ROBUST discussion
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I need help getting book reccommendations for the Awesome Indies listing
Tahlia wrote: "Are any of you an author or editor who is, or has been, employed in that capacity by a publishing house, newspaper or magazine? If you are, would you like to help out with making recommendations fo..."I tried to answer you on FB but my question kept disappearing yesterday ...
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If the books I've rated have 5 star ratings from other readers say on Amazon, would they qualify?
Claudine wrote: "Mmmm. Your requirements are pretty steep. I doubt any books I've read and given ratings to would even qualify. I'm very particular with how I rate a book and don't give 5 star ratings at all eas..."<Maybe, I should make it one 5 star, or two 4 star reviews from people who fit the criteria for reviewers.
The criteria for basic standards are pretty basic, but if people like you aren't giving many 5 stars then it is too steep. There will always be a difference in how easily people pull out the 5 sparkles.
What do you suggest? I want it to be high quality, but not so high that no one can get on it. They don't have to be perfect books, just of a professional standard and have something that makes someone who knows their stuff say, yeah, this one deserves some recognition.
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My rating system is based on what I like reading, the level of enjoyment of the book. I don't overanalyse a story. I read because I'd probably die intelectually without words. Books are like food to me. Granted there are some clangers out there, especially when it comes to self published works and I applaude you for wanting to put out the word on good decent Indie reads.
The book blogs I follow tend to have their own rating systems, they don't follow the standard Amazon 5 star code.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12... That's my review of Kat's book, I put the same review on Amazon. Apart from not having the prerequisite 5 star rating, her book is a fine piece of work as far as language usage and editing goes. And therein lies my dilemma.
I have no suggestions for you. It's your blog, your book reviews. Run it as you see fit. You want to improve the reputation that Indies out there have and that is always a good thing. Oh wait, I do have a suggestion. Word of mouth from people whose opinions you trust. If they enjoyed the book and are honest to a fault, then you can't go wrong accepting suggestions from them.
But books are personal to people, one man's read is another man's toilet paper.
BTW, I am not a professional editor, I've never worked for a publishing company or magazine or anything in the publishing industry apart from the commercial printing industry many moons ago where I learned how to become anal about proper language use and spelling. I volunteered on Andre's beta reading group and so far he likes what I've done.
I'm a IT specialist - I don't qualify to recommend a book.Thanks Claudine - it's alway nice to see 'well-crafted' said about my book.
Claudine wrote: "I gave Kat's book Swallow the Moon 3 stars. It was well written, well crafted but it's a romance. I don't read romance. My preferred genres are sci fi / fantasy, crime, historically accurate fic..."Thanks Claudine. That gives me food for thought.
It is difficult to get 5 stars (or even 4 in your case) when the reviewer is reading out of genre. I guess I figured that authors will ask people who do like their genre. Word of mouth recommendations are fine too and are the basis for the original list. The criteria are to allow authors with no contact to me or the other Awesome Indies to find a way in.
I don't doubt that you're qualified to make a recommendation, but I'd like to read K.A's book and see what I think. I'll prbably agree with you which will confuse me even more about how to word this thing.
I started out not defining it as much, but I got flack on a kindle board forum because I didn't have it defined. I'll think about it some more & see if anything brilliant appears.
K. A. wrote: "I'm a IT specialist - I don't qualify to recommend a book.Thanks Claudine - it's alway nice to see 'well-crafted' said about my book."
I'd be happy to read your book. It is my genre.
K. A. wrote: "Thank you!Would you like a copy from SMashwords?
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/..."
Sure, except I honestly can't afford it right now. My family is truly down to it's bones.
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Thanks Claudine - it's alway nice to see 'well-crafted' said about my book."
I forget you are in IT. My husband is too except he is on the management side of things. He's done courses here and there but started life out as a Cost Accountant. You wrote a fine book, you should be immensely proud of it.
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I read that exchange by following the link on your blog. I'm going to paste some links to a few book blogs I follow. They are all either sci fi or fantasy blogs.
They have their own rating system which I like. I have a personal blog where I sometimes will post reviews of movies or books. If it were me, I'd forego the must haves you have set out. While ideal, no book would have all those qualifications in it. That will come out in your review. What are the reasons you want to review Indie authors would be what I'd have there. The thing I've come to see most with indie authors is that the industry on the whole is still so geared towards traditional publishing that reviews are hard to come by if you don't have friends willing to review your books honestly. Indies are still seen as the bottom of the bottom of the barrel. The purpose of a review is for the author to learn from it, that mistakes are slowly eliminated in a next book.
As an author you have an intimate knowledge of what another author requires from a review so I'd apply that knowledge to someone else's work.
http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/
Review policy specific to Graeme's Fantasy Book Review - http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.c...
Big Al's review policy - http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/p/gu...
http://darkwolfsfantasyreviews.blogsp...
Claudine wrote: "K. A. wrote: "I forget you are in IT. My husband is to..."Yes, I'm the person who got the call when their internet wasn't working. Did it for 10 years. I actually enjoyed it. Every call was a challenge - and I got to talk to a lot of people. I like people.
I'm proud of both my books. Even if the second one is better. I'm tickled silly the first one did so well on it's free days. The other will catch up, eventually.
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Yes, that's how it goes - people panic when their computers don't work right.Can't blame them - it's taken me years of study to get the knowledge I have - it's very left-brained.
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Yeah - Geeks take quite a bit of getting used to.
Tahlia, stick with whatever criteria works for you. I understand your frustration when you are expecting a quality book (whatever that means to you) and you discover dreck. I do not take review requests. I read what appeals to me and if I quickly discover a book does not live up to its hype, I do not finish it and say nothing. I do not write negative reviews, because it takes too much of my energy, but there are days I am tempted. I have to admit to being really annoyed when an author has put out a book for sale (at any price) and then there is all this hype about how good it is - and the author/publisher has not even taken the time to have it edited or formatted as best they can and on top of that the book gets multiple 5 stars. I don't expect any book to be perfect, but after 10 or so glaring typos or grammar errors I start getting distracted. I think authors should realize that one has only so much time to read and that time is valuable for the reader.
I do however think you may have a hard time finding many indie books with your criteria. I would describe whatever it is you are looking to end up with for a good review as your criteria. If you hate typos, say so. If you hate formatting errors to Kindle, say so. If you hate stories with not enough mystery/suspense/good characters/adventure/romance/whatever, say so. If you hate zombies or werewolves or vampires say so. If you love or don't mind any of the above, say so. It is your time you are taking and you want it to be enjoyable.
Tahlia,Tara Fox Hall at Good Book Alert is on your vetted list and she just awarded 5 stars to book:
http://goodbookalert.blogspot.com/201...
Glad to see you posting, J.A. I was beginning to think Robust didn't pay the rent and had to close down.
It has been a bit quiet lately.In my case, it was a combo of post-release stuff and dealing with my daughter having norovirus and now my wife.
Oh dear. I know nothing about norovirus, but it doesn't sound like anything good.
An extremely unpleasant GI tract thing. You may have heard of it as the "cruise ship" virus.
After I posted, I Googled. I've been hearing of similar symptoms going around where I live.A little while ago I saw an ad for a cruise ship vacation and wondered how many guns would have to be held to my head to get me to sign up. Either everyone's sick, or bodies go overboard, or the ship sinks. I can have that much fun at home.
Patricia wrote: "Glad to see you posting, J.A. I was beginning to think Robust didn't pay the rent and had to close down."Yeah, I was thinking we needed to shoot a gun off or something... Of course I didn't come up with anything that would do the trick...
Sorry to hear about your family's health problems, J.A. Hope you don't contract it!
I love cruising. I would go again in a heartbeat. It's perfect if one wants a resting vacation but is bored by the beach. Everything is done for you, all expenses are included, booze always being poured, Vegas-quality entertainment. Always something to do if one wants it. Lots of deck chairs if one wants quiet. The last time I went we did skeet-shooting from the deck. Flying, I believe, holds more chance of catching something dire...
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Boats make me sea-sick. It's why I went into the Air Force instead of the Navy when I was in the military.
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I like going out on small boats for short trips, and I sometimes take the ferry to a nearby island -- very nice at night. But spending days on a cruise ship makes me shudder. I feel claustrophobic just thinking about it. I always need an escape route no matter where I am, and I don't have access to 'copters like Andre does.Sharon, how can anyone be bored at the beach? I've been contemplating moving to be near one.
Tried a cruise once - was deathy ill. Never again!I couldn't read, couldn't eat, couldn't go on deck.
It was ghastly.
Patricia I live at the beach and love it on a daily basis. I highly recommend you move near one if you can. But to go to a hot clime and just lie in the sun is not my idea of fun. I need to move. I need to occupy my mind. But sometimes I don't want to be running around hither and thither to accomplish that. I've never been in helicopters other than when I rode them to get to the top of remote mountains in order to ski pristine powder snow for about 15 minutes of heaven. But I wouldn't want to ride in one to leave a ship if I were bored, I'd go seek out some fun and laughter and interesting folks (of which there would be plenty enough for me). But I suppose if I were unlucky enough to be disposed to getting seasick...
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Sharon, I never, ever sun bathe. That would be torture. I remain pale white all summer. But I love being near the ocean and walking along the shore or into the water in the evening.One of things that would also cause suffering -- on a cruise ship -- would be being around so many other people. You say you'd join them for laughter and fun. I'd shoot myself. I'm the person the word "loner" was invented to describe.
I suspect every writer, to some degree, is a loner. Or at least comfortable in the pleasure of their own company.But it is clear cruising would not be for you, Patricia. I hope you are able to move to the beach, though, there is just something about it that feeds one's soul.
The one thing I miss about Ashtabula is the beaches. They aren't the same - more plastic than sand these days - but Lake Erie is a beautiful shade of blue.I used to walk down to Walnut beach when it was blazing hot - day or night - for a swim. Had some very romantic evenings in front of a fire on the beach.
Of course I'd never eat anything out of the Lake. The cancer rates back home are equal to the Love Canal in New York.
The joke in the 1970's was 'don't drink the water and don't breath the air.'
I remember when I came to Kentucky and someone asked me about eating fish - I said I never eat fish - they are poisonous.They looked at me like I was crazy - but in the 60's people died from mercury poisoning from eating cat-fish.
K.A., your side of the Lake is way different than my side. Lake Erie is mostly brown around here. But I do eat the perch that call it home. If I have to die of something, it might as well be mercury.
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Sharon, it's not only writers who are loners. I grew up with a dysfunctional mother. My only escape was the local library. When I read, Armageddon could burst around me and I wouldn't even notice. I still very much prefer my own company.
Patricia - too bad you don't get the view. I think the Zebra mussles had something to do with it. The lake was brown when I was a kid - and green when I was a twenty-something.
I was a loner as a kid, and I still like my own company a whole lot. 10 years working Tech Support, I can talk to anyone.
I can talk to anyone, too. I just don't want to.
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Last time I talked to anyone, it was to the voices in your head.
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Claudine wrote: "K. A. wrote: "I'm a IT specialist - I don't qualify to recommend a book.Thanks Claudine - it's alway nice to see 'well-crafted' said about my book."
I forget you are in IT. My husband is to..."
Thanks for the links.
K. A. wrote: "Yeah - Geeks take quite a bit of getting used to."If there's not many, then so be it.
I'm trying to get some of the Awesome Indie authors to be available to ananomously read books for authors wanting to be considered, that avoids authors having to find the 'right' kind of reviewer, but I have one offer now and only 2 of us write reviews, so that will have to wait until we get a pool of authors willing to read. Since they don't have to review them, they can discard them as soon as it's obvious that they don't come up to scratch.
I really do want it to be a peer review, ie indies recommending indies, but for a start we have to know that the indies doing the recommendations know what they're talking about.
My last review is now all over Facebook...(rolling eyes at Dakota and Andre). I'm good at one-liners, which makes me quotable.
Sometimes I quote even your silences.
Also if you know anyone in this category who is publishing reviews of Indie works, I'd love it if you could give me their name, and if possible, a link to their site.
If you are an author who would like your work listed on the Awesome Indies listings, the submission process has been clarified and streamlined. Just get one 5 star review from someone who fits the above category & fill in the form on the Awesome Indies information page.
http://tahlianewland.com/awesome-indies/