When everyone has an e-reader and ARCs and review copies are sent vie e-mail, then we will not have to worry about managing our paper books. I think this will be a sad day for me, but a happy day for my husband.
What are the most common mistakes amateur reviewers make?
Writing a book report instead of a book review is one thing. But there is also a lot of careless bad writing. Some people do not rewrite and reorganize. They seem to think that the way the words fall out of their heads is perfectly good. They just rattle off their thoughts.
Also, people need to think about what they read. Answer questions like, how does the title relate to the book, if there an unusual chapter structure, how does this affect the book. In other words, answer questions on “how” as well as “what” and “who” and “when.” I am always surprised when a reviewer does not mention a thing about “where” the story is located. If the location is not important, well that is something worth mentioning too but location is often intricately a part of a book. If the reviewer does not like a character, does that make the book good or bad? More readable or less readable? Do you need to relate to this character to be able to enjoy the book? If there is a structural issue, think about how it affects the book, assume that the author chose to do this on purpose, then consider the purpose and its affect on reading the book. No review should just jump to a conclusion that it is faulty without an exploration of the author’s motives. Does the chosen point of view help or hurt the story’s purpose? Usually exploring these deeper questions results in a better reading of the book and better review writing.
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?
Article comments
1 - c hoare
Some interesting differences in the way MostlyFiction works. I like the idea of having links to other review sites and author sites. It suggests someone visiting the site will find more detailed information on both book and author -- and the author will have more substantial exposure than a few quick paragraphs vying with hundreds of others for reader attention.
Chris H.
2 - A. F. Stewart
Great interview, it sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with your website. I loved the thoughts on including the "where" in a review, along with the "how", "what", "who" and "when." I hadn't really considered that.
3 - Margay
Wow, what an in-depth interview! Thanks, Judi, for sharing your thoughts with us. It was very informative.
4 - RG
If bad reviews are discouraged, what's the point?