*Today I have Gordon Osmond stopping by to talk about Book reviews. He’s welcoming a lively discussion, so let’s give him one.
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The following article expresses only my own personal opinions and observations and was written primarily to stimulate discussion on a subject important to authors. Contrary opinions and other comments are encouraged.
Many questions arise on this subject once a book has been accepted for publication and the author is starting out on the daunting task of promoting it with a view to stimulating sales.
When should the search for a review begin?
It depends upon which reviewers you’re courting. If you want a “free” review in Publishers Weekly or other well-respected and notorious review sources, you’d best submit your book pre-release.
Getting reviews in advance of publication also makes it possible to put squibs from glowing reviews on the printed copy of the book itself. This is, of course, more important when your book will be on shelves rather than only online.
What different kinds of reviews are out there? How do they rank in terms of credibility and exposure?
A statement from John/Jane Q. Public which reads something like, “A real page turner. I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait for the next one” whether it appears on Amazon or in Macy’s window, is a nice comment but not my idea of a review, especially if it is written by a blood relative who owes you money.
On the other end of the spectrum is a thorough and well reasoned review written by someone who has no reason whatsoever to be kind and who also has some experience writing reviews for credible reviewing sites, like Bookpleasures or Bookideas for which I write reviews. One of my most treasured reviews of my debut novel, Slipping on Stardust, was a 5-Star Amazon review from an author whose own book I rated less then perfect on my review sites. Now that’s impartiality! Amazon is a mixed bad, including as it does reviews from their Top Ranking Reviewers as well as from Aunt Edna. Also, in deciding whether a review can be posted, Amazon seems more concerned with whether the reviewer has a customer account with Amazon than with whether the reviewer has actually received the book being reviewed.
One of the many great things about Secret/Sweet Cravings Publishing is that reviews on a book’s page are divided between regular reader reviews and professional ones. Amazon seems to make a comparable effort, but I’m not convinced it’s always successful.
Paid reviews are to me prima facie questionable despite protestations of impartiality by the reviewing site.
And don’t let the stars get in your eyes and hope they don’t get in the eyes of those browsing for good books to read. I received a 4-Star review from a Top Amazon reviewer that showed more care in reading my book than I took in writing it.
By the way, there’s a difference between a “mixed” review wherein a single writer carefully balances a book’s merits and demerits and “polarized” reviews where there’s a wide range in a group of reviews between good and bad.
How should authors react to reviews?
With stoic restraint. There’s nothing wrong with thanking a reviewer for the time taken in reading your book, and an author can certainly express the pleasure of receiving a good review. But challenging or arguing with the author of a less-than-glowing review is downright foolish and should never be done.
If an author’s frustration or anger level is at the breaking point, it might be acceptable to say something like what’s been said to me sometimes by the author of a book I have reviewed more or less unfavorably, viz,. “It’s always interesting to see my work seen through other eyes.” Of course, the subtext is, “And your eyes are not functioning,” but no harm done. As a critic, I have more respect for an author who takes the lumps in silence.
Final advice and comfort from the great American actor Geraldine Page.
Ms. Page received precious few bad reviews in the course of her long and distinguished stage and film career, but when asked how she would react to a bad one, she answered simply, “I would just think the critic has poor taste.” That should sustain all authors in their darkest hours.
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| [amazon_link id=”1618856618″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link] | BN | SCP |Blurb:
The ultimate guilt-free escapist adventure, Slipping on Stardust is a riveting tale of small-time life, adolescent rebellion, community theatre intrigues, and legal scandals, with a kidnapping demanding suicide as ransom thrown in for extra spice. The book is an ideal gift, suitable for stuffing in beach bags, holiday stockings—in fact, everything but the Thanksgiving turkey.
It all starts when Adrian Conway, an aging Hollywood movie icon, arrives in Johnson, Ohio to star in a community theatre production opposite the local reigning drama queen, who is the wife of the town’s leading lawyer and the mother of a handsome, but sexually undecided son, who suffers from every adolescent plague except acne. To say that all hell breaks loose thereafter is not to do justice to hell. The conflicts that follow fling family members to New York City and to Hollywood in a trail of betrayal, scandal, and crime.
The exposure of small-town foibles and secrets plus the depiction of the tragic and sometimes comic consequences of sacrificing real values for false ones have caused Slipping on Stardust to be viewed as a cross between Peyton Place and Madame Bovary.
After only five months on the market, Slipping on Stardust has already garnered no fewer than 10 five-star reviews on Amazon, including reviews from a Pulitzer Prize nominee and a Ph.D. who teaches creative writing at the university level.
Book website: http://i-m.co/GordonOsmond/
Book excerpt (not previously featured on guest blogspots):
In Columbus, an assistant district attorney, well down the bureaucratic totem pole, had listened patiently to the separate testimonies of both Mason and Allerton. Mason’s account was liberally peppered with references to Allerton; Allerton’s contained nary a single reference to his boss, focusing solely on his own innocence.As the meeting was winding down, a secretary announced the arrival of one Danton Brockway, who apparently had something to add to the proceedings. Dan entered the room, acknowledged the two he knew and shook hands with the one he didn’t.“Thank you for agreeing to see me without an appointment, but I fear that your office may be about to make an erroneous determination of guilt in the Malorex matter. As I understand it, neither of these two gentlemen has offered evidence of their whereabouts on the night in question. I am in a position to do so.”It would be difficult to choose which participant in the meeting was the most astonished.Danton continued, “Alibis tend to be suspect when provided by loved ones or by those with a financial interest in a particular result. What I’m about to tell you is not only not self-serving, but the very essence of an admission against my own interest and therefore, under well established evidentiary principles familiar to us all, worthy of the highest possible degree of credibility.”Mason interrupted, somewhat frantically. “What are you talking about, Danton?”“Let him speak, Mr. Kriek. I think he’s about to tell us.” The junior DA was earning his wings.“What I’m talking about, Mason, is that Mr. Allerton could not possibly have taken the documents during the time period in question for the very simple, and to me fatal, reason that he was with me at the Bird’s Nest motel that entire night. He was with me at my request—a request reinforced with the clearest possible threat of professional retaliation should he have refused.”While the others were reeling, Dan was drilling through Allerton’s eyes with an urgent message for his brain. Deny this and you’re dead.Speaking of eyes, the assistant district attorney was suddenly looking at Mason Kriek with new ones.
Thanks so much, Sarah, for this handsome presentation of my book and my views on book reviews. I very much appreciate this valuable service you provide to your fellow authors.