Submission guidelines for authors

[Melissa]

Authors, if you would like to participate, please post the following information here and I will add you to the list for readers to choose from.

Name:
Genre:
Book(s) title(s)

Will you review another author's work?(it is not required, but it is nice when we can pay it forward.)
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews?
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"?

[Venus]

Venus Morales
YA Fiction/Urban Fantasy
The Hybrid

[Bill]

Bill Jacks
Humor/Black-humor/Fiction/Satire/Nonsense
Confederate Chipmunks & Carny Cooter

1.) I will review another author's work, as long as it's fairly short (30k words or less). For something longer, like a novel, I'd have to genuinely be interested.

2.) I prefer all of the genres listed above, but won't rule anything out. Good writing is good writing; that's really what I prefer.

3.) *See rant on Introductions thread.

4.) Yes

I'm not sure what that entails, but maybe...

[Jim]

Hi all-

my book is Wounded Animals (Whistleblower book 1)
genre: thriller

about: jimheskett.com/candle

thanks!
Jim

[Melissa]

Bill wrote: "Bill Jacks
Humor/Black-humor/Fiction/Satire/Nonsense
Confederate Chipmunks & Carny Cooter

1.) I will review another author's work, as long as it's fairly short (30k words or less)...."

Hey Bill!
The indie book of the month would be a discussion group where we would all read the same book and discuss with the author. But most of us here are busy writers, so I was considering doing this every other month to give us all time for reading. I'm leaning away from that now. What I would prefer to do is build up the group with readers and reviewers and then have them participate in the book of the month discussion where they are reading our books and the discussion is lead by the author.

Oh, and you've inspired me to add a new discussion thread...

[Bill]

Sounds good to me. Quality control will be kind of difficult with a lot of members though, won't it?

[Melissa]

I'm open for suggestions on quality control. I think it will be important to have access to fresh readers and reviewers here. These groups tend to have a revolving door with both authors and readers so I think actively looking for new members will be beneficial to the process.

[Tanya]

Suppose I should get on this, eh? Feel free to only pick one or two at a time for the purposes of the group.

Name: Tanya Lisle

Title: White Noise
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Genre: young adult, supernatural, lgbt

Title: Return to Wonderland
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Genre: young adult/middle grade, urban fantasy, horror elements

Title: Cloned Evil
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Genre: action/adventure, superhero, supernatural

Will you review another author's work? Yes, but only if I think I'm going to like it.
If so, what are your preferred genres? It varies from month to month. Not romance?
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yes

[Bill]

I agree. This might be a bit tricky. Here are a few suggestions (which you can take into consideration or completely discard):

1.) Restrictions on who can rate books (for the book of the month).
The only way to really ensure quality control is to have some sort of board of reviewers. And for it to truly be unbiased, the group would have to be pretty eclectic. Example: I'm perfectly capable of giving a romance novel 4 stars (if it's well written, original, and genuinely engaging). But it's not likely that I will LOVE it (my requirement for anything higher) because the genre isn't really my thing.

OR

2.) Restrictions on who can join group.
I don't know how that would work, or if it's even a good idea; but I do know that without some sort of gatekeeper, somewhere, integrity tends to get lost.

3.) Genre/length specifications (for book of month)
That way if the reviewers are predominantly fans of one genre, it won't matter.

[Annie]

Hi there.

Name: Annie Carlisle
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Book Title: Sideways - The Sideways Series Book 1
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Review another work? Yes
Preferred genres: Romance/Romantic Suspense
No reciprocal reviews:,agree
Read "How it works"? Yes

[Cynthia]

Name: Cynthia Vespia
Genre: Fantasy
Book: Demon Huntress: Destiny Unleashed


Genre: Suspense
Book: Sins and Virtues


Will you review another: Yes but to be fair to the author I won't be able to get a review out in a timely manner at the moment.

Preferred genres: Fantasy/Thriller
No reciprocal reviews: Agree
Read "How it works"? Yes

[Victor]

Name: Victor A. Davis
Genre: Short Story Collection, General Fiction
Book:


Will you review another author's work? Short Stories, Novellas, and/or Collections, preferably general fiction (i.e. not fantasy, harlequin, erotica, etc)
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes.
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yes.

[Patrick]

I'll throw Joshua's Island into the mix!

Genre: YA contemporary


http://www.amazon.com/Joshuas-Island-...

[L.J.]

Name: L J Higgins
Genre: YA, Sci Fi, Dystopian
Book: Dawn of the Dreamer


I am willing to review another author's work and will NOT perform reciprocal reviews.
Yes, I have read and agreed with the terms listed in "how it works"

[April]

Melissa wrote: "No reciprocal reviews."

Hello, Everyone. I'm pretty new at this. My first novel (a romance novel) was published on Amazon on July 7th. I'm an indie author (go INDIE)!

I take it that reciprocal reviews are a no-no. I can certainly understand why. But I was wondering if anyone could comment or expound on this rule?

Thanks!

April

[Bill]

April wrote: "Melissa wrote: "No reciprocal reviews."

Hello, Everyone. I'm pretty new at this. My first novel (a romance novel) was published on Amazon on July 7th. I'm an indie author (go INDIE)!

I take it th..."
It's only a rule in certain groups. But many authors do frown upon it. I am one of those authors. I can't speak for everyone, but I think they compromise the integrity of the rating system. Not ALWAYS, but pretty often. It's the co-dependency that's the problem. You're more likely to give a good review--or at least a less bad one--if you're worried that the author might, in turn, give YOU a bad review, out of spite. People tend to be much nicer than they would be if they didn't fear repercussions. OR maybe they give you a really good review, and you feel bad about giving them 3 stars, so you bump it up to 4 because it feels like you'd be saying, "Hey, mine is much better than yours." OR you end up comparing another author's work to your own, and the rating they gave you, instead of judging it on its own merits. I think more often than not they result in an unfair exaggeration one way or the other.

[April]

Thanks, Bill. I felt it was a bad idea, for all the reasons you stated. But hearing someone else articulate the issue helps. It's not just me thinking it's a bad idea. But now, if the issue comes up, I can point to this "general rule or recommendation" and say "It's not a good idea."

April

[Bill]

Watch out; some people will defend it fiercely--the "reciprechauns".

[Melissa]

Bill makes a very good point and I readily agree. Reciprocal reviews can easily defeat the purpose. But sometimes I find myself being a little nicer than I really want to be in a review. And it's not so much that I'm afraid they will give me a bad review out of spite, as I know how it feels when I get a three star review or even a two star (experienced that for the first time recently.) It sucks and I don't want to do that to another person. My goal with this group is to take some of those issues and hesitations off the table. In this group, reviewers should post their reviews just as they normally would but it's the confidential rating that they'll send to me that I'm hoping will help people be much more honest. Each book gets four regular reviews and four confidential ratings that will be averaged and shown to the group. I'm hoping that we'll get 100% honesty in those ratings. That should help us really find those great indie books that deserve to be noticed.

Thanks for contributing, April and congrats on your new book!

[Bill]

So everyone posts 2 reviews? One confidential and one not?

[Melissa]

Yes. The first review is what you post on good reads and amazon like any regular review they would post for any of the hundreds of other groups out there. Then the reviewer will submit a confidential rating to me like the following example (in a quarter star system.)

Overall impression of the book 4.25 stars
Writing style 3.75 stars
Editing 3.5 stars
Character development 4.25 stars
Cover design 4 stars

After four such reviews, I will average these scores and post for the group to see. If the book consistently rates at a 3.75 or higher, then we will add the book to our book shelf and do everything we can to help that author promote their book.

The goal here is to vet the best indie books to help them stand out in any way we can as a group. (Once we've vetted enough books, I'd like to start a Listopia list that guarantees only the best indie books have made the list.)

...it's just slow going on getting started.

[April]

Melissa wrote: "Bill makes a very good point and I readily agree. Reciprocal reviews can easily defeat the purpose. But sometimes I find myself being a little nicer than I really want to be in a review. And it's n..."

Thanks, Everyone. This is helpful. I agree 100%, but I just needed to hear someone else discuss it. I've only been an author for two weeks now. :) This is all new to me.

This helps a lot...

April

[Bill]

Melissa wrote: "Yes. The first review is what you post on good reads and amazon like any regular review they would post for any of the hundreds of other groups out there. Then the reviewer will submit a confidenti..."

Will there be a category for short works? Wink wink

[Melissa]

I think we can mange that! You're on my to read list. I love your title!

[Bill]

Are there any other short stories in the group? I'd be willing to review one.

[Victor]

Motion to upvote Bill's suggestion. (Disclaimer: I have only ever written short stories!) :P

[Bill]

I didn't realize you were in this group, Victor. Since I've already reviewed one of your stories, you won't be able to review mine. But I can review Gingerbread again for this group using the super sneaky half star system. Have you added that story to this group?

[Bill]

Melissa wrote: "I think we can mange that! You're on my to read list. I love your title!"

Thanks! Just out of curiosity, what type of story/writing would you assume it is, based solely on the title and cover, without having read the blurb?

[Melissa]

I have made a point of avoiding the blurb because I kind of want to go into it completely blind. I have absolutely no idea what it's about, but I can only assume that it will have its cleverly funny moments based on the title.
If you and Victor know any other short story authors, invite them and we can set up a thread for just short stories.

[Carl]

Name: Carl Albright
Genre: Science Fiction
Frontier: Curiosity Part I

The book will be free on Amazon starting tomorrow, so please feel free to wait until then to download it. Here is a link...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012CNLXHQ

I will be happy to review another authors work.

I do agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews.

I have read and agree with the terms listed in "How it works."

[Melissa]

Carl wrote: "Name: Carl Albright
Genre: Science Fiction
Frontier: Curiosity Part I

The book will be free on Amazon starting tomorrow, so please feel free to wait until then to download it. Here..."

Thanks Carl and Welcome! I've added you to the Short Story list.

[April]

Name: April Wilson
Genre: Romance
Book title: Vulnerable



Will you review another author's work?- Yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Absolutely!
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yes

Thanks!

April

[Melissa]

April wrote: "Name: April Wilson
Genre: Romance
Book title: Vulnerable



Will you review another author's work?- Yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Absolutely!
Ha..."

Welcome, April! I'll add you to the list!

[Mia]

Name: Mia Soul
Genre: Erotic Romance
Book Title: The Rum Runner's Woman

Yes to reviews and I agree to not perform reciprocal reviews.

[Jamie]

Jamie Michele
Genre: Historical Fiction/Historical Romance (clean)
Book titles: Mount of Hope: A Victorian Tale of Young Love and Sophia of Suffolk

Will you review another author's work? - Yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? - Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? - Yes

[Wendi]

Name: Wendi Wilson
Genre: YA paranormal romance, shifter
Book(s) title(s) Shadowed Strength: Shadowed Series Book One


Will you review another author's work?(it is not required, but it is nice when we can pay it forward.) Yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yes I did

[T.D.]

Name: TD Shields
Genre: YA Dystopian
Book Title: Into Shadow


Will you review another author's work? Yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yes

[Martin]

Name: Martin Marais
Genre: Historical Military. Currently writing a series of Western novellas.
Book title: The Battle of Paardeberg: Lord Roberts' Gambit


Will you review another author's work? Yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yes

[S.J.]

Name:S.J. Higgins
Genre:Romance/Suspense
Book(s) title(s) The Dark Side Of Chemistry

Will you review another authors work:- Yes. I rated and reviewed Emerge.
Do you agree to NOT perform reciprocal reviews:- Yes
Have you read and agreed to the terms:- Yes

[Samantha]

Name: Samantha Britt
Genre:New Adult/Young Adult Fantasy Romance
Book(s) title(s) Will of Fate
Will of Fate: Dual Court Kiss I

Will you review another author's work? - Absolutely. I've definitely embraced the concept of paying it forward after publishing my work!
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? - Yes

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

Name: Tabi Card
Genre: YA retellings/fairytales
Book(s) title(s)





Will you review another author's work?(it is not required, but it is nice when we can pay it forward.) If it interests me, of course!
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? 100% agree.
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yup, I have =)

[Debbie]

Name: Debbie Manber Kupfer
Genre: Fantasy
Book(s) title(s) P.A.W.S. (Book 1) and Argentum (Book 2)

Will you review another author's work?(it is not required, but it is nice when we can pay it forward. )Sure, but I warn you guys I'm a slow reader.
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Absolutely - I NEVER review swap.
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yep

[Tom]

Name: Tom Mazzone
Genre: Humor/Satire
Roads & Circuses

Will you review another author's work? Yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yes

[Julie]

Name: Julie Tuovi
Genre: YA Fantasy
Book(s) title(s): The Sirens of Falkeld

Will you review another author's work? YES!! Absolutely!
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? Yes

[C]

Name: C. M. Boers
Genre: YA Paranormal
Title: Obscured

Review another work? Yes, but it will have to be after I complete my MS for book three.
No reciprocal reviews:agree
Read "How it works"? Yes

[Melissa]

C.M. wrote: "Name: C. M. Boers
Genre: YA Paranormal
Title: Obscured

Review another work? Yes, but it will have to be after I complete my MS for book three.
No reciprocal reviews:agree
Read "How it works"? Yes"

Hi C.M. Welcome and thank you for submitting your book for review. We'll add you to the list when a spot opens.

[Debra]

Debra J Edwards
Genre: YA Paranormal (ghosts)
Title: Marvin's Curse

Unable to review other works due to current work restraints, but will enourage/invite newbies
No reciprocal reviews - agree
Have read 'How it works'

[Tamara]

Name: Tamara Hart Heiner
Genre: Middle Grade contemporary
Book(s) title(s) Walker Wildcats Year 1: The New Girl (Cassandra Jones)

Will you review another author's work? yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? yes

[Benita]

Name: Benita J. Prins
Genre: Fantasy
Book title: Starscape

Will you review another author's work? Yes - I actually posted just now on the List thread about two books I'd enjoy reading.
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? Yes
Hav you read and agreed with the terms listed in How It Works? Yes

[Johnno]

I am knew and a new author. I am looking for reviews and am willing to do well thought out reviews.

Will you review another author's work? - Yes
Do you agree NOT to perform reciprocal reviews? - Yes
Have you read and agreed with the terms listed in "How it works"? - Yes