to be savoured in quiet moments, in those reflective times with wine or coffee in a comfy couch.

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ABOUT THE REVIEWER

J.R.McRae once worked in a circus, as a Rare-Books Librarian, as a book-reviewer, as assessment package writer and Associate Lecturer, English Expression, for international postgraduates, University of Queensland. Her short stories and award winning poetry are in anthologies and journals, like Basics of Life, 100 Stories for Queensland, Stories for Sendai, The Spirit of Poe, Trust and Treachery, Poe-it, Quadrant, Long and Winding Road, Bound by the Secrets We Hide, Antipodes, Social Alternatives. Her Artwork/photography features in Ripples, ABC Pool, The Mozzie and Vine Leaves. As awarded children’s/education writer, J.R.Poulter, she has thirteen books, eleven digital and more coming 2013/14/15. Websites: http://www.jrmcrae_subversive.weebly.com, 

http://www.jenniferrpoulter.weebly.com/

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Nina Amir and Writer's Digest Pair for Must-Have Reference for Writers

The Author Training Manual: 

SUBTITLE: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell,
Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively
By Nina Amir
Foreword by James Scott BellAuthors Website: www.ninaamir.com
Category: Authorship
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Writer's Digest Books (March 18, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1599631458
ISBN-13: 978-1599631455
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

By Brian Felsen, President, BookBaby www.bookbaby.com

Among the myriad of books written about the business of writing and publishing, Nina Amir's The Author Training Manual is the first I've seen which combines all of the elements necessary to learn how to be an actual (rather than "aspiring") writer.  What makes this book special is its focus on how authors can view themselves and their art from a third person perspective to evaluate why someone might want to purchase or publish a book.  She recommends an analysis of the true size and demographics of a book's potential market, and she shows how to take the point of view of readers and publishers to assess how well a book's purpose matches the needs of its prospective audience.  With this foundation in place, the reader can begin an examination of how to sharpen a book's focus; how to structure a work so the content will match the excitement of the description; and how to write a proposal and build a platform.  The Author Training Manual presents a complete package which, if followed, will serve writers well with their professional careers and with their craft.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nina Amir 
Inspiration-to-Creation Coach
With Nina you... Achieve More Inspired Results
www.ninaamir.com

 
Author of these books for writers:
How to Blog a Book, 
How to Write, Publish and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time 
(Writer's Digest Books)
The Author Training Manual: 
Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, 
Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively 
(Writer's Digest Books)
10 Day and 10 Ways to Return to Your Best Self 
(Pure Spirit Creations)

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers.

Jim Cox Makes Midwest Reviews Easier for Indie Authors

I ran this--with permission of course--in my Sharingwithwriters newsletter and received more thank yous from grateful indie authors for doing it than most anything else I have run.  So thought I'd share it with my blog subscribers and visitors, too.

Midwest Book Review Assures Review for Deserving Books

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This good news from Jim Cox at Midwest Book Reviews is reprinted from the Midwest Newsletter with permission.

 

By Jim Cox

 

It's a new year and I've developed a new policy here at the Midwest Book Review that went into effect on January 1st. It all started a few weeks ago when I was doing some office work and received five phone calls during the morning from five self-published authors wanting a status report on the books they had submitted for review.

 

In each case I had the unfortunate responsibility of informing them that although their books had arrived safely and passed our initial screening process, they were unable to achieve a review assignment in the allotted time (14 to 16 weeks) simply because we had too many books being submitted for review consideration (an average of 2000 a month) and only 81 reviewers.

 

Then with the fifth of those phone calls I got a sudden inspiration. So here's the new policy based on that idea:

 

Any author or publisher who has submitted a book for review consideration to the Midwest Book Review and whose book passed our initial screening and simply did not get reviewed because of "too many books, not enough reviewers", that author or publisher can submit the MBR a review from any other reviewer or review resource, as long as they have that reviewer's permission to do so. We will run the review in our monthly book review publication "Reviewer's Bookwatch" on behalf of that author or publisher, under that reviewer's byline. (Of course, the reviewer retains all copyright and ownership rights to their review, just like any other contributor to the "Reviewer's Bookwatch".)

 

I'm making this policy retroactive, so if you have ever submitted a book to the Midwest Book Review in the past and it failed to achieve a review assignment from us, then this offer is open to you.

 

Here is a link to our "Reviewer Guidelines" that I provide anyone seeking to submit reviews to the Midwest Book Review -- feel free to use it if you are recruiting your own reviewers:

 

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/revinfo.htm

 

So now our online book review 'audience' of booksellers and the general reading public, including our network of libraries and librarians, is open anyone whose book was good enough to pass our screening process but didn't make it all the way through because of our limited reviewer resources.

 

This new policy is in service to our overall goal of promoting literacy, libraries, and small press publishing.

  

All of the previous issues of the "Jim Cox Report" are archived on the Midwest Book Review website. If you'd like to receive the "Jim Cox Report" directly (and for free), just send me an email asking to be signed up for it.

So until next time -- goodbye, good luck, and good reading!

Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI, 53575
http://www.midwestbookreview.com

 

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Pat Boone Fan Club is Finding Yourself Memoir

Title: The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew

Author: Sue William Silverman
Author's Website: http://www.suewilliamsilverman.com/

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Pages: 248 pages
Genre: Memoir
ISBN: 0803264852
Amazon Link

 Reviewed by Beth Tropp

The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew tells a universal story of a young woman trying to discover who she truly is apart from what her family, culture and surroundings have told her she is. What makes this memoir is unique is that author Sue William Silverman is simultaneously trying to find herself and run away from herself at the same time. It makes for a fascinating "Alice down the Rabbit Hole" feeling at times.

This memoir flits between Silverman's childhood and her young adulthood, weaving the events and feelings of her early family life with how she reacts decades later. Silverman's writing is very alive. As a reader you feel immersed in her world, not just seeing it but feeling, tasting and smelling it. She weaves ribbons from moments in her childhood to odd obsessions and reactions she experiences in later life. It's an eye-opening tale that will have you re-examining your own life, wondering how much of your life is not an independent choice but a reaction to your childhood.

 

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Second Edition Reviews by Well Known Editor Dr. Bob Rich

The Frugal Editor
Subtitle: Do-it-yourself editing secrets for authors; From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your new bestseller
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Second Edition: Newly formatted, updated, and expanded
Multi award-winning first edition
Purchase e-book
Genre: Nonfiction/writing, editing, marketing
Print edition is coming soon

Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich, editor of "Bobbin Around"

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has sent me an invaluable resource: the revised, updated The Frugal Editor: Do-it-yourself editing secrets for authors; From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your new bestseller.

One of the marketing tricks in this digital age is the elephant-size subtitle. Carolyn explains that it contains all sorts of keywords that will direct Internet searches to her book.

The conventions of grammar, punctuation, clear writing, and similar topics are not most people’s idea of light reading. Carolyn’s chatty style and clarity help to make such stodgy stuff more palatable.

This is not a book to read, but a reference book to study. It should be an essential part of any writer’s armoury.

Buy it now and use the free app from Amazon to install it on readers other than Kindle.

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Nancy Famolari calls Sublime Planet "A Celebration of Earth"

Sublime Planet
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball
The Celebration Series of Poetry
Celebrating Earth and the Universe
Genre: Poetry/Nature/Science
Photography by Ann Howley
Available e-book and paperback

Reviewed by Amazon Vine Reviewer Nancy Famolari Our world is both magnificent and terrible. These poems celebrate both aspects. I delighted in the lush images of places I've loved seeing them through the eyes of someone who loved them, too: Santa Ana winds, poppies, the plains of Kansas. There are also harsh poems like "Trash Tree" that show us the dark side of ourselves and the world. My favorite is "The Man I Love and the Writing Spider" because it's so close to my own experience. I watch the spider build a web of silver threads delighting in the intricacy. But when it leaves the web and wants to come inside, it becomes the enemy. I want to squash it, but I'm grateful when some kinder person rescues it and gives it another chance at life or death. The poems not only invite you to relive sensuous experiences, but they make you think about the world, how important it is, and how we need to care for it. The book is a wonderful gift for Earth Day. A good time to meditate on the magnificence of the world.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Nancy Famolari splits her time between her farm in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania and a smaller farm near Ocala, Florida. She and her husband love riding their Paso Finos in the Endless Mountains and in the Goethe Forest near Ocala. She is the author of the Montbleu Murder series. The Endless Mountains, a lovely rural area with many small towns dating from the early 1800s provides the background for the novels in this series. She also writes romance novels about her experiences racing, breeding, and training Standardbred horses for harness racing. Her most recent mystery  is Yellow Diamond Caper,  http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Diamond-Caper-Nancy-Famolari/dp/1480151181/

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.