I need to preface this article by saying I’m not a big romance fan. I’d rather read about dragons than someone falling in love. That being said, I do enjoy a well-written love triangle from time to time.
This past week, I received feedback from an author on our last editorial, Book Reviews – An Author’s Best Friend (Even When Not-So-Positive), where he shared his “most extreme hostile review.” This author forwarded to us a review of his book which basically comprised of everything reviewers should avoid when reviewing. I decided to address this through today’s editorial for two reasons:
All authors worst nightmares are bad reviews. But should we really fear them? Granted, the best scenario would be for all writers to receive all five stars reviews, even for their first book. But realistically most of us need a few books under the belt to begin a profitable career, and still most of the money earned will likely come from speaking engagements and other types of events.
Anyone who has ever walked into any bookstore or library has seen that rather than allowing the books to roam free and find their own ways to prospective readers, the staff of the respective bookish establishment instead neatly shelves them by some system of organization. Three of the broadest shelving categories out there are Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade.
This is a sensitive topic as many believe that using charity to get the attention of the media is unethical. I thought the same thing, but after giving it some thought I changed my mind. If it’s true that I am getting media attention by announcing my donations or charity work or event – it is also true that I am giving media attention to my selected charity organization!
Many writers use storyboards to map their stories. But I wasn’t one of them. Somehow my stories map out in my mind before I even write them.