I think people are reading more than ever, just differently – on phones, listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Reading takes us out of our world, relieves stress, gives advice, lets us imagine ourselves in situations and think about how we’d handle them. Reading is a form of listening to storytelling, and storytelling is how we transmit knowledge.

Marian Thorpe – 15 December 2015

About Reviewing

How did you get started?

I actually wrote my first review as a favour to another writer who was having a tough time psychologically at the time. I’d read his work and liked 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 make notes. I have a rubric that I use – a rubric is a guide listing specific criteria for grading or scoring – and I find that in using that I can do a better job of rating a book in a genre I don’t usually read or a writing style, that, while competent, isn’t my personal favourite.

What are you looking for?

Originality, along with good storytelling, which isn’t necessarily the same thing as good writing. For example, I think The Hunger Games series is good storytelling but not well written, especially the second and third books; on the other hand, Stephen King tells good stories and writes well, when he’s at his best. If a good story is also well written, that’s a bonus.

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

The rubric helps with that. If the book has the same number of typos or other small errors that I would find in a typical airport mass-market paperback I ignore it. Beyond that, it will drop my rating and will be commented on in the review.

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

Two days.

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

I consider the following major categories in reviewing a book:

• Writing style: does it scan? Is the mix of active and passive voice appropriate to the story? Is there too much description, or too little? Does the tone fit the story? Is the pacing of the story balanced?
• Dialogue: is it realistic? Is it complex – are emotions, nuances, subtleties conveyed? If meant to, does it convey regional accents or cadences?
• Plot: is it either original, or a new telling of a genre-standard story? Is it internally consistent? Does it rely on coincidences or happenings that strain the reader’s belief?
• Character Depth and Development: are these real characters, or stereotypes? Do they have dimension? Do they develop over the story?
• World-building: does the author make us believe in this world? Is it fully explained over the course of the story, or are we left guessing? Does the author appear to understand her/his world thoroughly? Are phrases/terms used correct for the setting? (e.g., not using Australian terms when the book is set in Canada)
• Spelling and grammar: Are conventions followed? Are spelling errors the result of spell-check limitations? (e.g., overseas/oversees). If non-conventional use is purposeful, is it used consistently? Do spelling/grammar errors detract from the story?

I also look at production issues (the way the book is formatted) and reading level if it’s not an adult book.

Each of the 6 main categories is rated out of 5, and then the overall rating made. I will report 2.5 or 3.5 or 4.5 on my site, unlike Amazon or Goodreads reviews, which don’t allow partial stars.

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

Give me a good but brief description of the book, its genre, its length, links to your sites and purchase sites. Make sure your submission to me is free of grammar or spelling errors. That’s all I need; it may not be true for other reviewers. I’m an indie author myself, and I know how difficult it is to write a review request letter that is effective.

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

Yes, occasionally.

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?

Completely!

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?

Not at all. I think people are reading more than ever, just differently – on phones, listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Reading takes us out of our world, relieves stress, gives advice, lets us imagine ourselves in situations and think about how we’d handle them. Reading is a form of listening to storytelling, and storytelling is how we transmit knowledge.

About Writing

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

Being too derivative; especially in young-adult fantasy/dystopia is the biggest mistake. The second is not getting work edited by someone competent, not necessarily professional, but someone who understands grammar and can pick out the mistakes spell-check misses.

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?

Not if I’ve said I’ll review it. In my private reading, I usually give it a chapter or two. But I usually know in the first five pages whether it’s going to be a great read or not.

Is there anything you will not review?

Religion-based works (that includes ‘Christian fiction’) and graphic erotica. Otherwise, no.

About Publishing

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

There is some truth in that. I review mostly indie works – it’s my preference as an indie author – and some of what I see fits that description, in that they are either way too derivative or they need to go through the hands of a good editor. But I also read some excellent, five-star works.

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

Yes. Publishers accept what they think will make them money, in general, so a well-written book that isn’t going to do that won’t be accepted. So quirky, niche-market books, or fan-fiction, which has quite a following – aren’t going to be accepted. But there is quite a lot of competent work that is self-published or indie published.

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

I wish I did…

End of Interview:

Read Marian’s reviews at Wind and Silence.