Tagged: authors
A Big Thank You to the Following Authors
Not only is it you guys, my readers, that make blogging possible, it’s the wonderful authors I interact with. I must admit that not every author has been the most pleasant person I’ve ever worked with, but they were definitely anomalies. All the same, there are some amazing authors who have left big impressions on me because of their kindness, which is why I would like to thank the following people:
Andy Szpuk, Andrew Levkoff, Matt Myklusch, Tara West, Krystal Wade, John Heldt, Zeinab Alayan, Michelle Hansen, Steve Poling, Marcus Matherne and Henry Venmore-Rowland.
If I’ve left any people out it’s definitely my own fault and is more of a reflection of my poor memory than of anything else. But a thanks like that is very generic, which is why I want to thank every one individually:
Andy Szpuk: Thanks so much for asking me to review your book. It has now finally returned from my father and my uncle and they both loved it, which is a huge achievement since they’re both more critical than I am.
Andrew Levkoff: Thank you for the amazing interview and for being the first author I actually ‘knew’ whose book I reviewed.
Matt Myklusch: I can’t thank you enough for sending along free signed copies of the last two books in your trilogy. Thank you for paying the shipping to Canada and for the great interview.
Tara West: Thanks for being so cooperative and taking the time and money to send me a physical copy of your book. I can’t wait to do a giveaway with you next year!
Krystal Wade: Well, what can I say? I’m glad you contacted me after seeing my review and agreeing to not only do two interviews with me, but to give me access to bonus content for your upcoming books. You’re still cruel for torturing me about Wilde’s Meadow, though.
John Heldt: Thank you for contacting me to review your first book and now the second book in your trilogy! I admit that I really did have my doubts when I saw the time travel premise, but you pulled it off so well.
Zeinab Alayan: Thank you for everything! The giveaway, the interview, for contacting me to review your book in the first place…I would have missed out on an amazing book if you hadn’t.
Michelle Hansen: You had the courage to contact a reviewer like me about my good review of your book and I really admire you for taking that chance. Thank you for helping me host my first-ever giveaway and for doing such an amazing interview.
Steve Poling: Where do I start? Thanks for doing an interview and being so generous when it came to handing out prizes for your giveaway. I look forward to reading your work in the future.
Marcus Matherne: Thank you for brightening my day with My Status Update Journey! Not many books can make me smile so much, but yours did and I hope it gets the attention it deserves online.
Henry Venmore-Rowland: Thank you for not judging me for my stupidity when I asked you about Septimius Severus when you had actually written about Aulus Caecina Severus. Yes, I know, two completely different people. After I sounded like a complete moron you still agreed to an interview and I’m very grateful for that. Maybe I’ll find time to read your book soon!
So here’s a big thank you to everyone! Thank you for making my book reviewing experience awesome and for making all of the hard work worth it.
Authors: The Following Information Should be Obvious
In my capacity as a book reviewer, I have worked with many authors. Most of them have been absolutely amazing, kind, considerate people. But it’s the other (small) part, the one that moans, nitpicks, gets ‘smart’ and thinks the world owes them something that makes my job quite unpleasant at times. That is why I have compiled this list for future references.
Authors, if this information seems blatantly obvious to you, great! Thank you for realizing book reviewers are human beings. If this information is completely new to you, then don’t waste my time by submitting your book for reviewing.
1. I am not your editor.
If there are mistakes in books, I will make notes of them as I read and include a few examples in my review. In my emails to authors I will often mention them and include some page numbers as examples. If there are only a few mistakes, I will list all of them. But sometimes this information brings up the question if I could go back and re-read a novel to find all of the mistakes, which brings me to the title of this point: I am not your editor.
If you are traditionally published and there are mistakes, it is not my problem that your editor did not do their job. They are obviously lazy or incompetent or both and should be fired. If you are self-published and hired a freelance editor but there are still mistakes, it is also not my problem. You got duped; it’s sad, but still not my problem. And, finally, if you are self-published but did not hire an editor, it is most definitely not my problem that you cannot match the quality of a real editor.
In short, bad editing is not my problem and I am under absolutely no obligation to tell you where all of the mistakes are. If you ask nicely I might, depending on how busy I am at the time and how much effort you are asking me to put in. If you want me to catch every little mistake and do content editing…well that’s a whole different ballgame. Hint: the answer is ‘no’, unless you’re willing to pay the proper hourly fee according to the EFA plus a little more since editing is above and beyond the call of a book reviewer. Basic copy-editing will cost you $50 an hour and my rates only go up from there. Hint: You can find cheaper rates out there. Continue reading
Things Authors Should Know About Bad Reviews
In the four or so months I’ve been book reviewing on this blog, I’ve given out some pretty bad reviews. As an amateur writer myself, I can understand the crushing feeling authors get when someone gives them a bad review. Although I can sympathize with writers, I would never have started a book reviewing blog if I couldn’t handle giving out bad reviews when they are deserved. So, all you writers out there, please read on and keep these things in mind when (not if) you get a bad review.
1. It’s not personal.
Unless the reviewer is a complete jerk, a bad review is never personal. They aren’t criticizing you; they’re criticizing your work. There’s a huge distinction between the two, although it doesn’t seem that way when your precious work is being trashed. Giving you a bad review is not an attack on your character, beliefs, etc. It is simply criticizing a product you have put out into the world with the expectation that people will buy it and talk about it. If you’re still convinced that bad reviews are always personal, let me ask you this: When you last criticized a product, were you personally attacking the creator of the product? Probably not. And yes, your book is a product for all intents and purposes because you are selling it. Continue reading