“Knowing your genre is the key thing when seeking reviews. You need to know who your target audience is and where they look for reviews, and target those sites. When looking at potential review sites look at how often they post, where they post, their layout, the genre(s) they review and which books they give what ratings to. This can provide you with a good indication of whether a review from that site will be of use to you in promoting your work.”

Tome Keeper 26 July 2011

About Reviewing

How did you get started?

I’ve always loved reading, ever since I was very small, and spent many years working in the library sector. As part of my job I used to give verbal reviews of books to readers all the time and I’ve always enjoyed sharing my views with others. When I got my Kindle in February, I had quite a hard time finding useful reviews to base my purchasing decisions on. Many of the indie books had very short reviews that just said if it was good or bad, with no explanation of how they had reached their decision. Other reviews used too much of what I would consider ‘technical language’, and read more like a university style reviews rather than a honest reader’s opinion. I figured that if I was unsatisfied with some of the reviews offered, others might be too, and if I was going to read a book anyway I may as well share my thoughts with others in a style that appealed to me. So Tomes of the Soul was born.

How do you review a book? Is it a read first, and then make notes, or do you make notes as you go along?

I have a very laid back approach to reading and reviewing, I am a reader first and reviewer as almost an accidental second. I read a review copy as if it was any other book, so whenever, wherever, often stopping and starting, and going over bits if I’ve forgotten what happened in the last chapter. I don’t force myself to read or make any notes, I feel that if something is important enough to be mentioned in the review, that it will stick in my mind. I also go for the overall feel of the book rather than an in-depth chapter-by-chapter break down. I’ve only made notes on a few occasions, usually things like odd-spellings or references I want to check out at a later date, something I would do with any book I read. After reading a book, I usually write up the review within a few days and it either gets posted straight to the site, or saved for later.

What are you looking for?

The most important thing is that it is a good read! It doesn’t really matter if it’s written like Dickens or Shakespeare, if it doesn’t grip me and I don’t get enjoyment from it. So I’m looking for something with pace, that drags you along with the story, that has an actual story (surprisingly often missing) and that is believable. If it is a thriller or crime novel, I want something that keeps me guessing, I don’t want to have figured out who did it by the end of the first chapter and just be reading the book to see if I’m right. For non-fiction, what I’m looking for depends on the purpose of the book, but I often look for something that is easy to read, flows well and is informative.

If a book has a great plot, great characters, but the grammar is less than perfect, how do you deal with that?

I have a learning difficulty that often means that I don’t pick up the odd spelling/grammar mistake, so my personal view is that if it is enough for me to notice and detracts from the reading experience it needs to be mentioned in the review and will affect the rating. Obviously the odd missing comma or one word spelt wrong isn’t going to be something I worry about too much. What really gets me is poor sentence structure, and I will mention it in a review because it seriously affects the readability of a piece. Above all I explain these things in my review, so if a book is great bar the grammar I won’t completely slate it but will explain to readers how the grammar affects the reading experience.

How long does it take you to get through, say, an eighty thousand-word book?

It varies. I am a very fast reader naturally, and have been known to get through a 350 page novel in a few hours but it all depends on the book and what else is going on in my life. If I’m working, then it will often take me a week to get through a novel, if the book is fantastically gripping, I might take less than a day, if a book is a bit slow, it might take me a month or more of short sittings to get through it. This is why I never give a deadline or estimate to authors who request a review, I just don’t know.

How did you come up with your rating system, and could you explain more about the rating system?

I wanted a very simple system that looked at how enjoyable the book is to read. I give ratings on a five star system, with half stars given for a book that has properties of two categories. Rating books is very subjective, and ratings can vary a lot between reviewers, I’m always suspicious of books that have all 5-star reviews, because I think it’s unlikely that every reader will love the same book and at the same time surprised when one I give 5-stars only gets 3-stars from someone else.

For me the ratings go like this:

1 Star – I will give this to books that just were not enjoyable, generally because they were hard to finish or I had to give up on them. I also award this to non-fiction books that are inaccurate or have a strong bias that is not acknowledged by the author. It is a book that I would not recommend, and if someone asked me about it I would steer them away from it.

2 Star – This is a book that wasn’t that enjoyable for whatever reason, but generally means that there were no major issues. This is likely to be given for a simple, obvious plot line, poor formatting, or a hard to read writing style which detracts from the reading experience. Again a book I wouldn’t recommend unless you could get hold of a free copy.

3 Star – An enjoyable, solid read. This is something that is good but just hasn’t got anything to make it stand out. Not one for a re-read but worth reading.

4 Star – A book that is gripping and a joy to read. It’s the type of book that I can’t put down when I start reading, and one that I would re-read happily. It’s the type of book that should be at the top of your to-read list but just doesn’t have the ‘x-factor’.

5 Star – An amazing book that is a fine example of its genre and has that elusive ‘x-factor’. It is a book that I would recommend and would get even if I had to pay the full RRP, the type of book that would make me pre-order the author’s next offering. For non-fiction books this means that the book represents the definitive guide to the information and a book every interested party should read. This rating means BUY THIS NOW!

What advice could you give to authors looking to get their books reviewed?

Knowing your genre is the key thing when seeking reviews. You need to know who your target audience is and where they look for reviews, and target those sites. When looking at potential review sites look at how often they post, where they post, their layout, the genre(s) they review and which books they give what ratings to. This can provide you with a good indication of whether a review from that site will be of use to you in promoting your work.

If you have a site that only posts monthly or less often reviews, the chances are that there will be little continuing traffic to that site, will your review be seen that often? Is it likely to be stumbled upon by people looking for similar books? These are the kind of things you need to look at. Does the blog/site advertise/re-post reviews? If the webmaster is active in promoting their site, the greater the chance of people finding your review. It is also important to choose a reviewer who is willing to cross-post their reviews to sites like Smashwords, Amazon or Goodreads, these are sites where many people regularly look for reviews before purchasing new material, and you want to have as many quality reviews on these sites as possible. Layout is an important factor in determining if visitors stay on the site and how easy it is to find what they are looking for. If a site has as many widgets as possible on their home page or a messy layout, the chances of a reader getting to your review is slim, look for simple layouts with some search/tag function so interested parties can find reviews that appeal to them.

A special word of warning about genres, your book will be more likely downloaded if the review is on a site that reviews many similar books, as the traffic to the site will be more targeted. There is no point having your sci-fi book reviewed on a site that mainly looks at chick lit, it’s unlikely that those readers will be interested in your offering. That is not to say that general book review sites are a waste of time, as they may have bigger readerships, just make sure you have a balance between genre-specific and more general sites, and avoid sites that only deal with material out of your genre, it will be a waste of your time and the reviewers. Also look at the ratings they have given similar books. If a reviewer marks down books with ‘stereotypical’ plots and your book has a ‘stereotypical’ plot don’t use that site, similarly if a reviewer likes longer fiction and yours is a collection of short stories, they are probably not the best reviewer to go with. Many reviewers will be happy to look over a summary and tell you if your book will be a good fit for their site.

Above all else check the review submission guidelines and follow them, any good review sites will have them listed, and these will tell you what a reviewer requires to consider your book. I’ve in the past had to chase people to send review copies and the like, and it slows the whole process down. Also make sure your book is available somewhere or on pre-order, before asking for reviews, especially for an unknown author. There is no point in me reviewing a book that the author has no release date for and no idea where the book will be sold. People who read the review are likely to want to buy a copy straight way if they are going to buy it at all; without a link, the review is useless.

Do you get readers emailing you and thanking you for a review?

I’ve had the odd comment on the blog but it’s a rare occurrence. It would be nice to know if people have found my reviews helpful, and even, if they have read the book, if they agree with the review or not. It would definitely put a smile on my face.

My advice to authors on getting a “bad” review (hasten to add that might mean a perfectly honest, well written, fair review – just bad from the author’s point of view) is to take what you can from it and move on. Under no circumstances to “argue” with the reviewer – would you agree with that?

Definitely! Do not do a Jacqueline Howett! I think authors have to remember that they, indie or not, are professionals and need to act professionally at all times. You put a book out there for people to read and hopefully enjoy, it is their right to comment on it. You just have to deal with that. If there is a particular piece of the review that you don’t think is accurate and feel that it would mislead readers, then you might want to *privately* e-mail the reviewer and discuss it but I think that is only in exceptional circumstances, for example if the reviewer quotes spelling mistakes/odd words, and it is the result of a regional dialect.

I think the key thing with bad reviews is to ignore the overall rating, and look at what the reviewer says is wrong; all good reviewers will explain this. Compare, what the reviewer says is wrong with other bad reviews, is the same thing coming up time again? If this happens I think you need to look at your work and see if it is something you can improve in a new edition (spelling, grammar, cover) or something you can bear in mind for your next book. Overall, I think authors need to remain objective and realise that people have different opinions on what is good, and in the end, if you can’t handle bad reviews, you either shouldn’t read them or shouldn’t publish your book – simple as that.

About Reading

We talk a lot about writing here on the blog, and possibly not enough about reading, which is after all why we’re all here. Why do you think people love reading? We’re seeing lots of statistics that say reading as a past-time is dying – do you think that’s the case?

I think that using your imagination is something that is slowly dying in our culture, due to the availability of new technologies, and that is what reading provides, and why I love it. It’s great to create the pictures to go along with the text in your head, and also to just escape somewhere quiet and peaceful on your own for a while.

I agree that reading is dying out; I’ve worked in education, and seen children with reading ages way below their chronological ages, those who have never read a book for pleasure and associate reading solely with school. There is just so much competition to books nowadays, and there is often the opinion that those who read are loners and boring. These ideas, whilst most of us know are tosh, are constantly presented to the youth and they fully believe them and that reduces the appeal of reading.

There are three things that I think need to be done to encourage reading in the younger generation, firstly, schools need to be much more open with what is read in class, students should be allowed to choose what appeals to them rather than being given a prescribed reading list, often with books that they simply don’t relate to (“Miss, why do I have to read some dead guy’s book!”). Libraries need to be normalised as a place to hang out and enjoy themselves, rather than as stuffy places where you have to be silent. When I was working in libraries we had great success with introducing CDs and games consoles in the teen section, and promoting ourselves as a place to use computers and get help with their homework. We had a young, modern collection including manga and ran regular, fun, teenage reading groups, and I think this combination resulted in many more young people considering the library as a place for them.

About Writing

What are the most common mistakes that you see authors making?

A lot of the mistakes I see are in terms of promotion and an understanding of how e-books work. I think it is very important that indie authors are aware that they are competing with established, agency published writers, and that no exceptions are made for them. I’ve seen authors arguing that there are mistakes in their work because they cannot afford an editor and that therefore readers and reviewers should ignore the spelling and grammar issues, it doesn’t work like that I’m afraid. If that is an issue, then there are many students who would be willing to act as an editor for the experience and will require no financial compensation. The same thing applies to covers etc. always strive to be as good as the agency books in all areas.

Another common mistake is not promoting themselves enough as an author. Authors, especially indie ones, need to use every method at there disposal to promote their work: build a website, use twitter, register on goodreads, register on twitter, use giveaways, anything to increase awareness of yourself as a writer. Of course, if you do this, you need to make sure your communications are professional at all times, and don’t go too far, for example spamming forums with adverts for your book.

We’re told that the first page, paragraph, chapter, is absolutely key in making or breaking a book. Agents typically request only the first five pages of a novel, what do you think about that; if a book hasn’t grabbed you by the first five pages, do you put it down?

I don’t agree that five-pages is enough to get a feel for a novel, the first five pages could be great and the rest of the book have no development. I generally read the first few chapters of a book and if I feel I’m just trawling through it and not getting any enjoyment, I put it down. I do think that every paragraph has the potential to sell the book, and hold that if it is a 5-star book I should be able to pick any paragraph from any place in the book and it should be as good as the first and last paragraphs.

There has been a lot of talk recently about the Page 99 concept, what are your thoughts on that idea?

As I said above, I feel every paragraph should be just as good, so I do think there is something in the Page 99 concept, although I don’t see any reason that Page 99 would be a particularly good indicator for the whole other than that. I think a better test would be to read the first page, last page and middle page and track the development from that. However, the Page 99 theory is an interesting one, who knows maybe in the future we’ll just review one page.

Is there anything you will not review?

I always say that I won’t review erotica, but that isn’t strictly true. There are many erotic works that are cornerstones of literature (Marquis de Sade is just one example), others are a combination of genres and weave erotica into a well-developed story, so if the blurb appealed to me I would read and review it. However, I don’t accept submissions from this genre, as I have found most the of work to not be of the type or quality that I wish to read, and also what people like in terms of erotica tends to be very personal.

About Publishing

What do you think of the oft quoted comment that the “slush-pile has moved online”?

I think there is some truth to this. Whilst agencies did prevent some very good work from being published, they also kept a lot of rubbish from being published as well, and with the ease of online self-publishing, a lot of the poorer quality work is finding its way onto sites like Amazon and I think there is a risk of readers being put off indie authors because of this. I have read some awful work, poorly written and with an incomprehensible plot, after having downloading it from Smashwords or Amazon and there is very little a reader can do in this situation. That is why I think that reviews are such a benefit to both authors and readers alike. I have to point out that the majority of work from indie authors is good or better and I am more than happy to read indie work.

Do you think attitudes are changing with respect to Indie or self-published titles?

Slowly but surely yes. I also think the situation can only improve with more awareness of the quality of most indie books.

Do you have any ideas or comments on how the industry can “filter” good from bad, asides from reviews?

It would be nice to see more awards programs like the EPICS, and to see these better promoted in the mainstream to recognise the talents of e-book authors in general. I also hold the unpopular view that sites that sell e-books should have some sort of screening process to stop poor quality or ‘private label’ e-books going on sale and so bringing down the overall quality of e-books available. I have no clue how they could implement this through, and would not like it to end up as the same kind of gate keeping traditional publishers perform.

End of Interview

You can visit Tomes of the Soul here.