Magdalena Ball is the founder of The Compulsive Reader, a book review site focusing on literary fiction and long, in-depth reviews. She's also the author of Sleep Before Evening, a poetry chap book titled Quark Soup, and the nonfiction work, The Art of Assessment. A winner of both local and international awards for poetry and fiction, she's had stories, editorials, poetry, articles and reviews published in various printed publications.
Sleep Before Evening, which I had the pleasure of reviewing recently for Blogcritics, was a finalist in the the Regional Fiction category of the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She's been writing for Blogcritics Magazine for about a year. In this interview, Magdalena talks about her review site and what she looks for in a review. She also discusses the influence reviews have on whether or not a person purchases a book, and — something most aspiring reviewers wonder — if there's any money at all in reviewing.
It's an honor to have you here today, Magdalena. How did you become a reviewer?
I started reviewing almost by accident some 9 or so years ago. I've always been a voracious reader, and enjoyed talking about and analyzing books with other like-minded readers, but one day I saw a call for reviewers on a now defunct website called BoxPlanet, and I jumped. It was Frank McCourt's 'Tis, and I was already a big fan of Angela's Ashes, and keen to read 'Tis. When I received a beautiful double book hardcopy boxed set for review, and was also given the chance to interview McCourt, I was hooked. The idea of feeding what was a big habit with an endless supply of free books, getting the opportunity to talk to my favourite authors, and even getting a small amount of payment was simply too good. When BoxPlanet collapsed, I decided to start my own site to keep things going, which leads me to the next question...
How did the Compulsive Reader come about?
I started The Compulsive Reader to replace the gap from BoxPlanet. Basically I simply hung out a shingle, taught myself to write HTML (I have some computer knowledge so it wasn't hard), found a host, and started by putting my own reviews up at first. I was surprised at how quickly it started growing, and how fast my email newsletter, which was basically just a list of new reviews on site, sent out monthly, grew. Now I have about 20 regular reviewers, over 8,000 subscribers to the newsletter which also includes giveaways and literary news, and more than 500,000 hits a month. So I don't have to write every review myself, although for me, the real pleasure is still in connecting with, and analysing a book. Compulsive Reader is now in its 8th year and we have 10 new reviews each month (but I'm quite a long way ahead of myself — there are about 40 reviews already set up and waiting to appear on the front page).
Article comments
1 - Donna McDine
Mayra & Magdalena...what a wonderful insightful interview. The questions and answers truly gives great indepth insight into the reviewing world.
Thanks!
Donna
2 - Aaron Paul Lazar
Hello, Maggie and Mayra! This is a delightful glimpse into Maggie's world. I truly enjoyed it and must say I do cherish the longer, more analytic reviews highly (whether my own books are being reviewed, or I'm reading to determine my next book purchase!), and aim for the same quality with the reviews I write. Thanks for posting this, Mayra. Great information!
3 - Beverly McClure
Thanks for this great interview. I was especially interested in the mistakes amateur reviewers (like me) make. Also, whether the interview influences a person's choice to purchase the book.
I enjoyed reading your advice and comments.
Beverly
4 - Linda Austin
Maggie gave wonderfully detailed and indepth answers to good questions, and I also love how her site is another champion for new and lesser-known authors. This interview has been a learning experience.
5 - A. F. Stewart
The world of reviews and reviewers is far more complicated than I imagined. A wonderful interview, and some great insights.
6 - Joy Delgado
Thanks once again Mayra for an exceptional interview. Magdalena your answers to Mayra's questions gave me a better look into the world of reviewing. Thanks
Joy
7 - Carolyn Howard-Johnson
When Mayra interviewed me(coming June 8), she asked me if reviews are influential. Some are far more influential than others. Magadalena's reviews are so thoughtful and complete I use her reviews of my book, The Frugal Editor, in my media kit. Maggie also names her top ten reads on her site at the end of the year. My chapbook of poetry, Tracings, was so-named and that is very nearly like winning a contest. I've used it to great advantage in my promotion campaign. And believe me, poetry needs to be promoted! (-:
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Award-winning author of the HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers
8 - Shari Lyle-Soffe
Mayra
Another terrific interview. Thanks.
9 - c hoare
These interviews are a great resource, and a couple of things occurred to me --
Are these interviews in the published copy of The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, or will there always be a link where we can find them again? I'm beginning to suspect the first and will definitely buy a copy -- they're valuable for writers as well as potential reviewers.
Chris.
10 - Margay
Magdalena, I love The Compulsive Reader! It is one of my favorite feeds and I have a lot because, well, I am a compulsive reader. This was a fantastic interview, one of the best I've read in awhile. You are so well-informed and you inform others well. That is a gift. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Margay