Ask a Blogger - A New Feature for SOS Aloha

I am starting a new feature here at SOS Aloha - Ask a Blogger! Authors (and readers) often ask me about reviews, blogging, conventions, etc. So now I am accepting questions ... and will offer answers from a variety of experts, including other readers. 

I kick off this column with my thoughts on book reviews ....

... I believe there are NO rules!  Reviews are readers' thoughts ... and rules do not apply.  I would edit the above meme's title as "Suggestions for Book Readers".   

Thanks to Alethea Kontis for prompting this discussion. Here is my favorite part of her bio,

Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea currently lives and writes on the Space Coast of Florida. She makes the best baklava you’ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie. Find out more about Princess Alethea and the magic, wonderful world in which she lives here: patreon.com/princessalethea.

Baklava - yum! 

Let's chat about the "rules":

1.  You do not have to have purchased a book on Amazon to leave a review there.  

From Amazon (link),

Important: Before you can post a review, you need to have an Amazon.com account that has successfully been charged for the purchase of a physical or digital item. Free digital downloads don't qualify.  

You don't need to have purchased the product you're reviewing. 

Hence, once you purchase something from Amazon, you have an account.  Once you have an account, you can leave reviews on anything.  

For convenience, I post book reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

Where do you post reviews? 

2.  You do not have to read the whole book to leave a review.

But I believe the reader should be forthcoming - if a reader doesn't finish the book, offer a brief explanation in the review. For example, 

I brought this book with me on a cruise.  I loved the first few chapters, then left the book by the pool. I enjoyed the book enough to find it again and finish that story!

I've read half of the book - but life gets in the way of finishing it. The characters make me laugh but the pacing is slow.  Still, I plan to finish it as soon as my schedule lightens up.

I read the first chapter of this book and realized it is not for me. It might be for someone else, but I would like to move on to another book.

What do you think about a reader leaving a review before finishing the book?

3.  Reviews can be simple - yes!   THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BE SPELLED CORRECTLY - no!  

Take the time to use Spell Check so the review, no matter how brief, looks like it was written by a literate person.  

What do you think about spelling in reviews?

4. Authors need reviews on Amazon.

It is not the reader's job to promote the author.  I don't like this pressure from authors.  If a book delivers, readers will organically promote it.  

That being said, I encourage readers to leave reviews at their convenience as a means to support authors. 

Exception: If a reader signed up for a blog tour with specific dates, then, yes, a reader should post a review as specified. 

Even then, authors should not hound readers who are not paid to review - a free book is not payment.

What are your thoughts on what authors expect from readers?

5.  Algorithms are not reading or grading your reviews.  

I don't believe authors should discuss algorithms with readers. It suggests a whiff of manipulation when reviews should be organic. Interaction between readers and authors should be focused on the emotional experience, not the book sale.  

Readers and authors, I welcome your feedback! What are your suggestions for reviews?  What encourages you to leave a review ... and what discourages you from leaving a review?  I am giving away a book choice to one randomly selected commenter (authors, I will assume you are not participating in the giveaway). Comments are open through Sunday, March 26, 10 pm in Baltimore. I'll post the winner on Monday, March 27.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Random thoughts about book reviews ...

Several months ago, I spotted a Twitter conversation from Mandy (Smexy Books) about book reviews on blog tours. Romanceland has explode with tales of woe about book reviews. Readers are being nagged to write reviews for books they buy. Reviewers are pressured to publish only glowing reviews for books they receive. Bloggers are being choked with review requests. Authors are overwhelmed with promotions. The total effect casts a dark cloud over a genre known for offering hope.

Let’s get down to basics ala Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Reviews are for ___________.

Anyone? Anyone?

Reviews are for readers. 

I believe reviews should be separate from promotions, especially blog tours. Let readers have their private space as they discuss books in reviews. Authors should wait to interact with readers on a blog tour when the blogger invites authors into the reader space.

Yet authors are focused on reaching 50 reviews on Amazon – a golden number that apparently feeds the algorithm. If that is the goal, then authors should focus on how to reach out to 50 readers who are best suited to review their genre. Whether authors are published by NY, small press, or themselves, their initiative to find their tribe will pay off.  From Thomas Edison, 

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Authors need to research Romanceland to find where readers of their genre congregate. Then the work begins with review requests. The good – authors can easily access readers through social media. The bad – authors often do not follow guidelines posted by reviewers. The ugly – authors blindly send review copies to bloggers, in my case, as a message to my Facebook account. For the bad and ugly, I simply delete.

Let’s return to the good – many readers, reviewers, and bloggers enjoy being part of Romanceland. It’s a unique community where all parties actively engage in lively discussions about the craft. The key to keeping that community spirit in recognizing boundaries.

Reviews are for readers. Common sense suggests that authors should stay off readers’ forums. Publicly criticizing readers is as effective as a lead balloon.

Accept that readers, reviewers, and bloggers also have lives outside Romaneland.

Good will goes a long way in building partnerships with readers, reviewers, and bloggers.

Then the fun begins with blog tours. But that is an another discussion for another day.

Do you write a review for books you buy, borrow, or win? What are your thoughts on authors asking readers to write reviews? Would you be interested in tips for writing reviews? One randomly selected commenter wins a book choice from my convention stash.  Comments are open through Saturday, July 11, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, July 12.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Benjamin Franklin fishes for cats ... and Jennifer McQuiston combats Ebola

Ten days ago, Romanceland exploded in anger over The Guardian's publication of YA author Kathleen Hale's essay of how she stalked a reviewer.   Hale attempted to justify her actions and remains unapologetic. Author Alex Hurst offers the most comprehensive review of the situation, Hale vs. Harris, and the Breach of Online Ethics, at this link.

Hale accuses Harris of "catfishing" ... I had to look up this term.  From the Urban Dictionary (link),

A catfish is someone who pretends to be someone they're not using Facebook or other social media to create false identities, particularly to pursue deceptive online romances.

Hale (the author) accuses Harris (the reviewer) of "catfishing" for using a pseudo name to post reviews.  However, it is Hale, in her own words, who engaged in false pretenses to visit Harris at home and contact her at work.   This is a sad day in democracy.

My cat fishes for books.

This past weekend, I came across National Treasure on cable TV.  Nicolas Cage stars as a historian who pieces together the clues to the Templar treasure from Benjamin Franklin's Silence Dogood letter.   From PBS.com (link)

During the eighteenth century, it was common for writers and journalists to use pseudonyms, or false names, when they created newspaper articles and letters to the editor.

Silence Dogood was Franklin's first pseudonym, created when he was sixteen years old and serving as a printer's apprentice to his brother James. Silence Dogood was a middle-aged widow who looked at the world with a humorous and satiric eye. Her letters dealt with a range of topics from love and courtship to the state of education in Massachusetts. In all, fifteen Silence Dogood letters were published in James Franklin's New England Courant.

Benjamin Franklin
Public Domain (link)

Following Hale's reasoning, Franklin must be a colonial catfisher using the social media of his time - newspapers.   I found the Dogood letters at this link.  

April 2, 1722 • Silence Dogood #1

I am not insensible of the Impossibility of pleasing all, but I would not willingly displease any; and for those who will take Offence were none is intended, they are beneath the Notice of Your Humble Servant

April 16, 1722 • Silence Dogood #2

I am naturally very jealous for the Rights and Liberties of my Country; and the least appearance of an Incroachment on those invaluable Priviledges, is apt to make my Blood boil exceedingly. 

These letters are clever insights into an emerging democracy from a 16 year old boy disguised as a middle aged widow.   We could learn much from Franklin's wisdom.   I will share more from Silence Dogood throughout the week.

I submitted a Letter to the Editor of The Guardian.  I hesitated as I was required to submit my name, address, and phone number.  I don't think The Guardian will publish my letter, so I share a portion of it with you, focusing on the single issue that prompted this kerfuffle - a bad review:

I offer an example of how a “bad” review can yield “good” publicity. Elyse at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books posted a D review for Avon author Jennifer McQuiston’s debut historical, What Happens in Scotland. Yet Elyse’s review was thoughtfully written, with a hint of humor.  Elyse's review caught the attention of many readers, including some who thought they might like the book.  I gave 5 stars to What Happens in Scotland.

Quoting Silence Dogood, "I am very sensible that it is impossible for me, or indeed any one Writer to please all Readers at once. Various Persons have different Sentiments; and that which is pleasant and delightful to one, gives another a Disgust."

Six months later, Elyse reviewed the next book in the series, Summer Is For Lovers, giving it an A review. Elyse might not have reviewed the second book had Ms. McQuiston acted like a diva. But that’s not the end of the story. The romance community has rallied around Ms. McQuiston in her day job with the CDC – she is now in Sierra Leone to combat Ebola at its source. You can bet that romance readers are following Ms. McQuiston on Facebook in this global crisis. And they will follow her into her next series. You can’t buy goodwill like this.

In the end, it is free speech that is our National Treasure.

I am giving away a book choice from my convention to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Share a wise old saying such as a penny saved is a penny earned.  Feel free to check out wiseoldsayings.com.

2.  Comments are open through Saturday, November 1, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, November 2.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Follow Jennifer McQuiston in Sierra Leone at this link.