Panick Attacks for first reviews?

[TrishaAnn92]

I felt that way my very first time but hitting the submit button on my written review was the worst. I have always loved writing but having my writing critiqued and knowing that I'm not the best writer out there made it more difficult. But it is worth it, I am slowly improving on my writing and writing book reviews has helped me get there! Just take a deep breath and hit that button.

[anonanemone]

Thank you for the words of wisdom. I finally submitted my first review. I think it is a good first try. <fingers crossed>

It's surprising how writing reviews can give you more of an empathy with the authors even though it couldn't be more than a taste of what they experience through the whole process.

Good Luck on your selection and review, quadbrokie45!

[rachel_bruhn]

From reading your post it does not seem to me like you have much of an issue with grammar/technical usage. No one is perfect all the time and no one expects you to write a flawless review. Take time to read other people's reviews, have someone preview your review, and/or save it and come back later and read it out loud to yourself. I don't think an author is going to get upset if your review contains a missing comma or misplaced punctuation mark. Many of the books I have read and reviewed contained their own errors (in fact every one of them had at least one that I noticed, and I am not a stickler for some grammar stuff). My advice is to take a deep breath and submit. At least one (usually two) editors on this site will review your review before officially posting it. They grade it and leave comments on their grades, which you can review in the "history" tab on the "RT" page. I find this especially useful when developing my reviews, because it shows me what they are looking for in a review and points out the mistakes I have made without realizing it.

[anonanemone]

Thank you, rachel_jacks! I think it was over a week after I submitted my review before I figured out how to get to the history page with the specific comments from the editors. I did find it very helpful though.

@quadbrokie, you can do this. I had a lot of drafts before I posted. All the reviews you see on this site are only the end result. I'm sure everyone has a process and doesn't just magically spew out great reviews in a first draft. Go for it!

[moderntimes]

You might refer to a thread I started, which has been quite popular, about book review writing...

Check in the "General Book and Reading" and look for the topic "What constitutes and unfair book review?" and there's a long and very interesting discussion about writing good and bad book reviews. It's very informative.

Here's the link:

http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewto ... =1&t=29494

[amaziah19]

Your review isn't about your ability as a writer. It is more about your opinion and view of the author's book. Try not to sweat it too much. As long as your review is honest and legible, the author should appreciate it.

[moderntimes]

Agreed that the review needs to be honest and legible, but it also needs to be well written. If it's sloppy and praises a good book, others might dismiss it because it's poorly written.

In my reviews, I try to write a small "essay" on the book and its techniques, characters, story line, themes, other things about the book and how it fits within the normal genre books for which it's pitched.

[Divya agarwal]

I am happy that this topic is put up for the discussion. I am going through the same. Thanks for all the expert advices given here and by the team of editors at the posted review. I am doing this review thing for the first time and hope to be able to do it right some day.

[moderntimes]

We are all happy to help you. I have written perhaps 200 book reviews and the challenge is still engaging for me. Let me try to offer some beginner's advice...

Do not down-grade a book just because you do not like the subject matter or if the style of the book is not your favorite type. For example, if you enjoy the more modern romance books with fairly explicit sex, and the romance book you are reviewing is of the older style, with the more sedate and reserved type of encounters, do NOT lower your rating just because you prefer the more racy style.

This is probably the most common mistake that book reviewers make. Understand, it is OK if you don't like that book style and it is also OK if you state this in your review. But what is NOT okay is to judge the book less favorably just because its style is not your preference.

Instead, you MAY judge the book lower grade if the writing style is poor and jumbled, if the grammar is bad or there are many plot errors, poor writing overall. This judgment is perfectly all right for you to make regardless of whether you like the TYPE of book or like another type.

Let me be clear: If the book is, for example, a sedate and older-style romance (and you prefer the more modern racy type), BUT the way the book is written is good, the characters are well described, the plot is correctly drawn, the writing style is of excellent control and quality, then even if you disagree with the author's type of book, if the author has done a good job portraying this type of book, you must give it an equivalent good rating.

Down-grading a book just because the reviewer disagrees with the book's type of writing is the biggest error that reviewers make, whether they are new at the work or old pros. So please ensure that your review is fair in accordance with these tenets.

Another recommendation is to try to talk about the side issues of the book, not just the plot. What I joke about and call "high school" reviews are this way -- they summarize the plot and then end by saying whether the reviewer likes the book or not. And also, those young writers who are reading this, please don't get upset -- I'm talking about stereotype inexperienced reviews.

Don't just summarize the plot. First of all, you may give away too many plot secrets if you do, and this is what most readers don't want to see. No "spoilers" please. It's okay to discuss the plot a bit, but also discuss how the characters interact, how the dialogue is set (good or bad), how there are no plot flaws (or many), and so on. In other words, discuss all the elements of the novel -- not just the plot -- and talk about how well the characters are described, if they seem real, if their emotions are believable, if the setting of the novel makes sense, if the book is an easy or challenging read. (Remember, just because a novel is a difficult read doesn't make it a bad one. It may be complex and challenging but also it may greatly reward the studious type of reader.) What makes it a "bad read" is if the story line or narrative is jumbled and makes no sense.

Of course you must be honest in your review and remember that your review will affect the amount of recognition and money that comes to the author. So be fair and not too harsh.

Good luck!

[Ramona]

My issue is not about choosing a book to read. It is not even so much about writing a first draft of the review! It's about the rewrites, the revising process! The first few revisions aren't too stressful, but when it comes to the point where I feel I should be about ready to submit...!!! THEN I get superstressed! I go over and over the grammar, punctuation. syntax... Is this the best I can do? Should I reword that sentence in the second or third or fifth paragraph? Should I MOVE that paragraph up or down in the review? And on and on I go! FINALLY, I have to say to myself that it looks good and it just has to be good enough. But I am not a "good enough" person! I want it to be GREAT! Eventually I do let go and submit and then I wait on pins and needles until I get the feedback from the review team editors!!

-- 26 Oct 2015, 12:17 --

We are all happy to help you. I have written perhaps 200 book reviews and the challenge is still engaging for me. Let me try to offer some beginner's advice...

Do not down-grade a book just because you do not like the subject matter or if the style of the book is not your favorite type. ...

Instead, you MAY judge the book lower grade if the writing style is poor and jumbled, if the grammar is bad or there are many plot errors, poor writing overall. This judgment is perfectly all right for you to make regardless of whether you like the TYPE of book or like another type

I have a question for you, moderntimes. How would you rate a book that has a great story idea, some good descriptive imagery in a few places, a few (maybe a couple) places where there is a bit of confusion in the story line, but overall has the potential to be a great story, but for one major issue. What if it had grammar and typo issues throughout the whole book. If it had something on almost every page, how low would you perhaps go on rating a book like that?

[moderntimes]

Good points, Ramona.

First, it's commonplace for writers or reviewers to agonize about their output, wanting to create a perfect piece of writing. I revise and re-revise all my reviews until I finally kick them out the door and email them to my editor. And my novels? There is never an end to the revisions. Even now, reading thru my first novel, now in print, I shudder about things as trivial as comma placement. Honest.

So that sort of frittering is quite normal and it comes with the territory for all writing. You need to develop a sense of "disposal" for your writing and let it go eventually. When I wrote for a newspaper, working on deadline was a good habit to get into -- there's a genuine clock time by which your story must be on your editor's desk (usually 8pm for a morning paper) and if the story isn't there, it's "spiked" (dumped). During my "day job" career I often had deadlines for technical docs (I worked as a tech consultant for oil & gas exploration) and that got me into the necessary habit of a genuine schedule for which there was no slippage. Now, with my novels, I've got a submissions deadline because my publisher has oa marketing calendar and there are other writers in the client group. When the final galley proofs are emailed to me, I've got maybe 3-5 days to read and approve, or else it goes to print, errors or not.

Anyway, my suggestion is to impose your own artificial deadlines and say "This review gets posted by 10pm Wednesday!"

Now, as to a mixed review, stars to award and so on... If a book had so many mechanical errors and typos that there were one or more per page? I'd post a short and zero stars review. Honest. If the pubisher / editors / author don't care enough about their "product" to ensure an error-free manuscript, then potential buyers shouldn't waste their money. It's an insult to the customer, who's expected to spend real money (not counterfeit) but then to receive a counterfeit book? No way. If the book's professionally published (mine are), then it indicates the lack of professionalism that the editors (and of course the author -- the author's core responsibility is to provide an error free manuscript) displayed. If the book's self published, this indicates a sloppy and uncaring author. Either the writer's incompetent and has poor English skills, or the author was uncaring about those whom the author expects to spend real money on the book, unwilling to either take the needed time to ensure a good proofread by the author, or too cheap to pay for a good proofread. Zero stars for a sloppy book with that many errors (a rare typo is okay).

As to the other items, your review should be balanced and include as many elements of a novel as possible. I often joke about "high school" reviews which simply summarize the plot and say "I liked (or didn't like) the book."

But a coherent and quality plot is only one element of a novel. There's dialogue which must be realistic and sound as if real people are speaking. Narrative must be cogent and make sense. Rhythm must be varied and controlled, and so on.

A good review should discuss ALL the elements of a novel, not just the plot, and if stars are awarded, they would be balanced on the total good/bad points of the book. Myself, I don't like giving stars at all (the reviews I write don't award stars), and instead just talking about the book, a little mini-essay which should be interesting reading in itself.

So if you have a few small plot flaws, drop down one star maybe. Start from the premise that if the book is good at all, it gets 5 stars, and then you deduct one or two stars depending.

Hope this helps.

[Ramona]

Thank you, moderntimes, Yes, your answer has helped a lot.

[moderntimes]

I of course misspelled "publisher" once but hey, I wasn't writing this posting for pay or publication. ha ha

[quadbrookie]

Thanks moderntimes for all techniques you've provided. Things seem much simpler now! :ugeek:

[moderntimes]

Hey, glad to help. I've been writing reviews (book & movie) for ages and I am happy to share what I've learned. It's mostly common sense.

But thanks.