What Reviewers Want (Part 3)

What do you people want?

[This is a golden oldie—it ran on Indies Unlimited back on October 13, 2011.]

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed what reviewers do and do not want to see from books they review. In Part 2, we covered the etiquette of the relationship between an author and a reviewer before and after a review. In this segment, we find out how reviewers feel indie authors stack up against the traditionally published authors, and where there may be room for growth and improvement.

Reviewers are certainly as diverse a group as authors. Each has his or her own style, preferences, and ethos. Add to this the fact that while these reviewers may have read some of the same titles and same authors, the overlap in the titles they read is likely small, potentially leaving each with an entirely different impression of the quality of indie writing. One could reasonably expect to see some variance of opinion on the quality of indie authors. Continue reading “What Reviewers Want (Part 3)”

What Reviewers Want (Part 2)

Artist's conception of a book reviewer

[This is a golden oldie—it ran on Indies Unlimited back on October 10, 2011.]

In part 1 of this series, we discussed what reviewers want to see (and do not want to see) from authors as regards actual writing. All that stuff is what constitutes the middle of the relationship between an author and a reviewer. There is something more to the relationship on either end.

The relationship begins with the submission of your magnum opus to the reviewer. Next you wait. You keep waiting. You check their website and still don’t see anything. Over an hour has passed, and you are starting to get nervous. My advice (and it really is mine alone—all the reviewers I interviewed were too polite to bring this up), is to keep waiting. Do not call. Do not e-mail. Do not fax. Do not “check in” to see how they like it so far.  Find something else to occupy your mind and your time, because it may take a while. Continue reading “What Reviewers Want (Part 2)”

What Reviewers Want (Part 1)

[This is a golden oldie—it ran on Indies Unlimited back on October 8, 2011.]

In the movie, “What Women Want,” Mel Gibson’s character is able to read women’s minds after he suffers an electrocution event. Is there anything electrocution can’t do? It got me wondering, wouldn’t it be nice if authors knew what reviewers want?

Sadly, the cord from the hair dryer was too short to reach the tub, so I thought: why don’t I just ask them what they want? I e-mailed several book reviewers, asking if they would be willing to answer a few questions about what reviewers want to see from authors. Several of them just graded my e-mail and returned it with no stars. Nonetheless, a few very good reviewers were willing to take a chance, lift their restraining orders, and come out to play. Continue reading “What Reviewers Want (Part 1)”