Proof of the Thrill

Recognition. It's what we all strive for at some points in our lives.

For a reviewer there are three types of recognition: from our reviewing peers, from the author, and from the publisher.

Recognition from our reviewing peers can either be a direct comment on the review itself, posted in the comments section, or an entry on the reviewer's group (Yahoo or Google Groups) or a direct email. It can also come from an author commenting directly on the post in the comments section. That's always a thrill.

The most exciting of recognitions stem from the publisher. Your review can be used in two ways by a publisher. It's awesome to see a pull quote from your review listed on the back cover with the blurb and amongst other pull quotes from notable review sites like RT Book Reviews. But the cream of the crop comes from a publisher using a pull quote from your review and it gets the Star Treatment - it's on the FRONT cover of the book!!

See, in the upper right corner? It can happen! It's marvelous and thrilling and stupendous. And I can assure you, that kind of recognition sent me over the moon in giddy glee.

Certainly, getting quoted is not my goal when I review. I enjoy sharing what I loved about a book when it's thoroughly entertaining. I want other readers to have fun too. But I don't sneeze at this kind of recognition either. It inspires me.

Reviewing is fun. I enjoy what I do. And I do it for me. But sometimes, recognition makes reviewing so much sweeter, it can become an addiction. And for me, that's one addiction I don't want to be cured of. :)

Just the Facts, Ma'am

Hello again!

I have an addendum to my previous post that I want to share with you. In scanning through my Facebook updates I noticed an interesting note entry from an author. Of course, curiosity tweaked, I checked it out. I'm glad I did. Why? Because she illustrated one of the points I made in The Rapunzel Affect

The most important component of meeting that responsibility is to respect the author and her/his work and be as factual, professional and courteous as you can be. There should not be any attacks on the author by making personal references that try to connect the faults in the story with perceived faults in the person. That's ludicrous and unacceptable behavior.

How fortuitous that she wrote about this very subject. I asked her if I could use her quote but I forgot to ask if I could use her name. Since I didn't ask, I can't use it but her words make the point beautifully.

"... When you want to criticize someone's writing, don't say "S/he writes like English is not her/his second language." It is very insulting to those of us who are non-native speakers/writers. IMHO, I don't make glaring mistakes, and false modesty aside, I'm good at English - and this is true for many other non-English authors out there. So without meaning to offend anyone, please consider this when you leave bad reviews."

I would never have come up with this example because opinions like that never cross my mind. I usually blame mistakes on bad editing. When I'm in a rush or in chat I become typo-queen - I can type 80 mistakes a minute. *grin* So for a reviewer to infer that the author herself/himself is faulty and that's why the writing is as it is, well, that steams me. Saddens me too. I want to give reviewers like that an injection of compassion and intelligence with a side dose of the professionalism they lack.

Yes, I understand that reviews are opinions.
However I believe that they are supposed to be opinions on the book/story itself: what it contains, what it tries to say, and whether or not it succeeded. Those are the only 'facts' from a reviewer that readers should see.

Can anyone share other examples of things to avoid in a review?
I would enjoy seeing your input.

What Do Food and Reviews Have in Common?

We don't want anything spoiled.
We won't eat anything that is spoiled.
Why would we buy and read a book where the mystery inside has already been spoiled by a review?

Reviewers - spoilers are to be avoided at all costs.

I've said it before (HERE) and it needs saying again.

A spoiler is a published piece of information that divulges a surprise, such as a plot twist in a book. Sometimes it's even a bit of narrative telling a reader in greater detail what goes on in the story - something a reader should have learned BY reading the book itself, not in a review.

That being said. I'd like to illustrate my point by directing your attention to two reviews. Yes, one of them is mine, but the first one really got my attention and inspired this post.

Link #1 for The Witch and The Wolf

Have you read it? Good. Here's the thing. The site provided the blurb.
That's good. It's what came after that had my eyebrows raising into my hairline. The blurb hints at what Lillian is running from. HINTS! Obviously, the author expects a reader to buy the book and find out the specific details.

Notice how the review reveals all the components - the who of it and the why of it. I don't agree with that at all.

I'm not going to pick on the few typographical errors - that happens.
It's the spoilers that were revealed that truly annoyed me. Even the last sentence mentions a negative when a review should end on a positive tone.

Here's Link #2 for The Witch and The Wolf.

Please compare the two. Does the second give enough to entice a reader without falling into Spoilers? Do you see any retelling of the story leaving a reader with no surprises? Do you see more about how the book affected me and my thoughts versus telling a reader about the story itself?

A review is not telling or re-telling about what you read in the book. It's about sharing what you observed and how it made you feel - what worked for you, what you liked or didn't and what were the author's strong or weak points in her/his writing.

Whereas the first review was verbose in the revealing - I only inferred:

The external conflict explodes onto the scene in a flurry of pomposity and effective annoyance. By that I mean the author did a great job in giving me the willies. I really didn’t like those disgusting villainous and highly inappropriate men and Ms. Schneider did a great job of insuring my distaste.

I've had my say. I've given you two reviews of the same book. Now I'd like to know your opinion. As a reader and/or reviewer, which is more professional and/or respectful? Which is more of a draw? What are the weak points that you see in either review? What do you consider the strong points?

It doesn't matter that the second one is mine. I'm not perfect but I surely can strive for that goal. If you are reading this, then I'm guessing you want the same as me, to write well written reviews.

And please, no spoilers. They are as bad as an all synopsis review.

You Tell Me

To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
I instead say:

How do I NOT love thee? Let me count the ways.

I want you to see two reviews of a book that I not only enjoyed but did a review of.

Review of Seduced By The Wolf Option One

and

Review of Seduced By The Wolf Option Two

If you've read any of my previous posts, then you realize that I have a pet peeve about a synopsis posing as a review. Last month I posted a link to a review and talked about what it should have included to make it better.

This month I want to do a comparison between two reviews about the same book and let you decide which is a better review. Which gives you more information that would be beneficial to a potential reader? Which sounds more like conversation versus a documentary? Which one would more likely sell you on reading the book or at least checking it out further?

You tell me. What works, what doesn't. Yes, I'm putting myself out there but I'm all about improving what I do. Every reviewer should want to improve her/his skill and feedback, especially if you don't have access to a reviews editor, can be an important tool.

So go ahead. You tell me. I'm all ears.

The Point Behind the Mouth

Have you noticed that I like to talk? I have a lot to say.

I've gone over what should be in a review, what authors are hoping to see and what readers need to see. Now it's time to take a look at the real thing.

This is an example of a short review with no information for a reader or author.

Click on title to see review: Learning How to Bend. First, I liked the opening line. It can grab a reader's interest if they like those kinds of stories. The second paragraph is synopsis. The third doesn't even qualify as a pargraph as it is only three sentences. Short sentences. Where does it give a reader or author the information of what worked or didn't to give it the 3.5 rating? Was it the dialogue? Why was the menage only fairly good? What the heck does that mean anyway? Was an arm in the wrong place? Not enough sex? Why is the book only rated as decent? Was it the descriptions? Motivation? What worked for the reviewer? What appealed to her about the characters and their relationship? If I wanted to decide to buy a book based upon the blurb, I would have done so. Why bother to look at this when I can't find out more than what the blurb would have initially given me? This is an example of a Missing Link.(Not sure what I'm referring to? Click the previous Missing Link and it'll take you to the post)

Phantom Corps #1/Federation Chronicles #3. (same thing, Click the title to see it)
No opening line on this review. Not a big issue but there are three rather large informational paragraphs that the reviewer took time to write. My issue? SYNOPSIS.(Need to see the post? click Synopsis) It's all about telling a reader what goes on in the book, not necessarily giving spoilers but it certainly is saying, "This is this and that is that" throughout the three paragraphs.

The final paragraph ends up being the actual review and of that the only line that jumped out at me was, "I felt it didn’t live up to the depth of emotion of the first two books" Okay, that is a valid observation and she's finally talking about how the book affected her. But if the author sees it, what is she going to get out of it? What exactly did the reviewer expect? What was missing? How can the author tweak it in the next book or her writing in general if the reviewer didn't give anyone an idea of what she expected and what didn't get delivered? As for the reader of the review .... what does that mean anyway? Are they shallow characters after all or will they still be able to connect with the H/H and care about what happens to them?

The kicker for me came when I scrolled down to the bottom of the page. They posted the BLURB and yet I still had to read all about it again? And this part in the review here, "Enter Daniel Haws, operative extraordinaire of the Phantom Corps, and unbeknownst to many, the man who commands it". The actual blurb 'hints' but the review reveals. Is that a spoiler????

My final example is this one: (definitely click this title to see what I'm gushing over) Verifiable Intelligence. This review started off with a good hook. I lost count after eight paragraphs and none of them involved reciting the blurb. There was information both the reader and the author can use, great examples of what worked and even what didn't. It backed up the rating it was given and it came across that the reviewer/reader really got into the book because the words flowed and the detail was intimate - meaning that could only happen if the reviewer actually read the book. I cannot fault this review at all but instead hold it up to the light for all to see. This is what I've been talking about and all the elements are here.

What more needs to be said?