Tag: Reviews

Above the Foxhole

It’s good to poke your head up above the foxhole every once in a while and take a look at what else is going on in the world.

As always, the goings-on run the gamut from the wonderful to the weird.

First up, our own Martin Crosbie gets a nice hat tip in this article on Kindlegate over at Digital Journal.

Are you familiar with the term “back-formation?” According to Mark Nichol, of Daily Writing Tips,  “A back-formation is a new word produced by excising an affix, such as producing the verb secrete from the noun secretion.”

Mark says that while many back-formations eventually take their place in the lexicon, there are some newer ones that writers would be wise to avoid, at least in formal writing.

Book-to-movie is the new hotness. Well, maybe not that new. So, what’s coming down the pike? Publisher’s Weekly gives us a list of the 10 most anticipated book adaptations of 2013.

Are words more than characters used to convey meaning? Here’s a piece on the meaning of writing from the National Writing Project.

Last but not least, it looks like the jello is still squishing out from between the fingers of Amazon’s iron grip when it comes to policing reviews. The New York Times sees “swarm”  reviews used as a strategic weapon to attack books.

 

Fifteen Things NOT to Say in Response to a Book Review

This is not a hate post, or at least it’s not solely a hate post. 😉

Just for myself, I really don’t believe an author has any business saying anything to a reviewer in public. Let’s be clear: Readers do not review books on behalf of writers. The function of a review is not to service an author’s ego. Reviews are a way for someone who has read a book to tell people who are thinking of reading it whether or not they would recommend doing so. That’s pretty much it. It is a reader-to-reader equation which, I personally think, the writer of the book in question should keep out of altogether. Continue reading “Fifteen Things NOT to Say in Response to a Book Review”

Introducing BookScather

Indie authors sweat bullets over getting reviews and worrying about bad reviews. It turns out we’ve been going about this all wrong.

Studies show that bad reviews on books by unknown authors actually result in a spike in sales. Who can argue with studies?

Add to this the number of indie author elites bemoaning the state of indie writing. Now look at Amazon and its scorched-earth policy on obliterating suspect favorable reviews while ignoring suspect bad reviews. Amazon is in the process of eliminating ALL author to author reviews.

It’s going to be all right, folks. Even in these trying times, one man has the vision and courage to come to the rescue of the indie community—and that man is me. Continue reading “Introducing BookScather”

Why Proofreading Matters

Last month, the Evil Mastermind had a fun post called Typopotamus, where he discussed typos and some strategies for eradicating them from your writing, including hiring a good editor and proofer. In one of the comments author Jeff Dawson had the following to say:

“Indie readers sometimes spend too much time looking for errors and what nots. This is good and yet bad at the same time. The good part: they are catching errors writers, beta readers and editors are missing. It provides a chance to quickly make the changes and upload a new version. The bad: some readers and reviewers are focusing on miniscule problems and bashing an otherwise good read.” Continue reading “Why Proofreading Matters”