I think people love reading because it gives them a different perspective on life, humanity, or society; it inspires creativity; and it sometimes provides a break from reality. I don’t think that reading as a pastime is dying as much as it is changing from reading physical books to reading content online. 

Charity Rowell-Stansbury – 15 September 2015

About Reviewing

How did you get started?

When my husband bought me a Kindle for Christmas, I downloaded and read a bunch of free books on Amazon; some were good, and some were bad. I noticed that some of these books were free for a limited time, and wanted to help fellow readers decide whether or not they should buy these books. I reviewed some of those books on my personal blog, and discovered that I enjoyed it.

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 read before the book before I take notes; however, I do bookmark pages that I might need to refer back to later.

What are you looking for?

I tend to look for books with unique characters that I can relate to, or original perspectives on subject matters that have been written about before. I also enjoy books that have bits of social commentary woven into the story line, or books that subtly pose ethical or moral questions.

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

I used to play MMORPGs, so I am fluent in “typo.” Seriously though, it does not bother me. Some of the best books that I have reviewed contain less than perfect grammar and spelling. It usually does not affect the rating that I give the book unless it interferes with my ability to comprehend what the author is trying to convey.

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

It depends on the book. If I love the book, I can usually finish it in one or two days of solid reading. If I really don’t like the book, and I am forcing myself to read it, it can take up to four or five days.

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

I don’t have a rating system because I am pretty straightforward about whether or not I like a book, and the reasons for liking or disliking the book. I prefer to have my readers make a decision about a book based on the information that I have given them, rather than relying on a rating that seems subjective and arbitrary.

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

Do not pay for reviews; it’s not worth the risk of having your Amazon and Goodreads accounts shut down for TOS violations. You can find book bloggers like me using an internet search, on Goodreads, or even on social media.

Look for small book blogs. Small book bloggers are trying to grow their blogs; this means they are probably posting like crazy on social media, and will post their review of your book numerous times on different social media sites. It’s a win/win for the blogger and the author; the blogger attracts more visitors to her/his site, and the author reaches more potential readers.

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

Not yet, but a friend of mine expressed interest in a book because of the review that I wrote for it. I bought him a copy of the book, and he is reading it right now.

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?

I agree with that statement; authors are not going to change our minds about a book. Book reviewers communicate with each other, and authors don’t want to earn a reputation for being argumentative because there will come a point in time when reviewers will refuse to review an argumentative author’s books.

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 pastime is dying – do you think that’s the case?

I think people love reading because it gives them a different perspective on life, humanity, or society; it inspires creativity; and it sometimes provides a break from reality. I don’t think that reading as a pastime is dying as much as it is changing from reading physical books to reading content online.

About Writing

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

The first mistake that comes to mind is the book’s layout. I have seen the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next chapter on the same page. For instance, I’ll be reading about Homer in chapter one; then, out of nowhere, I’m reading about Marge. At that point I have to stop reading to see if I missed something in the first chapter, only to discover that there was a small break on the page indicating the beginning of a new chapter.

The second common mistake that I see is with the summaries on the back covers; I’ve seen books with summaries that gave away too much, or summaries that are so inaccurate I wonder if the person that wrote the summaries actually read the 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 understand why agents do this; if a reader is buying a book from a book store, it’s not like s/he can sit down and read several chapters to see if the book is going to be good. Also, the free samples that merchants such as Amazon offer are only a few pages long; eBook buyers can’t read several chapters to determine whether or not they want to buy the book.

When I agree to review a book, I don’t have the luxury of judging it by the first five pages. There used to be a time when I would have put a book down that hasn’t grabbed me by the first five pages, but I have reviewed plenty of books that started out slow and grabbed me after the first chapter or two.

Is there anything you will not review?

I will not review erotica, or anything depicting sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, mutilation of animals and humans, torture of animals and humans, and animal abuse.

About Publishing

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

I think that this attitude makes it even more difficult for indie authors to be taken seriously, and causes people to dismiss some wonderful books written by indie authors. This attitude is one of the reasons why book reviewing agencies are able to exploit indie authors by offering subpar reviews in exchange for an obscene amount of money; indie authors feel like they have to resort to desperate measures just to be taken seriously.

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

I think they have. I remember when eReaders first came out, and eBooks were cheaper than paper books; however, I’ve noticed that eBooks published by “big” publishers are becoming more expensive. I think that consumers are becoming more aware of this increase in prices, and are looking for budget-friendly alternatives to well-known authors in order to fill the voids in their bookshelves. I think that many of these readers will realize that there are some really great writers in the indie community, and will want to support them by buying indie titles and sharing their thoughts about them with other readers.

Do you have any ideas or comments on how the industry can ‘filter’ good from bad, aside from reviews?

Not really, and it is becoming more difficult to use reviews as filters since there are plenty of companies out there that are willing to sell good reviews for websites such as Amazon and Goodreads.

End of Interview:

Read Charity’s reviews at On My Kindle.