With so many major newspapers getting rid of their book review sections, how do you see the future of online review sites?

It’s an interesting question because I think you have to look at which books get reviewed by the newspapers and how these books are chosen. With approximately 10,000 novels published each year it is impossible to cover all new fiction no matter how many review outlets there are. So these newspaper reviews become legitimate filters that help direct our attention to a few worthy books – though I strongly suspect that the chosen books are first filtered by Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. So ultimately the question is, if newspapers stop being a cog in the publishing industry publicity, then what? And what do the paid book reviewers do for a living in the future?

No matter the intention, every book review is publicity. I don’t care what my reasons were for starting MostlyFiction.com, this site quickly became part of the PR cycle. It’s the nature of the beast. If all newspapers were to decide to drop book reviewing from their budgets, then some of the existing, or maybe some new websites, will rise up and fill the gap to filter and promote. The publishers need book reviews. Some sites are already more “legitimate” then others. These sites will probably have an even larger offering of advance review copies. Maybe we will recognize the new “legitimate” by the number of books they review at laydown date, as long as the reviews offer quality writing. It is hard for me to imagine that hasty quick Amazon.com blurb reviews will do the trick. Maybe, the sites that become “ new legitimate” will initially emulate the print world (or derive from the print world since most major newspapers print their books reviews online so why wouldn’t they continue doing this?). But with 175,000 new books published every year it is hard to imagine that this structure could last long. Moreover, as e-readers become more common and publishers will be able to push out review copies for less money, maybe the whole model will break apart.

If this happens, I just want it known that I will accept any unemployed book reviewers as volunteers at MostlyFiction.com….

Do you keep the author’s feelings in mind when you review?

I think about the fact that someone put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and has written a complete book. Thus, they deserve respect because this is not something that I will ever accomplish. I prefer that our reviewers be the good reader and give the book a chance. However, if the book is just not enjoyable, then leave it be. Hopefully someone else will find more pleasure in the book and they can write a fair review.

Have you received aggressive responses from authors or publishers because of a negative review? If yes, how do you handle it?