The Value of Book Reviews and Dealing with the Trolls

by Toni Leland

Recently, a successful writing colleague of mine commented that she’d received a truly nasty Amazon review of her newest release. I really sympathized with her—been there, felt that. And as I’ve wondered so many times in the past, my thought was: why do readers feel the need to vent their opinions so viciously? Or at all? If they didn’t like the book, is it necessary to say hurtful things to someone they don’t even know? Have they ever tried to write a book? Do they have any clue to what goes into crafting a story? Never mind getting it published!

I visited the title in question and, sure enough, amid several excellent reviews was a one-liner: the book was garbage, don’t waste your money, don’t read this author’s work. As I’ve done in the past with a couple of less-than-stellar Amazon reviews of my own books, I clicked through to see this reader’s “other reviews.” There were none. Perhaps this person is a beginning reader. Sometimes, the “reviewer” will have their own agenda, be involved personally with another title or author, or simply have nothing better to do with their time. We’ll never know the real story. But be assured that these nay-sayers wouldn't trash a book if they came face-to-face with the authors; the anonymity of the Internet gives some people the courage to be unkind.

So—

Don’t confuse a reader’s “opinion” with a book review. Comments like the one above belong in a forum where bashing is the norm. Book reviews are a whole different breed.

A “real” book review is comprised of many parts:

• Why or how the book relates to the reader’s interest;
• The reader’s perception of how well the author used his or her craft, vis a vis language, characters, plot, etc.;
• What audience would enjoy the book;
• A brief description of the plot, without giving away key points (spoilers) or the ending;
• Why the reader did or did not enjoy the book.

Where's the Value?

On Amazon, one poor opinion in the midst of many good ones tells us that someone might just be marching to a different drummer (such as an avid horror fan trying to “review” a romance). But many bad opinions that echo each other tell us that perhaps the book really is a stinker. But a poor review is not always a bad thing, if it was given in the spirit of constructive criticism. We can learn from our readers’ honest comments just as much as we can glow from the praise. If there are dozens of 1's and 2's, look at the recurring theme of the comments. There is a valuable message there, a clue to what might make the book a better read.

Look at the overall average of the reviews; ideally, there should be a balance between the five-stars and the 3- and 4-stars. As with poor reviews, there will be a similarity of comment that can give an author insight into what he or she could change in future work. I recently struggled with a New York Times "best seller", wading through the first third of the book before giving up. I could not get into the story and felt disappointed. Later, on reading the reviews of this title, I heaved a sigh of relief; dozens of readers had voiced their disappointment with the lack-lustre characters, the slow pace of the book, and the fact that they "couldn't get into the story." A valuable message for the author.

Reviews and Sales

Do reviewer comments affect the sales of our books? I believe that today’s average reader has the ability to make a decision based on the synopsis and description of the book, the author’s track record, and the positive comments left by others.

So, authors—keeping working on developing lizard skin. Difficult, but our mental health and creative juices depend on it. Try not to let negative reviews sidetrack your love of the craft and determination to make each story a better one.

Is Self Publishing the Easy Way Out?

by Toni Leland

Never let anyone tell you that publishing your own book is an easy way to do it, or a "last resort". Self-publishing is anything but easy and, in today's publishing economy, "last resort" could be "only resort."

In a post last month, I asked if writers knew if their book was ready to see print, whether traditional or not. Following my own advice, I just finished reading through my "finished" YA manuscript for the SIXTH time. Yes, I wanted to skip this last read--I'm really tired of the story. But knowing that any time an author touches a manuscript, even to adjust a word, or change a line, that action provides the opportunity to mess it up!

Yes, I found seven typos.

Writers have access to a ton of good, expert advice, so why not take advantage of it? The hard work that writing and getting published entails is certainly made easier by solid, dependable information.

I subscribe to the Author Marketing Experts newsletter, a marvelous goodie basket of advice and tips for anyone trying to sell books--self-published or not. Penny Sansivieri wrote a great article last week about self-publishing and protecting oneself from getting scammed. She offers 13 tips for protecting yourself.

For example: " #4--Promises, promises: don't believe the hype. Yes, we are all selling services, but there is only so much that a publisher can promise you. They can promise you a finished book. Beyond that, it's a lot of hard work and a little luck."

Well said! Read the whole article HERE. Better yet, check out the website and FaceBook. Sign up for the newsletter. 

You won't be sorry.

Author Marketing Experts

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Planning to Self Publish? Is Your Book Ready?

by Toni Leland

Writers have wonderful opportunities available these days. The age of print-on-demand (POD) and e-books has made it possible for anyone to see their work published. Not only possible, but easy. Almost too easy.

I recently went to a major online bookseller and checked on a title I’d heard about. On the first page, first paragraph, third line was the biggest typo you could imagine. I skimmed the sample and discovered that the writing was filled with more errors. I felt really bad for the author who, I’m sure, was thrilled to see the work in print. But over and over, I see new work that has been rushed to market. This is the biggest drawback to publishing your own book. There’s no guardian to keep you on track, no benchmark to which you can compare. There’s just that intoxicating knowledge that you can put your book out there for the world to see. But, is it really ready?

The following two steps can help you make the work the best it can be.

PROOF-READ! Yes, I know this is a pain, and you think you’ve read it enough times to know if it’s right. The problem is this: our brain “knows” what we wrote and our eyes “see” it correctly. You can look at a typo without seeing, or fail to notice a word that was dropped; it happens to all of us.

Solution? Don’t proof on the screen. Print the manuscript and, taking your time, read it out loud. You’ll be amazed at how many things you’ll find that are either wrong or you simply want to change. Once you’ve read the entire thing out loud, make the corrections or changes, then find something else to do for a couple of weeks. Again–don’t be in a hurry.

At the end of that time–especially if you think the piece is exactly as you want it–change the font to something different, then read the story again. Changing the typeface makes your brain pay closer attention. This time, you might see a few things to change, or edits that didn’t happen quite right, but you should get a good feel for whether the story is ready for publication.

Use this most recent proof-reading to check for things like possible copyright infringements, Fair Use issues (such as music lyrics or quotes), adding trademark symbols where needed, and checking citations for anything you’ve “borrowed.”

BETA READERS. The biggest favor you can do yourself is to cultivate a group of advance readers to help you fine-tune the work. Not only will beta readers be able to tell you if the story has plot or character discrepancies or pacing problems, they’ll see typos and other errors that you might miss in your own proofing. It’s so much better to hear these comments before the book is printed than to discover them embedded in an online customer review!

Publishing a book is hard work and whether you do it yourself or seek professional representation and a traditional publishing house, the work you do ahead of time will be the reason you succeed.

Freelance Writing

Jeff Geerling photo

As we toiled through the economic morass that defined the past few years, I'm sure most of us wondered if things would really be better, come the new year. I did, for sure, and in those last days of December, I sat down and forged a plan. Optimism is one of my greatest strengths (or failings, as the case may be) and the simple act of setting out some goals and reasonable expectations brought me into this year with great enthusiasm.

Not only would I continue to work hard for the publications that have supported me in the past, I would spend some time each week acquainting myself with new possibilities. Sitting down and researching publications and their needs, wants, policies, and compensations is by no means a quick or simple task. But it is a very necessary one for any writer who wishes to build a foundation for their work.

The key to finding your assignments is clarifying to yourself where your strongest writing lies, then pursuing those publications that cater to your subject. Tempting as it might be to try something new, you'd be best served to stick with what you know and can manage easily. Organize the publications according to the type of submission they require; i.e., do they insist on snail mail? Will they take phone pitches? Do they have an upload feature for submitting? Categorizing them in this way will allow you to use your time and energy efficiently. Choose a day for putting together only the mail submissions, then choose another day to query or submit via e-mail. (I find that switching from physical to electronic and back to physical can get confusing.)

Whether you write short content for blogs and online sites, columns or essays, or longer feature articles, it's important to have a structure to your work plan. Today's technology can provide you with anything you need, many times for very little cost.

One of my latest "finds" is a wonderful tool called Writer's Scribe. I tried out the Mac version demo, loved it, and it now is comfortably settled on my computer, helping me stay organized and ahead of the game. With over 125 feature-length articles in my portfolio, I can no longer keep track of them using file folders.

From time to time, I'll be sharing some of my past articles, and I hope to feature some guest writers here on the Musings page. If you've discovered a wonderful writing tool that will help make this year more productive, please share it with us. We all need to succeed!