From the Archives - Dear O'Abby: Can I writer reviews if I'm an aspiring author?

 Dear O’Abby, 

I’ve been getting conflicting advice about whether or not to review books as an aspiring author. Some people tell me I shouldn’t do it because if I give a bad review to a book represented by a publisher or agent I might wish to query, they may have already put a black mark by my name. Others say I should write reviews because it helps to identify things wrong with stories and writing that I can then apply to my own work. 

Do you have an opinion on this? 

Best, 

Confused 


Dear Confused, 

I’ve heard that story about why writers shouldn’t write reviews too, but I’ve never taken it too seriously. Agents and publishers should be mature enough to understand that not every book is going to appeal to every reader and that well-written reviews can be valuable to the author even if they aren’t 100% positive. 

As a writer, it’s important to read critically and reviewing books is one way to force yourself to do so. If you like a book, reviewing it will help you figure out why you enjoyed it. Was it the story? The characters? The way the words are strung together? 

And if you didn’t like the book, what was it you didn’t like? Did you feel the characters acted inconsistently? Was the writing pedestrian? Did the plot fall flat? 

By identifying what you do and don’t like about the books you read, you will find yourself growing more critical of your own writing and you may save yourself a lot of grief by fixing issues long before you send the manuscript off to agents or publishers. 

If being blacklisted by agents or publishers for writing negative reviews is a real concern, there are a number of ways you can get around it. 

Firstly, only publish reviews of things you like. Write the negative ones because they’re often more helpful to you as a writer than the positive ones, but don’t publish them. I did this for a while, calling the review section on my blog ‘books I’ve loved’ and only reviewing things I really liked. I ended up stopping this though, because there just weren’t enough books I loved to write a positive review every week. 

Another way to get around it is to review under a pseudonym or write under a pen name so your reviews aren’t linked to your author name. 

The key thing to remember when writing reviews is to be constructive. Don’t just pile on with a negative rant. Nothing is 100% bad, so even a negative review can mention a few positives to balance out the negativity. Personally, I like to start with something I liked and finish with another thing I liked with all the critique in the middle. Always read what you have written before you publish and think about how it would make you feel if this review was for your own book. 

I would also suggest you don’t tag the author when you publish the review. Not all writers like to read their reviews and if they accidentally click onto a link in a tweet or something and find themselves confronted with a negative review, it could be very upsetting for them. 

So that’s my opinion on whether writers should write reviews. I know other people have different opinions, but if you want to write reviews and if you find the process helps your own writing, why not? 

If you want more information about this topic, Operation Awesome's J Lenni  Dorner has written a very helpful book, Writing Book Reviews As An Author which gives much more in-depth guidance about how to effectively review books as an author. Some of the advice in there may contradict my own, but it's still a valuable resource, even if you are not a writer and want to write reviews.

Happy reviewing!

X O’Abby

Dear O'Abby: Why is book marketing so hard?

 Dear O'Abby,

I'm an author with a few books out, but none of them seem to sell much.  I've experimented with various ways of marketing my books, but none of them have been very successful and I've ended up spending more on marketing than I've got back in sales.  Which is not sustainable.

Why is this so hard?

Kind regards,

Sales-less

Dear Sales-less,

Book marketing is hard.  People don't want or expect to pay a whole lot for a book (especially an ebook), so the cost of marketing a book often can't be built into the price.  Usually you'd expect around 10% of the cost of a product to be put aside for marketing; with a .99c ebook, that 10% isn't worth much.

We're also working in a very crowded market.  Millions of new books are published every year, and these new books have to compete with all the billions of books that already exist in the world too.  It takes a lot to be heard in all that noise.

Then there's the fact that most people only read 4-10 books a year.  If you read 100+ books a year, you're more likely to be willing to take risk on something new and different and unknown.  If you only read five, you're likely to be more selective and to ensure the book you invest time and money into is something you'll enjoy.  These readers tend to return to authors they know and love, read series, and make decisions on what to read based on reviews, public opinion and from having seen the book advertised to them several times across different platforms.

All of this makes selling a book as a new author very difficult. In my opinion, the most important thing to do is to generate positive reviews. Without a significant number of four and five star reviews on Amazon, your book is basically invisible to the majority of readers.  And yes, I agree that sucks, but unfortunately, that's the reality we live in.  Any marketing you do needs to drive people who read your book to leave reviews so your book becomes more visible.

You also need to build fans, the people who will eagerly anticipate your next book, and purchase it without much thought just because they have enjoyed your previous books.  It's very hard to earn much with a single book in your catalogue.  There's a reason so many authors write series...

So, yeah...  That's why book marketing is so hard.

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby - Can my publisher drop me for writing reviews?

 Dear O'Abby,

I was inspired to write in when I saw that you and the team were doing book reviews throughout the A to Z.  You see, I have a question about writing reviews.  Or maybe not a question so much as a problem...

My first book is due to come out this year with a small press.  Wanting to be supportive of my fellow authors, I bought a few books published by this press that looked like they'd be up my alley and read them with the intention of leaving reviews on as many platforms as possible.

The first book I read was okay.  Not great, but okay.  I gave it a three-star review and pointed out the book's strengths and weaknesses in my review.

The next day I got an email from my publisher asking me to remove the review or to rewrite it to be more positive - at least four-stars.  It wasn't a really threatening email, but it irked me.  I gave my honest opinion of the book and was generous in giving it three stars.  It was NOT a four-star read for me.

So I wrote back and told the publisher that the review was my honest opinion and that I was uncomfortable with the idea of changing or removing my review.  I have written book reviews for years and nobody has ever asked me to change one before.  I review pretty much every book I read on Goodreads, and when I remember, I post to other platforms too.

About an hour later I got another email from the publisher saying it was not company policy to leave reviews for fellow authors that were below four stars.

This was not something I remembered reading - if I had, it would have been a big red flag for me -  so I went back to look at the publishing contract and other documents I'd received when I signed my book to this press.  Nowhere did it say anything about writing reviews or that there was any policy regarding writing reviews.  So I wrote back and pointed this out to the publisher.

I heard nothing more, so I figured the matter was settled.  I read a bunch more books, not from this publisher (and reviewed them honestly), leaving the other ones I'd bought unread on my Kindle.  A month or so later I was away on a business trip and ran out of reading material, so opened up another one of the books from my publisher I'd bought.

It was terrible!  I could not believe that anything so badly written could possibly have been through an editor.  The tense changed constantly for no reason, characters names changed from chapter to chapter, and there were some massive punctuation errors that made it almost impossible to read.  And don't get me started on the actual story!

I finished the book and wrote an honest review in which I pointed out the inconsistencies and editing errors.  I hesitated before publishing it for a moment, but then went ahead because the book was so bad, I didn't want anyone else to make the mistake of paying good money for it.

The next day I got an email from my publisher saying they were sorry, but an editor working on my book, which was due to release the following month, had found some problematic material in it, and that they felt that without substantial editing, it was not suitable for their imprint.

Now I'd been through edits with an editor from this press and she'd mentioned nothing about problematic material.  I couldn't even imagine what could possibly be construed as problematic in my book.  Certainly none of my beta readers or critique partners had found anything problematic, and my crit group is extraordinarily diverse.  I asked what the issue was, and got no concrete answer.  Shortly afterward I received notification that my publishing contract had been terminated and the rights to my book returned to me.

Now, I admit I probably made a mistake in publishing that bad review, especially after being warned, but this feels very much like censorship.  And I'm angry because I don't believe a publisher has the right to do something like this.  I love writing book reviews and I like to think my reviews help people make informed decisions about what they might like to read.  And I'm angry because pulling the book less than a month before release is a shitty thing to do.  Especially since this small press does very little marketing and promotion and I'd done a ton of work in that area.

Sorry... This has ended up being a stupidly long letter. What I'm wondering, is if there is anything I can do now?

Regards,

Censored

Dear Censored,

I'm so sorry to hear that this has happened to you! What a horrible experience.

Frankly, while I know it's disappointing, I feel like you may have dodged a bullet with this one.  You got your rights back without a protracted legal battle, and you're not bound in any way to a publisher who is not only wholly unethical, but obviously doesn't take a lot of pride and care with the books they publish.

I have never experienced something like this, but I have heard rumours of it happening at at least one small press (which could be the one we're talking about here, or may be another one) and just reading about it left a bad taste in my mouth.  Like you, I write a lot of book reviews and rate everything I read on Goodreads even if I don't write a full review.    And I don't always write good reviews.

I don't know if you're the kind of person who likes to make waves, but it might be worth reaching out to other authors published by this publisher to find out if any of them have had similar experiences.  I would also suggest getting in touch with Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware and flagging this with her.  She may already be aware of problems with this publisher, but if she isn't, it would be worth getting this on her radar so she can keep an eye on them in case there are other unethical things they might be doing.

I don't know where in the world you are, or where the publisher is, but there may be a legal case to be had too, given how close to publication your book was.  I'd be cautious in taking this route though, because legal battles are costly, and even if you are in the right, it might not go in your favour.

It's probably cold comfort, but if you managed to get a book accepted once, you can do it again.  Or if you're feeling gun shy  (and you have every right to be after this experience), you can self-publish and keep control in your own hands.  

And whatever you do, don't stop writing reviews.  You're entitled to your opinion of what you read as much as anyone else and I reject the idea that writers shouldn't write reviews (even bad ones) because they might upset publishers or agents who might be considering your project. Reviews - good or bad - are part of the business, and not every person is going to love every book.  It's just something you deal with in publishing.  

And writing honest, constructive reviews is very different to the Goodreads pile-ons I sometimes see where people rush to condemn something they haven't read just because someone else says it's problematic.  That's just as bad as what your publisher did.

I hope this helped, and I wish you all the best in finding a new (and better) home for your book and any future books.

Do keep in touch to let us know what happens.

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby, What do I do if my book doesn't sell?

 Dear O'Abby,

My debut novel was published over three months ago, and it really hasn't sold well at all.  I got my first royalty report and it was... well, let's just say it was embarrassing.  I'd planned to splurge on a new dress or pair of shoes with that first cheque, but I ended up celebrating  commiserating with a bottle of off-brand domestic champagne that I bought on special because it was past its best-by date.

What do I do now?  I was so certain it would sell at least a few copies.  I'm realistic enough to know I wouldn't do Stephen King or John Grisham numbers, but this is devastating.

Do you have any advice?

Yours,

Dejected.

Dear Dejected,

All may not be as gloomy as it might seem.  I don't know if you self-published or were published traditionally, but if you just received your first royalty report, it may not include all the sales for your book.  It sometimes takes a while for sales made by third-party retailers to be collated and reported, and you will find these sales will show up in your next royalty report.  I had the same devastating shock when I received my first ever royalty report from my publisher.  Especially since the book had been a best-seller in its category the first weekend it went on sale.

But it could also be that your book really hasn't sold well.  I read somewhere recently that most books published sell 250 copies or fewer.  So at least you're not alone with your miserable royalty report.

As for what to do next, my suggestion would be not to give up.  If you believe in the book, if you're certain it's good and worth the price it's being sold at, keep pushing it.  It doesn't stop being worth selling just because it's not a new release anymore. And don't stop writing either.  Sometimes it takes more than one book to make your mark. 

Maybe your marketing wasn't right.  Take a look at what you did and see if there is more you can do without spending a small fortune.  Remember the idea is to make money and if you spend more on advertising than you earn, you're not making anything.

 If you self-published, take a look at your cover and blurb.  Do they do the book justice?  Are they eye-catching?  Intriguing? A book can sometimes get a whole new life just from a change in cover art or a new, tighter description.

On social media do you just talk about your book?  Or do you engage with people about all sorts of things?  You are not your book and the more you engage with people and let your personality shine through, the more likely people are to be interested in reading your work.  My suggestion would be to only pimp your book occasionally on social media, maybe if it's on sale, or if a particularly good review comes through.  Otherwise, stick to talking and sharing other things.  Engage with people in a genuine way.

Have you had any reviews for the book?  If they're good, use them as marketing material to help push the word out that this is a book worth reading.  If they're not good, look at what the reviewers have said and see if you can use anything they said to your advantage.  I'm not saying to re-write the book based on a couple of reviews, but if a reviewer mentioned poor editing or continuity, if you're a self-publisher, you should be able to fix that.

Reviews are important, so if you didn't reach out to reviewers pre-publication, it's not too late.  You can still get reviews and they will still be valuable.

Just remember that books don't disappear.  The right person might find it in two years' time and sing its praises to the rooftop, sending it skyrocketing to the top of the best-seller list.  Or it might be your next book that really connects with readers, and that will send them searching for anything else you might have written.

Writing and publishing is a long game. It may take years and several books to reach the level of sales you dreamed of.  You might never get to that level of sales. But you're still a published author and you should be proud of that, regardless of if you sell five books or five million.

Hope that helps!

Dear O'Abby: Can I write reviews if I'm an aspiring author?

Dear O’Abby,

I’ve been getting conflicting advice about whether or not to review books as an aspiring author. Some people tell me I shouldn’t do it because if I give a bad review to a book represented by a publisher or agent I might wish to query, they may have already put a black mark by my name. Others say I should write reviews because it helps to identify things wrong with stories and writing that I can then apply to my own work.

Do you have an opinion on this?

Best,

Confused


Dear Confused,

I’ve heard that story about why writers shouldn’t write reviews too, but I’ve never taken it too seriously. Agents and publishers should be mature enough to understand that not every book is going to appeal to every reader and that well-written reviews can be valuable to the author even if they aren’t 100% positive.

As a writer, it’s important to read critically and reviewing books is one way to force yourself to do so. If you like a book, reviewing it will help you figure out why you enjoyed it. Was it the story? The characters? The way the words are strung together?

And if you didn’t like the book, what was it you didn’t like? Did you feel the characters acted inconsistently? Was the writing pedestrian? Did the plot fall flat?

By identifying what you do and don’t like about the books you read, you will find yourself growing more critical of your own writing and you may save yourself a lot of grief by fixing issues long before you send the manuscript off to agents or publishers.

If being blacklisted by agents or publishers for writing negative reviews is a real concern, there are a number of ways you can get around it.

Firstly, only publish reviews of things you like. Write the negative ones because they’re often more helpful to you as a writer than the positive ones, but don’t publish them. I did this for a while, calling the review section on my blog ‘books I’ve loved’ and only reviewing things I really liked. I ended up stopping this though, because there just weren’t enough books I loved to write a positive review every week.

Another way to get around it is to review under a pseudonym or write under a pen name so your reviews aren’t linked to your author name.

The key thing to remember when writing reviews is to be constructive. Don’t just pile on with a negative rant. Nothing is 100% bad, so even a negative review can mention a few positives to balance out the negativity. Personally, I like to start with something I liked and finish with another thing I liked with all the critique in the middle. Always read what you have written before you publish and think about how it would make you feel if this review was for your own book.

I would also suggest you don’t tag the author when you publish the review. Not all writers like to read their reviews and if they accidentally click onto a link in a tweet or something and find themselves confronted with a negative review, it could be very upsetting for them.

So that’s my opinion on whether writers should write reviews. I know other people have different opinions, but if you want to write reviews and if you find the process helps your own writing, why not?

If you want more information about this topic, Operation Awesome's J Lenni  Dorner has written a very helpful book, Writing Book Reviews As An Author which gives much more in-depth guidance about how to effectively review books as an author. Some of the advice in there may contradict my own, but it's still a valuable resource, even if you are not a writer and want to write reviews.

Happy reviewing!

X O’Abby

Reviews

This week we will continue talking about publicity and marketing, this time focusing on reviews and how to get them. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have seen some of this before because some of the content here comes from a blog post I wrote in response to an O'Abby question late last year.  I've added to it though, because like everyone else, I'm always learning...

Reviews are incredibly important to getting your book seen and building the audience for it. Readers are inundated with content and reviews help them decide if your book is more worth reading than the other ones vying for their attention. Good reviews validate your book and you can use them to help spread positive word-of-mouth that will help boost sales. 

But how do you get them?

There are services that offer to help find reviewers for you, but be careful of these and do your due diligence before dropping any cash. It is against Amazon’s rules for you to pay for reviews and some of these services are pay-to-play and you may end up spending a lot of money for reviews that Amazon will remove right after they’re posted. This includes offering any kind of gift or incentive in exchange for reviews, even offering a review to another author in return.

Personally, I have used two different review-finding services, one of which was excellent value for money, the other, less expensive, but also less effective. Predictably, the next time I wanted to use the excellent service, they were booked up over a year in advance, so were not available at the time my book was being released.  If you have control over your own release date, or know it well in advance, you will be in a better position to book ahead of time and get a slot with an in-demand service.

There are also a number of free sites where you can offer your book for reviewers. I have had zero success with any of these, but they’re free, so even if they don’t generate any reviews, at least it’s not costing me anything other than the time to fill in the online form.  Some genres are easier than others to get reviews for.  I have found that getting reviews for YA books is much more difficult than getting reviews for Adult Romance, for example.

I have read that targeting the top Amazon reviewers who review similar books to your own is an effective way to generate reviews, but have not tried this myself. I had a look, but so few of the top reviewers had contact information available, it felt like something that would be more time consuming that it was worth. If anyone has tried this, I would be interested to know if it paid off…

Another thing I’ve heard about is adding a page at the end of your book urging readers to leave a review if they enjoyed the book. I’m not self-pubbed, so can’t do this, but if you are, this could be something that helps remind readers to leave a review.

You should also remind your fans to do so. If you have a mailing list (and you should), you will send out regular newsletters to people who have signed up because they already like your work. These people are your strongest allies and it’s important you use them effectively. Offering free review copies to these people is not effective because as your fans, they are likely to buy your new book anyway. But they are the people who will talk about your book and raise awareness of it. Use them to create advance buzz and be your street team in letting people know your book is coming, and that you’re looking for reviews.

Keep track of who reviews your latest book so you can reach out to them again for your next one. Some reviewers state in their guidelines they are not open to reviewing unless they’ve worked with an author previously, so these relationships are important. So are the relationships you build with other writers. You can ask your beta readers and critique partners to review your book when it is finally published. You can ask your editor and copy editor. You can ask your cover designer.

Long story short, getting reviews is hard. It’s time consuming and there are really no short cuts. You just have to do the work, reach out to as many people as possible, and nurture the relationships you build this way.

#AtoZChallenge R: (How to Cope with Negative) Reviews

Hello, friend. I’m Dr. Glanzman, your therapist for the day. I’m here to help you get through the devastating experience of receiving a negative review on your novel. I’m a doctor—you can trust me.

Before we begin, try to do these three things:

1. Take a deep breath and pay attention to how you are feeling. Try to name the emotions and pinpoint why you feel them.
2. Acknowledge that your emotions are valid. You are allowed to feel angry and hurt after receiving a negative review on your work, which may have taken years of love and dedication to produce.
3. Remind yourself that ALL books get negative reviews.
4. Participate in self-care or talk to a friend to express your point of view about the negative comment(s).

After you have processed everything, let’s get into some tips on how to move forward after one negative review or a slew of them:

1. Firstly, DO NOT RESPOND TO NEGATIVE REVIEWS. EVER. This is the most important thing I can tell you. I know it’s tempting to correct any misconceptions in negative reviews or defend your side, but the reality is that any response is always going to make you look bad. Unless your response would be to genuinely thank the person for helping you understand something that you can apply to your future work, you’re just going to look like a defensive person who cannot take criticism.
2. Find out if it is mentally unhealthy for you to read your negative reviews at all. A lot of authors don’t read their one and two-star reviews because they ruminate on them, which affects their work. Know yourself well enough to know how you respond to a large amount of criticism.
3. Try to see if there is a common thread between what people are saying in their negative comments. Did you get a handful of comments saying that they didn’t like your main character? Go through them and see if you can pinpoint the reason why. Did a lot of people say that the plot was a mess? Find out if that’s a pattern of yours so that you can pay special attention to it in a future project. Try to understand other peoples’ points of view even if you don’t agree with them.
4. Think of your all-time favorite book that you recommend to everybody and would follow to the ends of the Earth if it could walk…and then look at that book’s negative reviews. It may comfort you to know that even your favorite book can garner negative attention and that no book in existence is universally loved.
5. Always remind yourself that you are not a bad writer if someone does not like your work. It will only hurt you to attach your identity and self-worth to your art. You are not your book.

You can’t control what people say about your book, but you can control what to do with that information. Writers can choose to apply their criticism to future works, or not. The choice is 100% yours. There could be a lot of useful information in negative reviews, (Particularly if a large number of people say the same thing) but only you have the power to decide whether or not applying it to future works will make them better. The other option is to ignore them entirely, which is just as valid.

The reality is that reviews are not personal attacks. They are simply opinions written by people who consumed your content, and everyone has the right to make them. It’s easy to get defensive when we receive a negative review, particularly if it is a harsh one. It’s understandable to feel that your work—and, in extreme cases, your work ethic—is being challenged. But please remind yourself that negative reviews do not define you or your work, and you are only going to improve from here.

Looks like we’re out of time today, but I’ll see you next week.

Learning from 1-Star Reviews

While I'm not a published author, I like to read advice given to published authors while dreaming that it will someday apply to me. One piece of advice that I've always thought sounded good is Don't Read Your Reviews. That seems like a good way to stay sane.

Randy Ingermanson, who sends out the Advanced Fiction Writing e-zine every month, offers up some advice on how to learn from 1-star reviews that I thought was valuable. Even better, you don't have to read your own reviews to do it! Here's how:

Yes, 1-Star Reviews Can Be Useful

The answer is “Yes, if.”

Yes, a truly bad author’s 1-star reviews could contain valuable information that would point the author in the direction of improving his or her work. If …

If the author doesn’t freak out and go into a deep depression after reading a toxic, cruel, slashing review.

If the reviewer is able to explain what’s wrong AND how to fix it, in a way that an author can easily put into practice.

If the author doesn’t just dismiss the review out of hand with the easy phrase, “haters gonna hate.”

But Here’s the Problem

The problem is that those three ifs are hard to meet.

Not going to admit anything here myself, so I’ll take the usual dodge that “I have a friend” who has failed to benefit from 1-star reviews for all three of these reasons. And this “friend” has had a few toxic reviews. Ahem.

It’s just hard to read your own 1-star reviews objectively. But that suggests an idea …

How To Benefit From 1-Star Reviews

It occurred to me that an author can still benefit from 1-star reviews. In fact, even if you’ve never been published, and therefore you have no 1-star reviews of your own, you can still benefit from 1-star reviews.

The trick is to benefit from the 1-star reviews of OTHER WRITERS.

Here’s a simple exercise you can do:

1. Go to the Amazon page for the last really excellent book you read. It should be one that you consider a no-brainer to get 5 stars. 
2. Read all the 1-star reviews (or if there are more than ten, read only the first ten 1-star reviews, because they start repeating pretty quickly). 

Did you learn something? I bet you did. So that’s a win. That’s something you can use in your own writing, and it cost you nothing.

Did you find any toxic, cruel, slashing reviews? I bet you did. But you didn’t go into a deep depression because it’s not your book, so all that rat poison had no effect on you.

Were any of the reviewers able to explain enough about the craft so you could see how to improve the book? I’m taking no bets on this. The reviewers undoubtedly exposed some flaws in the book you liked so much. Unfortunately, most reviewers don’t know enough about the actual craft of writing to explain how to fix the problem. Most reviewers are readers, not writers, and so they know what they like, but they don’t necessarily know the mechanics of fiction. But if you believe they’ve exposed some real flaws in the novel, you could always go find a good book on craft that would explain how to fix those flaws.

Did you dismiss any of the reviews with the phrase “haters gonna hate?” I bet you did. Because there are some truly angry, hateful, vindictive people out there so some of the bad reviews are just people being spiteful. But I also bet you didn’t dismiss them all with that phrase. Because some of the haters had REASON to hate the book you liked so much. Since you have no vested interest in the book, you can be objective in classifying some reviewers as merely hateful and some of them as reasonable. 

So this exercise has value for you, because IT’S NOT YOUR BOOK, so you aren’t going to take the 1-stars personally.

That’s the danger of reading your own 1-star reviews. You can’t help taking it personally.

But What About Your Own 1-Star Reviews?

Now there is a way for you to benefit from your own 1-star reviews, but you can’t do it on your own.

Here’s what you do: Find a writer friend and agree to eat each other’s rat poison. You read her 1-star reviews and have her read yours. Then each write up some helpful advice for the other, writer-to-writer. Maybe some hateful reviewer said that your friend’s characters are so 1-dimensional, you could floss your teeth with them. That’s pretty cruel, but if it’s a valid concern, you could rephrase it by suggesting ways for your friend to deepen her characters. 

That’s constructive advice. That’s turning rat poison into gold.

And that avoids ever having to eat your own rat poison.

**********

This article is reprinted by permission of the author.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the free monthly Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 17,000 readers. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Last Reading Roundup of 2017!

With NaNo and revisions going on, I haven't had a ton of time to read. That always makes me sad. But my revision is nearly finished, and I'm looking forward to reading some good books by the fireplace my husband just built!

If you're looking for a book to read, here's a few ideas for you:

 I love Doctor Who, and thought I would love a novelization of an episode I'd heard of but never seen. It was okay. I'm guessing seeing it play out on a screen would be better.

 I really enjoyed The Girl on the Train, and so I had high hopes going into this book. It did not disappoint! I think Hawkins has a real skill in making unlikeable characters sympathetic, and that's a real strength. Plus a great, eerie, mystery. If you like the show Broadchurch, you'll like this book.

 I am so sad this series is over. I really loved it. This book wrapped it all up perfectly except for one tiny detail that I won't say because it's a bit spoilery. I can't wait for my kid to be old enough to read a book this long on his own, ghosts are right up his alley.

I had to re-read this so I could read the second in the series. There are a lot of details to remember, so I was glad I did.

I like how this book upped the stakes and kept the story going. I'm definitely excited for the last in the trilogy.

I like the "fake engagement" trope as much as the next, and this was perfectly adequate.










Literary fiction is not my favorite, and literary fiction written in 3rd person present is especially not favorite. That being said, I did finish it, and it was not bad. There were some characters I really enjoyed, which is important for lit fic.

Reading Roundup!

Another reading roundup! Need a good book to read as winter settles in? I've got a list for you:

 I read this last year, and already raved about it on our favorite books of 2016 post. I reread it because I loved it so much, and I still love it.

 A retelling of The Great Gatsby, but the characters are on a debate team at a fancy prep school. Super fun.

 I've never read John Grisham before, and I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. While I didn't love his writing style, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I read. The man know how to write suspense.

I read this on a whim because it was available through my library's ebook app. I was so glad I did! It's a retelling of Labyrinth (which may also be a retelling, but I don't care!), and it's beautiful. Can't wait for the sequel.

 Another reread. This is You've Got Mail, but with a restaurant owner and a newspaper food critic. Wow, three retellings/reimaginings in one reading roundup? That's a new record for me. This one makes me feel warm and fuzzy, and hungry. And DEFINITELY try the coconut cake recipe at the end. It's amazing.

 I gave Brigid Kemmerer another try after feeling sideswiped by the paranormal elements coming out of nowhere in her last book. This book was much more to my taste. Would definitely recommend, especially to teen readers.

This is the second book in the Reality Star series. It's so fun, and Laura does a great job of building off the first book and deepening the relationship between Jen and Justin without feeling like we're just retreading the same ground. Can't wait for Reality Wedding to come out next year!









I have been reading this book all year, taking it slowly, trying to internalize its concepts. It's very empowering. I'm sure it will be a book I read over and over again. I even bought the workbook!











I wanted to read the third book in this series, so I had to start over with the first one. This is excellent epic fantasy.










Book 2 feels like a lot of set up for book 3, but is still a good read.

Whew. This book was huge. I felt like the ending was satisfying, but it took a lot of twists and turns to get there. Overall, I would definitely recommend the series to anyone interested in fantasy.

Reading Roundup!

Here's what I've been reading lately:

 I have been dying to read this book for months, and I loved it! Great voice, great characters. Definitely lives up to the hype.

I couldn't believe this book wasn't written by a teenager--each voice was so perfectly TEEN. Hats off to the author for capturing that. If you've read it and want to talk about the ending, hit me up on Twitter because I have all kinds of spoiler-y thoughts!

 This felt like a book and an extended epilogue. Two very complex premises packed into one book! But overall, I'd say worth the read.

 I'm hooked on P.D. James now, so thanks whoever told me to read this one. Might have been a writing craft book...

 See? Hooked on P.D. James! You can watch this one on Netflix, too.

And apparently I was on a Jane Austen kick. This one has time travel, with future travelers trying to blend in with the past. That's my kryptonite right there.

 Just as voice-filled and hilarious as the first in the series. Why are you still reading this blog post? Go read the Dahlia Moss books!

 So cute. I loved the premise of copying K dramas to find romance. And Maurene Goo even included a list of recommended K dramas! I might have to get into them now. Hopefully they have subtitles.

A retelling of Cinderella that will have my geeky heart forever. I loved this book.

Great historical fiction for kids. This was exactly the kind of book I loved reading in elementary school.











What have you read and enjoyed lately?

Reading Roundup!

Here's what I've read since the last roundup:

I got this book for free from Amazon as part of my Amazon Prime membership. It was okay. I'd recommend it if you need a light, breezy read.

 I am hooked on this series. It has ghosts, and teens that fight them with rapiers and salt bombs, and a grumpy talking skull. What more do you need?

When I read historical romance, I require a unique premise, and this one delivered.

Now I'm caught up on this series, and I am DYING waiting for the next one to come out. Also, I 100% blame Leandra Wallace for getting me hooked on these books, and I love her for it.

I was inspired by this book to finally go through my belongings and stop feeling guilty for discarding things I don't love. Being a tidying consultant is now one of my dream jobs. Full disclosure, my husband did get tired of me telling him to thank his possessions for bringing him joy before throwing them away.

 I loved the first book in this series, and while I enjoyed this one, it didn't quite measure up and that made me a little sad. Would still recommend.











It is uncanny how well Lyndsay Faye copies Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's voice. If you like Sherlock Holmes short stories, you'll enjoy this, and if you don't, you won't. Plain and simple.











I am one of those people who are still mad that The Force Awakens was made instead of Timothy Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy. So yeah, this book did it for me. Thrawn is my favorite Star Wars villain of all time.

My daughter was having a hard time sleeping, so I checked this out from the Cloud Library and read it on my phone while trying to get her to go back to bed. Which made the sexy times a little awkward, TBH. But I love a good enemies-to-lovers, and this certainly delivered.

Our team was offered an ARC of this book as part of the blog tour, and as the only team member with a middle grade aged child, I got it. My son and I enjoyed reading this together, and he says he would recommend it to all of his friends. The vocab is a little advanced, so I read it out loud to him, but I'm hoping by the time the next book comes out he'll be able to read it on his own. For a full review, go here.

I haven't read Mansfield Park, but I'm a sucker for a retelling even if I'm not familiar with the original work. This was a delight, and I'd recommend it to any teen who likes theater or film--whether or not they like Jane Austen, too!

This was a reread for me because I needed a comfort read, and yes that means Agatha Christie, murder and all. This is one of my favorites.











What have you read and enjoyed lately?

G is for Good Books #AtoZChallenge

The #AtoZChallenge 2017 Theme at Operation Awesome is the Publishing Journey.

Here's a list of Good books I've read lately!

The second in the Charlotte Holmes series. I've been practically salivating waiting for this book to come. It did not disappoint, and I can't wait for the third one! You need this series in your life.

I loved the movie, and decided to read the book while waiting to buy the DVD. If you also enjoyed the movie, I'd highly recommend the book.

This series continues to be excellent. Can't wait to read the next one!

I haven't seen the movie, but after reading the book I sure want to. I'm not sure I have the adequate words for the admiration I have for the women featured in this book. On top of that, it's so meticulously researched that anything Margot Shetterly writes will automatically get put on my TBR list. Highly recommend.

I enjoyed the lush fantasy world, and trying to figure out the mystery along with the main character. And man, is that cover gorgeous!

 I love the reality show Laura came up with for this book--if it were a real show, I would definitely watch it! This is a fun romance with a great cast of characters.

One of the most hyped YA books of this year, and believe me, it lives up to the hype. Highly recommend for teens and anyone who wants to broaden their viewpoints.










What books have you read and enjoyed lately?