Current Issue

"Getting To Know Your Reviewer"

Welcome to the first of what is intended to be many of my columns for “Mouthful Of Bullets.” Billy has promised me that it will be several issues before we add the obvious slogan “now crunchier with more fiber” and I am very glad. I am also very glad to be a part of this project and look forward to sharing some of my advice regarding book reviews as well as commentary on other issues. Of course, if you have a question or suggestion for a future topic then by all means send them to Billy or myself at kevin_tipple@att.net

Since this was the first column, I thought maybe I should briefly go over something basic which a lot of beginning novelists seem to forget or ignore. You have your book out or soon coming out, but your work isn’t over yet unless you aren’t worried about sales. As we all know, review copies cost money and publishing houses, for the most part, are sending out fewer copies and those copies that they do send out get sent to the New York Times, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, etc. Even if you are so lucky to get a copy of your book sent to them the chances are pretty good that your book will get lost in the shuffle.

So, you have to seek out on your own with little or no help, reviewers who will consider your book. Much like you should have already checked to make sure the title you chose isn’t the same as the one chosen by sixteen other authors already listed online at your favorite bookstore, or in the library database, you need to know who the reviewers are and what they prefer. You can do that by word of mouth on whatever writer’s lists you are on, simple internet searches by using the term “book reviewer” and the like on various search engines, reviews printed in your local newspaper, etc. Finding reviewers out there isn’t hard.

But, just because you have your handy dandy list of reviewers doesn’t mean you are finished and ready to mass ship books for reviews. No, what you have to do now is actually read some reviews. Much like the advice listed in nearly every writer’s guide that says read an issue, preferably more than one before submitting, you have to actually go read some reviews. That way, you have some idea whether the reviewer actually reads the genre or type of book you have written.

In my case, I absolutely don’t read horror. I define horror as those books where the undead (hungry or not) walk among the living, the walls bleed blood, demons take over folks, etc. I simply don’t read that sort of thing and as such since I only review what I read, don’t review them. Still, a couple of times a month, an author sends me a query e-mail and gushes on how my reviews are so good. Then, he or she drops the bomb. The book in question is a horror novel and the author who states how good my reviews are and how much they were enjoyed is sure I will like it. I used to respond to these authors and point out that they obviously had no idea what I read and reviewed and they should consider spamming someone else. Now, I just delete the message and move on. I got tired of arguing with authors who would write back and argue with me as to why I must make an exception and read their book. Not going to happen and the fact that five friends all loved the book doesn’t help the cause.

So, your mission is to know your reviewer. You have to know if the reviewer reads in the genre that your novel fits and to do that you have to read reviews. You have to know if your reviewer is what is known as a “rubber stamper” somebody that likes everything equally and as such isn’t taken seriously. You have to know your reviewer’s history as to where he or she has reviewed for and you ought to take a look at some of those early reviews as well as more current stuff. You are looking for improvement in his or her craft because the quality of reviews should improve over time.

Now that you know you need to know your reviewer, next time we will talk about how to ask for a review and how to avoid a huge blunder. As I said at the opening, if you have any questions or suggestions or just about anything else, please drop Billy (my boss) a note or write me directly at kevin_tipple@att.net I look forward to hearing from you!