There was a lot of controversy last year between print publication reviewers and online bloggers. In your opinion, what defines a ‘legitimate’ reviewer?

Getting paid and having deadlines seems like criteria that makes one a “legitimate” reviewer. Or maybe that’s just a professional – which probably can be considered the same as legitimate. I love it when MostlyFiction.com is quoted in book blurbs and by other sites. It doesn’t happen often enough, but somehow that makes me feel our site is more legitimate. So by that criteria, I’d say popularity does lend itself to legitimacy as well. Although we have some very fine writing on MostlyFiction.com, I think most people would classify us as "talented amateurs."

What is your stand on paid reviews?

I assume by “paid reviews” you mean that the newspaper, website or blogsite is paying the writer for a review that they asked them to write and not the publisher paying for the review at the newspaper, website or blogsite. If so, then I think that people who get paid to write reviews have generally earned the right to be compensated. I like to read both professional and amateur reviews when I’m trying to decide on a book. I never think, “oh that person got paid so they must have had to say that.” A well written review will always tell you what works and does not work in a book. Even, if someone is writing a fluff review, the writer knows how to get a “didn’t like it” message out. Again, I think reading is subjective, so I don’t think it matters if someone is paid. A well written review is helpful, regardless.

I think it would be cool if I could pay our reviewers.

What about reviewers or review sites that charge authors and publishers for a review?

Interesting concept, but I would not do this; I think it would change MostlyFiction.com’s purpose. First, it seems that you would have to guarantee a large enough audience that you could ensure that the author or publisher was getting their money’s worth from this stealth form of advertising. The reviewers would then be required to write the review even if they hated the book, turning a passion into a job. And, finally you get into the ethical problem of whether or not to write an honest review. One of my first jobs out of college was to write “puff” articles on seacoast restaurants that bought advertising from the newspaper. As I say, there is always a way to write a review to get your honest opinion out (describing the tacky décor worked in one instance) but it still left me with a queasiness that eventually made me decide that the job wasn’t for me. So I think that ethically, I wouldn’t be up for charging – if I wanted to make more money I’d be more honest and sell ad space. Of course, this also makes me wonder whose reviews can be trusted if this is common practice. I feel so naïve!