Newspapers go digital, invest in blogs, and other ways to attract and keep readers. People will always read; it’s the process they use and their tastes (sometimes) that changes. 

Susan Berry – 4 February 2016

About Reviewing

How did you get started?

I started the blog as a writer. It has progressed to being about books, reading, and supporting authors and the industry of writing.

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 and make notes as I read. I often compare and contrast with other books I have read.

What are you looking for?

A great beginning that hooks me and decent writing.

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

If there are a substantial amount of errors, I will note this in my review and downgrade the rating. Substantial errors slow down the pace and make the narrative hard to understand. If it is little things that don’t take away from the story or distract me, I will note it in the review but it won’t affect the rating.

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

Depends but I would say one or two weeks, depending on the complexity of the book.

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

I use Goodreads and Amazon. Amazon’s rating is not as strenuous as Goodreads. 4**** on Amazon can be 3*** on Goodreads. For Fiction or narrative non-fiction, 5**** is a book that is well-written and well-edited, has a compelling storyline that makes me want to keep on reading without skipping pages or parts. There are no parts that could or should have been left out. Characters develop, change over the course of the narrative, even if only slightly. There are no easily preventable oops in the research.

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

Be courteous, supply the books without cost and sans the grumbling. Be patient. Ask if the reviewer has other suggestions to promote your book. Offer to do Q&A, guest posts, and to supply the material needed for these. Promote the review.

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

Yes.

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?

Yes, because reviewing is an intensely personal and nuanced process. Always look for the positive in the review. Short of the reviewer being mean-spirited, a writer can always learn, improve on the writing process.

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?

It’s an escape mechanism, a way to relax, to be live another’s life, and to learn.

We’re seeing lots of statistics that say reading as a pastime is dying – do you think that’s the case?

No. It’s changing. It’s the same way with the news. Newspapers go digital, invest in blogs, and other ways to attract and keep readers. People will always read; it’s the process they use and their tastes (sometimes) that changes.

About Writing

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

Not enough time spend editing and revising and sloppy research that can be easily checked and often disproven (e.g. smoking in a New York office).

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?

I believe that the first five or so pages of a novel can be a sign of major issues, though not always. There are some novels that have a rough start but take off as the narrative progresses. If that is the case, it can mean that the author needs to consider revising to change the order of scenes or make the introductory pages more self-explanatory particularly in speculative fiction, fantasy and science fiction or where the subject matter involves complex facts or circumstances or is set in a place that us ordinary mortals would not go to in their ordinary lives.

If a book hasn’t grabbed you by the first five pages, do you put it down?

Not as a rule.

Is there anything you will not review?

Self-help, horror and erotica.

About Publishing

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

It is true where the author has not done their work in writing, editing and revising.

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

Somewhat yes but more work still needs to be done. There are too many little known authors out there that are better than some of the household names. There are also authors who push boundaries, expand, bend, and break genres. This is creativity and the good attempts should be promoted, their authors encouraged.

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

Encourage pre-publishing beta reading and reviewing at affordable prices, if not free some of the time.

End of Interview:

Read Susan’s reviews at Read Susan Berry.