This post is aimed squarely at my fellow writers.
Since the act of reviewing a book was made available to every Tom, Dick or Harriet, and before you even think about writing one, there are a few things everyone needs to take into consideration before you hit the ‘Publish’ button.
To begin with, avoid spoilers (giving away the plot) like the plague. Next refrain from mentioning that you found errors in any given book, whether traditional or Indie published. It is extremely bad form. No one likes a smart arse endlessly droning on about it in every review they write, least of all the publisher and author of the work in question. To say the least, it becomes tiresome in the extreme. To that end there’s a highly appropriate saying which goes something like this – “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” In other words, unless your book(s) is 100% error free, say nothing derogatory. If it is, believe me, it will be a first in the history of publishing!!!
If you don’t want to give the wrong impression, especially if you want to be taken seriously as a writer, refrain from incessantly pouring scorn and finding fault with the majority of books you review. As for the content of your review, always ensure that it is error free. In other words, start the review’s title and every sentence with a capital letter. Then make sure that the content of your review is as word perfect as it can possibly be, not forgetting to make it grammatically correct.
So many reviews by writers these days are chock full of appalling basic errors which should have been knocked out of the potential reviewer when they attended primary school. Then there are the totally uncalled for comments where the reviewer tells the world about certain passages in the book they are reviewing that they objected to. All such comments are mostly penned by jealous writers hiding behind pseudonyms (trolls) on book sites like Amazon and Goodreads, hoping to destroy another writer’s reputation. What they fail to appreciate is that the only person they are hurting is themselves. If they can’t see that, they need serious one on one time with a psychiatrist.
Above all always remember this – no book is ever 100% error free. Not even your own. If all you have to offer is nitpicking criticism then maybe you need to refrain from reviewing. However if you do want to write a review, why not simply concentrate on what you actually liked about the book in question. Trust me you will feel better and your reputation as a reviewer will benefit enormously. Plus you will win the respect of your peers.
One last thing, making apologies for these sad individuals is not something you want to get involved in. There are no legitimate excuses for what some in our industry believe is their God given right to pour scorn!
While we have no say in what the general public say about our work, at least as writers we can set them an example by writing a non-toxic review.
π
Reblogged this on M J Mallon Author and commented:
Great points about authors reviewing authors from Jack Easton.
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Thanks Marje. Last time I checked, there is no ‘T’ in my surname. π xx
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Just realised I made that mistake and was frantically trying to change it. But WordPress won’t allow me into my blog! Hope it is nothing serious. I’m a bit worried!
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Don’t be. Normally its just your PC/Laptop locking up… π xx
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It’s working again! Have corrected my misspelling… Phew, that wordpress issue had me worried. I couldn’t edit my post or write any new ones. But, weirdly it seems to have sorted itself. Computers!
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…told you so π xx
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Couldn’t agree more well said Jack. π
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π xx
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Reblogged this on Plaisted Publishing House and commented:
How to write a book review
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Thanks Claire π x
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Welcome Jack
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π xx
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I’ll bear you company in mind as an alternative to Amazon’s KDP. Geoff Besos has changed the rules regarding his contributing authors, ending the normal payment of royalties in favour of KENP (Kindle Edition Normalized Pages) where we are only paid per page read. π x
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I don’t work on royalies. I get paid on final files. You own copyright and all royalties you earn. I work a bit differently π
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…as I said Amazon prefer to pay per line read which is hardly a good reason for anyone’s books being sent to them is it?
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Apologies I was just letting you know how mmy business model works. I’ve never used pay per line/page so don’t know much about it.
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Besos doesn’t see why he should pay royalties when he can keep them all himself. So to placate us he offers less than 0.003 of a cent per line. For any author to make any money at all, each copy of every book needs to be read at least a hundred times just to get the equivalent of one copy’s royalties…
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OMG….Not good at all. I’m here to help authors self publish and if they want to learn then i teach as well. You have all the control though i will advise at times on certain points, especially formatting.
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π x
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Some very nice thoughts on reviews, Jack. I was recently involved with a review group whose sole aim seemed to be to pick each book they reviewed apart and give low ratings. It wasn’t what I expected and it wasn’t pleasant.
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No good purpose is ever served by tearing other writer’s work apart. I do hope you have left that group Robbie. π xx
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Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
Read, inwardly digest, take note!!!
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