IndieView with reviewer “Crystal Rants” of Crystal’s Random Thoughts

 

You can tell a lot about a reviewer through their reviews.  You can get a sense of what they like to read and things they don’t before you even send a review request.  Some times I think authors get bad press because they chose the wrong reviewers. 

Crystal Rants – 1 May 2013

About Reviewing

How did you get started?

I started blogging just to have a place where I would channel my own thoughts about books.  I wanted to rant and rave about any book without being restricted or ridiculed for my opinions. I have always just wanted a place where I could just be me. No face, no names just my opinions about any and all things pertaining to books.

How do you review a book? Is it a read first, and then make notes, or do you make notes as you go along? 

I don’t make notes while I am reading a book or after. Once I am done reading a book I go right into writing the review. I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing.  I do highlight my favorite parts or sections I might want to include in my review but I will always read the book first before I gather my thoughts on the completed work.

What are you looking for?

I am always looking for a story that entraps me emotionally.  I need to be able to connect with the characters, whether I love them or hate them. I have to feel something for them otherwise the book is meaningless to me.

If a book has a great plot, great characters, but the grammar is less than perfect, how do you deal with that?

I am not an English teacher so I don’t critique grammar.  I have read many books that had minor grammar issues but the stories were amazing. So honestly, the less than perfect grammar did not take away what I felt for the book, its characters or the storyline.

How long does it take you to get through, say, an eighty thousand-word book?

That would all depend on the book and how engaged I am in the story. Sometimes I become obsessed with a story that I would stay up all night just to finish it.  I honestly finished a three books series that was 500 pages per book in 3 ½ days.  Now keep in mind, out of 8-10 hours of the day I am working.  But when I get into a story that I am engaged in, I have to finish it because I am thinking of the characters and the plot constantly throughout my day.

How did you come up with your rating system, and could you explain more about the rating system?

My rating system is just a copy of a general rating system just with purple hearts.  I used the color purple because that’s my favorite color and the hearts represent how much I loved the book. If I rate a book one heart, that means I read it but I will never read it again let alone recommend it. Two hearts, the book was ok but the story just did not capture me. Three hearts, the book was good. I would recommend it but it wasn’t great. Four hearts, I loved the book, love the authors writing style, story line and characters and I would definitely recommend the book and you may see some of these books on my favorites list. Five hearts, I am completely obsessed with the book. It is listed on my favorites list and I have read the book more that three times and would continue to read it over and over again.

What advice could you give to authors looking to get their books reviewed?

Authors should not solicit any ole reviewer just to have their book reviewed but they should take the time to read some reviews from the reviewer they are interested in to see if the reviewer would be interested in their type of book. You can tell a lot about a reviewer through their reviews.  You can get a sense of what they like to read and things they don’t before you even send a review request.  Some times I think authors get bad press because they chose the wrong reviewers.  It’s important to remember to target your audience carefully.

Do you get readers emailing you and thanking you for a review?

No, I have not had readers email me and thank me for reviews but I have had customers buy books because of my reviews. It is always nice to know when my review has helped a customer purchase or not purchase a book.

My advice to authors on getting a “bad” review (hasten to add that might mean a perfectly honest, well written, fair review – just bad from the author’s point of view) is to take what you can from it and move on. Under no circumstances to “argue” with the reviewer – would you agree with that?

I agree. Everyone has their own opinion about the things that they like or don’t like. As an author you may or may not have people that enjoy your books. I say take it with a grain of salt and use the feedback to your benefit. Your reviewers are still your customers and because a reviewer was not happy with one book doesn’t mean they will feel the same way about any other book you decide to write.  You also have to remember you never know who is watching you, so you should always remain professional at all times. Something like arguing with a reviewer (customer) can make or break why a company won’t invest in you or your product.

About Reading

We talk a lot about writing here on the blog, and possibly not enough about reading, which is after all why we’re all here. Why do you think people love reading. We’re seeing lots of statistics that say reading as a past-time is dying – do you think that’s the case?

People enjoy reading because it’s like escaping the real world for a moment. Like taking a vacation within your brain. The fun part to reading is that you get to picture the characters how you want to picture them by using your imagination.

Yes, I do think that reading is dying out. Media is always pushing video games, real life TV shows, movies but you rarely see big time commercials on reading. I mean even the Kindle and Nook commercials don’t play as often as video games. Last year in Maryland, they closed down so many libraries and cut library hours. That action alone spoke volumes to me. Reading is not being promoted like it should be especially in schools. I remember back when I was a child, the teacher always gave assignments where we would pick a book based on a genre and write about it.  After you write the review the teacher would have us read our review in front of our classmates. Which was fun and exciting for me and probably other children.

Schools back then also gave out free books. It is sad to see that these things don’t happen as often any more.  Honestly what happened to story time in schools?  Getting children to read more will create more avid readers in the future.  As you can see I can go on and on about this issue.

About Writing

What are the most common mistakes that you see authors making? 

Some times authors have so much that they want to relay to their readers through the story that they cram too much information into one book.  The plot is jumping from one scenario to the other without filling in the gaps. This becomes confusing for the reader because the author fails to build the story or characters by layers. The plot and the story line feel rushed and that sometimes can be so overwhelming that it turns the reader away from the book.

And then you have those books that don’t contain enough information that it’s hard for the reader to connect to the storyline or the characters.

We’re told that the first page, paragraph, chapter, is absolutely key in making or breaking a book. Agents typically request only the first five pages of a novel, what do you think about that; if a book hasn’t grabbed you by the first five pages, do you put it down?

I don’t agree with the book has to grab me within the first five pages. I think that is straight BS. I have read books that were slow at the beginning but the plot was building toward the middle of the book and worked its way up to a phenomenal ending. I have also read books that were great in the beginning and the body of the plot was weak and the storyline completely flat lined.  That is why I read an entire book before I critique it.  The first 5 pages didn’t tell me a thing about the book.  In my personal opinion, as a reader I purchase my books based on the cover, synopsis or book blurb. If the cover, synopsis or book blurb catches my attention then I am buying the book.

Is there anything you will not review?

Yes I don’t review autobiographies, essays, self-help or any books that would require a train of thought. My job requires me to be 100% serious at all times. I am constantly reading laws, regulations etc.  When I read I want to read things that are just fun, that’s why I gravitate toward fictional books.

About Publishing

What do you think of the oft quoted comment that the “slush-pile has moved online”?

Anyone can publish a book now and the slush-pile has moved online.  But readers have a lot of buying tools to help them make better reading choices. It is a lot easier now to wean out bad books due to reviews, ratings, etc. than what it was before with just paperback books.

Do you think attitudes are changing with respect to Indie or self-published titles? 

Yes and No

Yes, I have found that some of the indie and self-pub books I read were great and the best part of that was that I didn’t have to spend my life savings on a book in order to read a good story. I find that readers are reading indie and self-pub book more now than they have in the past and sometimes indie and self-pub books are doing a lot better in the buying market than published books.  People are not that hung up on editing errors, they care more about reading a good story and how they can get the most out of their money.  Honestly, I rarely buy books over $4.00 and I feel that when I shop for books there is more of a variety in the indie and self-pub section, the books are cheaper and this is how I have come to find authors I completely love.

No.  I still think that Indie and self-Pub books don’t get the credit that is due.  New authors have to start somewhere and I think that they are being ridiculed for beginners mistakes that some of our big time authors have made in the past or could still be making.  I have a saying a good manager is not born they are trained, and they learn through making mistakes and that learning makes for a great manager or in other words a great author.

Do you have any ideas or comments on how the industry can “filter” good from bad, aside from reviews? 

No, I think that the mechanisms like reviews and ratings in the market are already filtering the good books from the bad.

Thank you so much for the interview.

Sincerely,

Crystal_Rants

End of interview:

Thank you, Crystal.

To read Crystal’s reviews, visit Crystal’s Random Thoughts.