Relying on bloggers to review your work...my review of the reviewers!
Hey guys!
At first, I thought perhaps they just didn't wanna hurt my feelings, but that doesn't seem to be the case, as they rave about how good the books are. Which left me puzzled, so I posted the links again, with clear, concise instructions on how to post a review, and stated that a two-sentence statement would be just amazing. Still, nothing. Some don't venture away from Facebook very much, and have told me this, so that might just be the answer.
I know that I'm not the only writer with this same problem, which is why there are so many articles written on the topic. What I have found is that most of the articles thoroughly endorse book bloggers as the best source for getting free reviews for your books, so I looked into this, via the links provided in said articles. What I found was very discouraging.
Out of the first 5 blogging sites I researched, I was left shaking my head. The first one sounded really promising, although she did want a print copy sent to her address. No problemo, I can do that. But as I got to the end of her list of "Review Rules," which there were many, she states that she will read and review any type of book - except Self-Published. Well, that knocks mine out of the running, for sure.
So, I move on to the next one. This young lady seems very proud of how many books she's read this year, even touting her many awards for book-blogging, and proudly announcing her nomination for yet another award. But, here's the thing: she got all these awards for reading and reviewing OTHER people's writing - and the girl has no punctuation or grammar skills of her own! She also states, "Since I give only honest reviews, I cannot promise a 5-star review..." That's great, because I wouldn't want dishonest reviews - BUT, don't bash my book if you have no writing skills. If you have never written or are not capable of writing properly, I don't want you telling other people that my books suck...K? Grade me on my storyline, that's perfectly, wonderfully fine - but do NOT attack my editing, when you can't tell the difference between 'two, too, and to,' or 'through and threw.' I see this all the time on Facebook, and it drives me nuts - I will certainly not subject myself to a book review based upon the opinion of a person who cannot write well enough to pass a second-grade spelling test.
Her Review Rules page and others I perused had so many run-on sentences that it was hard for me to follow. And her announcement that she can't promise to read and review all books sent to her, because, "There are other books I'd like too get around too reading," makes me wonder how she rates authors on their typos and punctuation mistakes. My opinion is this - if you aren't able to write well yourself, what gives you the right to tells others that they write badly or well?? Hey, I worked hard on these books, and I have edited multiple times (you'll not find a misspelled word in my books, because I pay attention to Spell Check in Word, and use it religiously...not that I need to very often, because spelling is not that difficult...comma placement, eh, not that simple, but that's another post for another day) - and you can't even be bothered to use Spell Check on your blog?? So, I passed on this one, of course.
Yet another young lady announces that she, "ONLY REVIEWS BOOKS FROM MAJOR PUBLISHERS OR BOOK TOURS." And yes, she had the same typos and run-on sentences as the other one I read - actually on the same page that came under the heading: PUBLISHERS ACCEPTED HERE!" Yes, publishers will be scrambling to get her to review their clients' work, (note sarcasm here). Okay, I give up...
And here's the thing, guys - you have to give these people a copy of your book for free, beg them to read and review it, and still don't know if they're going to like it enough to give it a good rating and review - and trust me, bad reviews can bring your rating down! My first book, Surrogate, has had all 4 and 5-star reviews...except for one. This girl, Zoe, must have been a child, because instead of reading and giving me a fair review based upon her opinion of the book itself, she admittedly "skimmed" through it. Not only that, but she gave away the entire premise of the book in her 1-star review, entitled, "Not my cup of tea - Spoilers!" I commented on the review, telling her that although I do appreciate her time, that if she would just read the book and give it a fair chance, she might find that she does indeed like it. If she didn't, that's okay too...but at least give it a fair shot before giving the dreaded "1-Star" rating and review. My other books, For Keeps and Sentinel, have both garnered 5-star ratings - not very many ratings, mind you - but that makes me proud. :)
My findings are, either you have to have a professionally published book, or beg someone with the writing skills of a grade-schooler to review your work. I think I'll pass. My books have only been out a total of 10 months, and the first has 12, the second 6, and the newly-released has 1 review - and that's okay. Next year is a brand-new year, and brings opportunity for lots of new readers and reviews, so I'll just wait with anxious excitement for my ORGANIC reviews, which are the best of all of them - straight-from-the-heart, unsolicited reviews, given by the reader because they love the books enough to want to share that joy with others - that's the kind of reviews I'm looking for - and you should be, too!
Until next time, I am A.H. Shelton. Thanks for stopping by - and have a Merry Christmas!! :)
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