tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post4959733252564396515..comments2024-03-12T04:01:20.170-04:00Comments on Marie Lavender's Writing in the Modern Age: Have Book Reviews Lost Their Power? by Lois W. SternMarie Lavenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10506789229080590011noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-12311016259820198542014-08-27T16:23:56.540-04:002014-08-27T16:23:56.540-04:00Thanks for stopping by, Nik. I often find the com...Thanks for stopping by, Nik. I often find the comments on reviews more important as well. :)Marie Lavenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10506789229080590011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-78567187609031927162014-08-27T16:22:40.390-04:002014-08-27T16:22:40.390-04:00I agree, Karen. I think I've had two or three...I agree, Karen. I think I've had two or three reviews from "friends". The rest were from readers or reviewers, people I don't even know. It is interesting to get that kind of perspective, whether good or bad.Marie Lavenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10506789229080590011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-90146976003721215672014-08-27T16:19:54.358-04:002014-08-27T16:19:54.358-04:00Oh, Lord. Don't get me started. I don't ...Oh, Lord. Don't get me started. I don't think I'll ever "pay" for a review. I even cringe at the thought of the major ones, like Kirkus asking for tons of money in return for it. I think most new authors are struggling financially. How can we compete in this crazy world where everything requires a fee of some kind? This is exactly why I design my own book trailers. Why pay $200 to a designer when I can do one that is just the same quality for as little as $20 or less (and that's only for the images)? <br /><br />Money = good review? Shouldn't there be a point of integrity for us as authors? I think that even reviewers need to be treated as readers, who are getting the gift of a book and the enjoyment of reading it instead of a flat rate fee.Marie Lavenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10506789229080590011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-19247424639377805532014-08-27T16:14:05.643-04:002014-08-27T16:14:05.643-04:00Very interesting perspective, Kathleen. Sometimes...Very interesting perspective, Kathleen. Sometimes I have to agree. Commentary in lieu of a rating? That could work. I've noticed some of the book bloggers don't leave ratings, but just their thoughts. <br /><br />Such a thing happened to me recently. Here is one: http://journeywithbooks.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-review-upon-your-honor-by-marie.htmlMarie Lavenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10506789229080590011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-13956541614477829002014-08-25T09:02:45.608-04:002014-08-25T09:02:45.608-04:00Interesting and helpful post, Lois. Being a writer...Interesting and helpful post, Lois. Being a writer and an editor, I don't tend to award many 5 stars to reviews. I do try to write about what I liked and even show by quotation from the book. The comments mean more to me than star-count in reviews of my own books; as Kathleen says, sometimes the comments and the stars don't equate!. Nik Mortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10060923673065456386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-17244105985016056192014-08-24T16:06:20.155-04:002014-08-24T16:06:20.155-04:00Lois, I think this is spot-on! You need a baselin...Lois, I think this is spot-on! You need a baseline of excellence in order to truly compare and contrast books for conceptualization, development, quality of research, etc. If you only get friends to review your work, you have no realistic idea of how to improve future literary efforts. I guess some of it comes down to a question you must ask yourself: Are you most invested in stroking your ego or improving your own writing abilities?Karen Hutchins Pirnotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-31506665899452420452014-08-23T20:30:39.440-04:002014-08-23T20:30:39.440-04:00You are all most welcome. I have gotten to know Ma...You are all most welcome. I have gotten to know Marie quite well this past year. We are so much on the same wavelength in our thinking about authors helping authors, that it gives me great pleasure when I write in a way that makes other authors think. Dialogue is good for all of us and opens new conversations. As an interesting aside, an author in my own writers' groups has been posting several times now about "another stellar 5 star revue " for his newly published book. I got curious and started looking up thee sources. In every case, they were sources where the author paid for the review. Now don't get me wrong, he is a fine, talented writer, but this new trend is making me uncomfortable. Would like to hear from the rest of you. Should we play the game or buck it?Lois W. Sternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09393999100669694676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-89824035805969204452014-08-23T09:50:32.990-04:002014-08-23T09:50:32.990-04:00Thank you thank you thank you for this discussion ...Thank you thank you thank you for this discussion and information.Martha Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00212399431181859346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-9837731645291929732014-08-22T18:07:24.670-04:002014-08-22T18:07:24.670-04:00Excellent post, Lois. Both useful and informative....Excellent post, Lois. Both useful and informative. I couldn't agree more, but often I find myself wishing there were more options, like 4 & 1/2 or 3 & 1/2 star ratings. There seems to me to be more of a difference than 2 points between "good" and "Shakespeare". A delightful surprise to see your post here!Jane Ann McLachlanhttp://www.janeannmclachlan.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7234556615977714642.post-57556061653073490242014-08-22T15:22:03.472-04:002014-08-22T15:22:03.472-04:00Great job Lois and Marie. I've been taking not...Great job Lois and Marie. I've been taking notes on reviews myself because so many times they just don't make sense. Example: I've said this before, that I would have given Hill Towns 10 stars if I could have and yet there were many people who gave it 1 & 2 stars. I don't think there should be stars at all, only comments. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09871715455123788528noreply@blogger.com