Saturday, July 15, 2017

Should An Author Ever Pay for a Book Review? It All Depends....

Ah-book reviews! Where would an author be without them? Or readers, for that matter. But should you, as an author ever pay for one? I pondered paying for one, then decided against it. Then, a fellow author friend mentioned about the OnlineBookClub. She had good success with hers so I figured, why not? Why not indeed? I should have listened to my gut. I signed up to get a Professional Book Review. A fair and honest one, or so I thought. Unfortunately, that isn’t what I received.                                   
     First, I had to sign up for the website, post my book cover image and book description. Then I had to choose an option for my book review. A free one took the longest. I opted for the one that took “about” four weeks. After waiting the designated time, I received a note from the reviewer ahead of her book review, which said, simply, “I wish I had known about the lesbian storyline before I read the book.” That should have been a red flag, but it wasn’t. Perhaps, if I had complained to the website owner when I had received that note, perhaps, Scott the owner would have cared about my dissatisfaction with the resulting review. The review I received was a two star review out of 4 possible stars. I guess two stars on that site isn’t good or bad, but the red flag was what concerned me. Of course, I complained to Scott, the website owner, who lauds that he is “committed to client satisfaction”. If you’re on his mailing list, you’ll receive periodic emails that remind you of that. However, in our email exchange that followed, he more or less blamed me for my book description. He also reminded me that a two star review wasn’t bad. It was in itself a form of criticism. ARRGH! What? Of course a review, any review is a form of criticism. He couldn’t see that his professional reviewer was biased. As a result, I didn’t get a fair and honest review. Of course, the complaint went in one ear and out the other, as far as Scott was concerned.

     Lesson learned. I shall never, ever again pay for a book review, or any other review. It just isn’t worth the headache. Any author can get bad reviews without even trying. Forget about having to pay for the privilege. When you’re a writer, a published one seeking reviews or promotion for your book, lots of predators come out of the woodwork. Some are in the guise of writing groups (that is the subject of another post) while others come in the guise of helping you promote. Perhaps, for readers and authors or books free of homosexuality, etc., OnlineBookClub may be a good thing, but for me, for my book where two of my characters just happened to be Lesbians, this site wasn’t worth the visit or the $149.00 fee I paid for a “Professional Book Reviewer”. Just a quick addition, while we’re talking about book reviews: With the age of technology, computers and free books galore, anyone out there can call themselves a “Professional Book Reviewer”. I know. OnlineBookClub offered me a chance to become one for them. For $10.00 a book, I could become a reviewer for them. Despite the fact that I am a long-time published writer and write book reviews for several review sites, I’ve never considered myself a “Professional Book Reviewer”. But when I do review a book, I review the book, the writing, the cover, the theme et al. I don’t let my personal beliefs cloud the review because quite simply, that isn’t fair. Not to the author. Not to the reader. 

     Should you ever pay for a book review? Truthfully, that is really up to you. Based on my experience and those I’ve heard from others, I don’t advise it. Oh, and the demand for OnlineBookClub reviews has been growing so much, according to emails from Scott that the price for book reviews has now doubled. Interesting, huh?

     That's it for now. Thank you all for visiting. It’s always a pleasure to meet readers and authors. Until next month, every one please stay safe. Smile. Be happy. Show compassion. Be nice to others. Put a little love into your heart. Please speak up for those without a voice, whether it be a dog, cat, elephant or monkey. One person, one voice can make a difference. Read a book and pass it on. Leave a review. Reviews are important for authors. Believe me. I know. Thank you!

Regards,
S. J. Francis, Writing is my passion, but animals are my world. 
Advocate for the underdog, and cat, and supporting writers, et al.


In Shattered Lies: "It's All About Family." Available now from Black Opal Books and for sale at all on-line retailers and independent booksellers. "Some secrets should remain that way."


                     Shattered Lies is a Finalist in the 2016 Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards.

                     Shattered Lies is a winner in the Fall 2016 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Book Awards for Women's Fiction. 


                     Shattered Lies is a runner-up in the 2016 Shelf Unbound Indie Best Book Award Competition.
                                        
                     Shattered Lies is a 2016 Reader's Favorite Honorable Mention in the Fiction - Women’s category.  

                     Shattered Lies was a Finalist in the 10th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards.

                     Shattered Lies was chosen as General Fiction Official Selection in the 2015 New Apple Book Awards.


                     The 2nd, new book cover design for Shattered Lies was a Finalist in the 2016 Authors dB Best Cover Contest. 


                     The first, original book cover design for Shattered Lies was a semi-finalist in the 2015 Authors dB Best Cover Contest. 

My Black Opal Books Author Page:
                                            Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sjfrancis419
                                                
       A Book Review 4 U: http://abookreview4u.blogspot.com
      A Consumer's View: http://aconsumersview.blogspot.com
                  One for the Animals: http://onefortheanimals.blogspot.com


                          Pinterest:http://www.pinterest.com/sjfrancis419


             Good Reads:https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/33550975-s-j

And now for some legal stuff: Copyright 2017 by S.J. Francis. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, S. J. Francis and the guest author and are meant to entertain, inform and enlighten, and intend to offend no one.

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Should You Update Your Book In Response To Negative Reviews?

A note from S.J. Francis: This is a post I found interesting and thought you would, too. Personally, after getting my book edited and then published, I would certainly not want to go back and update my book in response to negative reviews. Every one is a critic. Should you begin making changes you could find yourself in a never ending circle. One can not please all the people all the time, and in my opinion, one shouldn't try. It's a good way for a writer to make oneself crazy in an effort to please those negative review writers. Write the best possible book you can. Get it edited. Put it out there. Leave it alone. That's my feelings anyway. What do you think?

Should You Update Your Book In Response To Negative Reviews? | From BookDaily #AuthorTips

"Recently, I joined a “local” science fiction book club—a 100-mile round trip from my house—because I wanted to take the pulse of my audience for my self-published novel, Mindclone. The first meeting I attended, we discussed the novel, The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin. I greatly enjoyed this book, which uses the concept of two worlds with opposing political and economic systems: an idealized Communism and an extreme form of Capitalism. I’ve always believed that one of the best uses of science fiction is to parody or otherwise explore our own world and human nature. That meeting revealed how far apart readers can be when assessing a given novel. Several of the members disliked the book as either too talky or too doctrinaire, with not enough “real” science fiction to satisfy their tastes. One member in particular opened the discussion by declaring, “This is not science fiction. It’s sociology set on two planets.” The discussion was thoughtful, lively and entertaining and, for me, the beginning of a real education on sci-fi readership. At the end of the session, it was time to choose a book for the next meeting, three weeks later. I proposed my own novel. There was some hesitancy, as once before, an author had offered his book for their discussion, and the results were not good. I suggested they go to the Amazon site and read the first three chapters for free and decide if they wanted to review it. We chose another book for the next session, and were to discuss my book as a possible candidate for the following one.


"Three weeks later, we discussed Seed, by Rob Ziegler, his first novel, a story set in a dystopian world ruled by a living bio-city that creates seeds needed to sustain the remaining humans. I thought this was an excellent read, with some flaws, but it had some wonderful concepts and writing. Once again, the club was less enthused. After another lively discussion, it was time to decide if my book would be the selection for the following meeting. At this point, the member who had criticized the LeGuin novel and had also disliked Seed, reached into his bag and pulled out the paperback copy of Mindclone and strongly recommended we choose it for our next meeting. Several other members had also looked at the opening chapters and agreed, some with real enthusiasm. So as I drove my fifty miles home, I was flying. However, when I took a look at my Amazon page that night, I discovered that someone had just posted a terrible review. Only two stars, with some comments that bruised me in places where I was particularly vulnerable! Quite a bringdown. Almost all my previous reviews were five stars, with only a handful of four stars. But what troubled me the most was this reviewer’s accusation that I had somehow cheated, gaming the system for those glowing reviews.

"I worried about this for several days. My only hope for gaining sales was those positive reviews, and this reader was undermining their legitimacy. I had to decide if I should post a comment to his review. Well, I pondered that question for an entire day. First I checked his other reviews to see if he was a troll or curmudgeon. If so, I knew it would extremely unwise to tangle with him. But his other reviews all looked quite fair and thoughtful. At this point, I knew I would have to post something that challenged his cheating claim. I worked on my response all the next day. I first thanked him for buying and reading my book, and for posting his comments. I assured him I take all criticism seriously, and if I did a revision, I would certainly take a look at the issues he raised. Then I made my case for refuting his charge. I divided my reviewers into three categories: close friends, unbiased acquaintances and complete strangers. The number of reviews my book has received remains small enough that I was easily able to do this. As it turned out, these glowing reviews divided almost exactly equally among the three groups. I then pointed out how hard it is to get ANY readership, let alone reviews when you’re a first-time author whose book is self-published. I crossed my fingers and posted my response. Within minutes, I received his reply. He actually apologized for the accusation and changed his review, removing that part but leaving the rest. And that’s fine. Negative criticism is a normal part of the writing process. That’s why I participate in a writing group. For me, at least, it’s very hard to see the flaws in my own writing, so getting the perspective of other writers is an enormous help, and quite indispensable.


"I was very glad I responded to my critic the way I had. And as it turned out, when the three weeks elapsed and it was time to face the members of the science fiction club to get their responses, my critic showed up! Turns out he’s a nice guy, who actually spoke up in defense of my book against some of the other negative comments some members made. Though his opinion of its flaws remained unchanged. The verdict from the other members? I would say about two-thirds were enthusiastically positive, and one third of the members found fault with various aspects of the book. What did I do? Did I argue with them? I did not. Instead, I took my notes, went home and revised the book to correct the flaws I felt needed correcting. The new, improved edition is now live in both ebook and paperback."


Would you update your book because of bad reviews? Why or why not? Leave a comment below!


About the Author:David T Wolfe
Mindclone is my first published novel. It draws on my lifelong interests in cognitive science, cyber technology, and especially those things that both separate and unite human beings and the animal kingdom. One way or another, that has been the overall subject of much of my writing and thinking. I’ve been a writer my whole life. Besides novels and short stories, I have committed that special class of fiction called advertising. I’ve written and produced hundreds of TV and radio commercials and print ads. To atone for those sins, I’ve dedicated myself to writing the kind of fiction that enlightens and entertains without trying to sell stuff.


Thank you all for visiting with us. It’s always a pleasure to meet readers and authors. Until next month, every one please stay safe. Smile. Be happy. Show compassion. Be nice to others. Put a little love into your heart. Please speak up for those without a voice, whether it be a dog, cat, elephant or monkey. One person, one voice can make a difference. Read a book and pass it on. Leave a review. Reviews are important for authors. Believe me. I know. Thank you!

Regards,
S. J. Francis, Writing is my passion, but animals are my world.
Advocate for the underdog, and cat, and supporting writers, et al.
                              

In Shattered Lies: "It's All About Family." Available now from Black Opal Books and for sale at all on-line retailers and independent booksellers.

                   Shattered Lies is a Finalist in the 2016 Writer's Shelf Book Awards.

                   Shattered Lies is a winner in the Fall 2016 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards for Women's Fiction. 

                   Shattered Lies is a runner-up in the 2016 Shelf Unbound Indie Best Book Award Competition.

                     Shattered Lies is a 2016 Reader's Favorite Honorable Mention in the Fiction - Women’s category. 


                   Shattered Lies was a Finalist in the 10th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards.


                   Shattered Lies was chosen as General Fiction Official Selection in the 2015 New Apple Book Awards.


                   The first, original book cover design for Shattered Lies was a semi-finalist in the 2015 Authors dB Best Cover Contest.

                   The 2nd new book cover design for Shattered Lies was a Finalist in the 2016 Authors dB Best Cover Contest.


 My Black Opal Books Author Page:

                                            Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sjfrancis419

                 Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SJ-Francis/480058115420325

       My Writing Blog: http://www.sjfranciswriter.blogspot.com


      A Consumer's View: http://aconsumersview.blogspot.com

                  One for the Animals: http://onefortheanimals.blogspot.com



                           Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/33550975-s-j

 And now for some legal stuff: Copyright 2017 by S.J. Francis. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, S. J. Francis and the guest author and are meant to entertain, inform and enlighten, and intend to offend no one.