The story will also be
published in a future issue of firstwriter.magazine, and
the winner will also receive a firstwriter.com voucher worth £20 / $30 – as will the ten Special
Commendations:
Karen Lech, United States, "Brassiere Nuts ... and Angels";
Kevin Asquith, Canada,
"Garbage Relationships";
Rob Pollard, United Kingdom,
"The Economy of Roland T. Philpin";
Vanessa Gebbie, United Kingdom,
"Dodie's Gift";
Maggie Stanfield, United Kingdom,
"Vania";
Justin Edwards, United Kingdom,
"Eye Contact";
Richard Grove, Canada,
"Uncle Girwood’s Chicken Story";
Mac Pope, United States,
"The Twenty";
Susan Wingate, United States,
"The Saber";
Nanette Littlestone, United States,
"Falling for Jenny".
firstwriter.magazine
Issue 9: Raindrops The latest issue of firstwriter.magazine has also
just been released, featuring quality fiction and poetry
submitted from around the world, plus your first chance to see
not just the winning poems from our Fourth International
Poetry Competition, but also all ten Special Commendations. To
view the magazine click
here. To enter your work in our Fifth International
Poetry Competitionclick
here.
All those whose
work has been included in issue 9 have now been notified, so if
you submitted work for issue 9 and have not received
notification of inclusion then, regrettably, on this occasion
your submission was not successful. Please do feel free to try
again, however, through www.firstwriter.com/Magazine.
We have now begun accepting submissions for Issue 11.
Every author wants to have his/her book reviewed.
It’s a good way to get exposure for their books and exposure computes into
sales. With the rise in the number of new authors each year, there’s a greater
need for book reviewers.
If you are a freelance writer, consider adding
book reviews to your writing repertoire. There’s money to be made and a measure
of notoriety in writing book reviews. There are also numerous opportunities for
the book reviewer. For example:
You can join a stable of book reviewers at a book
review Web site or magazine such as Midwest Book Review
(www.midwestbookreview.com),
Richmond Review (www.richmondreview.co.uk),
Complete Review (www.complete-review.com)
or Historical Novel Society (www.historicalnovelsociety.org).
Alternatively, consider contacting Kirkus Reviews Magazine,
Bibliophilos, Book Magazine or Library Journal about writing
reviews for them (contact information below). As a matter of fact, Publishers
Weekly is currently seeking reviewers
(www.publishersweekly.com).
Submit reviews to general magazines that publish
reviews or magazines dedicated to a specific interest: horses, gardening,
memoirs, parenting, romance or travel, for example. If the magazine doesn’t
already publish reviews, suggest a book review column. This is particularly
feasible with a newer magazine. Here’s a partial list of magazines with book
review columns: Grandparents Magazine, Mothering Magazine,
Today’s Christian Woman, Fine Gardening, Christian Home and School,
African Voices, Indiana Review, and Iconclast (contact
information below).
Alternatively, offer to write and submit reviews
for authors for a fee. I’m currently paying a couple of writers to write reviews
and submit them to appropriate magazines, newsletters and websites. Of course,
if the magazine pays for submissions, the reviewer makes even more on the deal.
Some website managers and magazine / newsletter editors post or publish reviews,
but they don’t do the reviews in house. This is a great opportunity for someone
who likes to read, has an opinion, is good with detail, is a skilled writer, and
knows how to hustle work.
Here are the basics of writing a book review:
Choose books carefully. You might be
better at reviewing the type of books that you are accustomed to and enjoy
reading: mysteries and true crimes, young adult novels or nonfiction books in a
particular subject, for example.
Make notes while reading the book. I
frequently review books related to writing and publishing for SPAWNews (the
newsletter for SPAWN – Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network).
While reading the book, I note passages that I particularly like, areas where
the material is especially strong (or weak), chapters where I find unique or
important bits of information and so forth. I note the way the book is
organised, whether it is well-written or not, what makes it appealing or useful,
why this book is different and who will benefit from the material in this book.
Reflect on the book. When I finish a book,
I spend a few moments or hours thinking about it. How did it affect me? What
were my impressions? What is the point and the purpose of the book – to
teach / educate, guide, inform, inspire or entertain? Did the author fulfil his
promise to readers?
What is the purpose of a book review?
A book review is meant to help other people decide whether or not they want to
or should read this book. A book review is a summary of the book. It describes
the book and provides potential readers with both the positive and any negative
aspects of the book.
Most of us have written book reports. A book
review differs from a book report in that, not only does it tell about the book,
it also critiques it. I often complain, in my book reviews, when a good
reference book for writers doesn’t have an index, for example.
What is your job as a book reviewer?
Point out the appropriate audience for the book. Who would benefit most from
this book or enjoy this book most. I won’t recommend a cutesy book of
cat-inspired writing to a beginning writer who is seeking information. Likewise,
I won’t suggest that an experienced author should read a basic book written for
new writers.
Reviewers for my book, The Right
Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book typically say that this book is
for anyone who is interested in writing a book. It’s not for freelance writers
who have no desire to produce a book. It’s not necessarily for seasoned authors.
But it is for the hopeful or the struggling author and this is how most
reviewers describe it.
Consider the audience while writing the book
review. I review books that I can use and learn from and I review books that are
pretty elementary. For solid reference books, I am part of the audience. I can
write from my own perspective. For beginning books or inspirational books, I
really must consider another audience while I am formulating the review. Here
are some ideas:
Write something fresh about the book. I’ve had
people write reviews for my books simply by copying the back cover matter.
That’s a rather lazy approach. Be creative. Have fun. Come up with material that
is unique and interesting, yet appropriate.
Be creative in choosing a style for your review.
For fiction, you will probably want to evaluate characters and the plot. For
nonfiction, analyse how complete the book is, whether it is useful and
well-presented. If you review books in a category that you are familiar with,
you’ll be more qualified to define the book’s strengths and weaknesses –
what works and what doesn’t.
What if you hate the book?
Not every reviewer (or reader) is going to like every book. And the more
familiar you are with the genre that you are reviewing, the more critical you
will become. You know what you like. You know what touches you, makes you think,
makes you laugh or cry. Sometimes you’re going to read a book that you really
don’t like. What do you do with that? Either refuse to review the book or go
ahead and review it revealing what you think would make it better. Many books
are POD today and, if you firmly believe that your comments are important, maybe
the author would consider making changes with the next printing.
Perhaps the book just isn’t your cup of tea or
maybe it truly does have some problems. If you choose to review a bad book or
one that you hate, you can do it in one of two basic ways. Either bash the book
or use the sandwich method. That is, mention a positive aspect of the book, then
reveal your negative point of view and then end by stating something good about
the book. If the magazine you’re writing for really likes critical reviews, go
ahead and bash the book, if you want and if you think it deserves it and if you
don’t mind the possible consequences.
I produced a book a few years ago in which one
paragraph was repeated. Hours before the book was to go to the printer, I made a
change. I asked my typesetter to move a paragraph. He did, but neither of us
noticed, during our last “too” quick look, that he neglected to remove the
paragraph from the original spot. One reviewer really bashed that book. She saw
the repeated paragraph and that was all she focused on throughout her entire
review. It was like she had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed or that she
had a vendetta against someone – me? Or what I or my writing represents?
She practically told readers that they should not
read this book because of the numerous repeats throughout the book. If you see
something you don’t like or that is blatantly wrong with a book you are
reviewing, mention it if you must – especially if you feel that readers
would be affected in some way by the message, information or presentation. But,
if you see value in the book, talk about that, as well.
What else should you include in your book
review?
Write a book review in essay form. It should have a beginning, middle and end.
It should be written clearly and concisely. You’ll describe the book and reveal
who the book is for. Sometimes the author doesn’t make this obvious and you’ll
have to make that call.
Include the author’s qualifications for writing
this book. Is he the author of 25 other mysteries? Is she an attorney? Are they
practicing psychologists? In the case of my own books, reviewers always refer to
my extensive background in writing and publishing.
A book review generally encompasses 150 to 300
words. Some magazine editors or webmasters might request one that is longer.
Before you finalise the review, always make sure
that you list (either at the beginning or the end of the review), the full
title, subtitle, author’s name, publishing company, ISBN, page number, price and
ordering information.
Writing book reviews isn’t for everyone. I
believe you must have a love of books – at least the type of books you are
reviewing. You really should have a fairly optimistic, positive, but realistic
outlook. It’s important that you can project from an appropriate audience’s
point of view. Having good writing skills is a major plus.
For the details of over 180
magazines publishing reviews,
click here
Patricia Fry is a full-time
freelance writer and the author of 24 books including The Right Way to
Write, Publish and Sell Your Book
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
fwn
uses English spelling conventions.
Spellings such as "realise"
"colour", "theatre",
"cancelled", etc.
differ from other spelling conventions
but are nonetheless correct.
News:
Writers
needed to start novel Writers are invited to contribute to a novel
which is being put together, which will include the work of dozens of writers,
each contributing snippets of just 500 words.
The organisers are currently searching for an
opening piece. To enable the first writer to set the scene, initial characters,
etc. this section may be up to 1,000 words.
Children's picture book writing competition Entries are invited from new and published
writers for a picture book text suitable for younger readers. Illustrations will
not be considered and should not be submitted. The entry fee is $5 and the first
prize is $300 (Australian dollars). The winning entry will be announced on
November 22 at enterprisingwords.com and in the December issue of Buzz Words.
Manuscripts must be professionally presented and be received by September 18,
2006, with entry fee and SASE for results.
For more information, contact Di Bates, PO Box
2116, Woonona East NSW 2517 Australia.
New webzine seeks submissions New webzine, Rokovoko
(rokovoko.blogspot.com)
seeks short stories, essays, poetry, and book, theatre, film, and music reviews.
Top-notch original or first-serial material only. Rokovoko doesn't
offer payment, but will link bylines and authors' notes to book or promotional
web pages, etc.
For the details of over 650 other magazines,
click here.
AguaTerra Contest deadline delayed The AguaTerra contest due date for the third print anthology of Ascent
Aspirations Magazine has been extended to September 1, 2006, to accommodate
the timing of the August Online Issue and and the Windfire Anthology
Publication. For more details, see ascentaspirations.ca
/aguaterra.htm.
Creative nonfiction is sought for a new venture,
selling "How-To" books that "burst with personality". Topics can include
hobbies, skills, and should be presented in a creative fashion that makes the
experience fun for your reader by shaping it with your own unique personality.
Your "How-To Scrapbook" should feel very different from another author's
submission regarding scrapbooking.
Manuscripts should be between 50,000 and 70,000
words, and royalties will be above-average for accepted authors.
WriterOnLine is an e-publication dedicated to writers and lovers of writing.
Fiction, poetry, business and technical writing, how-tos, articles, reviews,
freelance markets, jobs for writers and much more, published bi-weekly.
Completely
renewed! Visit us at
www.writer-on-line.com
