Reading can serve as a welcome escape to any level of chaos taking place in the external surroundings. I love escaping to different worlds and learning new things along the way.
No Labels Unleashed – 20 January 2015
About Reviewing
How did you get started?
I have been an avid reader since I was young and that zest didn’t die once I reached adulthood. I always found it fascinating how one person could absolutely love a book while another person could find that same book distasteful.
Believe it or not, The Review Board (TRB) was originally a one-woman show. I started it back in January 2013 (under my reviewer moniker “No Labels Unleashed”) as a spot where I would share my thoughts on not only books but movies and online shows as well. As people started responding to my observations, I decided to morph The Review Board from being a personal blog to a more interactive site where the focus would primarily be on authors—particularly indies.
In May 2013, I had the opportunity to connect with an author named Andrew Boyd, known on The Review Board as Mr. Controversy. He was particularly appreciative of my thoughts on the first book of his WORDPLAY poetry series. His work reflected a straightforwardness that would be a nice compliment to my conversation type mannerisms with reviews. I approached him with the offer to be on TRB and he agreed.
In addition to Mr. Controversy and me, The Review Board has three other members: Mini Truth, Harmony Kent and Wordsmith Andi. All of the reviewers currently on staff (including myself) are also authors.
How do you review a book? Is it a read first, and then make notes, or do you make notes as you go along?
For me, it depends on the type of work. If it’s the type of read that has a multitude of characters, taking notes along the way is the best way to go. That way, if things start getting a bit confusing I can track which character is part of what set of actions. In all other books where that is not the case, I tend to read and then notate.
What are you looking for?
Below is what I am looking for. What the other members seek can be found on the Meet the Board section on The Review Board website.
I seek elements that accomplish the S.C.O.R.E. (Stunning Captivating Original Readable Edutainment)
- Have me at the hook!
- Go beyond the typical. “Stand Out” as oppose to “Blend In”.
- Dynamic engaging characters that exhibit growth
- Smooth pace and plot progression
- Endings that match the story’s ambiance
- Theme(s) brimming with substance and soul
- Well conveyed dialogue that is easy to follow (with historical reads, accuracy in the dialect)
- Great detail in physical descriptions of characters and location without it overtaking the action
- Good punctuation and grammar (if the mistakes are excessive they do subtract from my enjoyment of the book)
- Alignment of cover concept and content (if it seems too off balance, I may comment but depending on the strength of the story may not necessarily be a deterrent)
If a book has a great plot, great characters, but the grammar is less than perfect, how do you deal with that?
If there is a mistake here and there, then I can ignore it. However, as stated in “What I’m looking for” if they are excessive, it would be a disservice to the reading audience and a missed opportunity for author improvement if I don’t bring it up in the review.
How long does it take you to get through, say, an eighty thousand-word book?
The engagement of the story is the measuring stick. If I am experiencing immense enjoyment, I have been known to get through a book of that length within a couple of days. Yet if it’s the opposite (aka I’d rather get a root canal than to continue with the story), then it could take me a few weeks. Note: I’m only speaking for myself because some members of my staff are slower and/or quicker than others.
How did you come up with your rating system, and could you explain more about the rating system?
The Review Board did not have an official rating system until September 2013 when we switched to an open call schematic. I wanted to have a ten point scale as opposed to the five point scale out because the five point scale can be a bit restrictive. Like, there can be a book that you like in some ways but there are lots of opportunity for improvement. On The Review Board, that can place it at a 7 or a 7.5. Yet on Goodreads (as well as Amazon) a reviewer is put in a quandary. Was the book likeable enough for a four, even though it’s definitely more than a three? I have been in this position and have had to make a judgment call.
What advice could you give to authors looking to get their books reviewed?
- Please read the Submissions Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions PRIOR to submitting a request. There is a high probability that anything you want to know is included. Please don’t think you will be the exception if you are overly aggressive in your approach. The Review Board sees that as bullying/spamming and does reserve the right to reject.
- Make sure you get the NAME of the organization you are sending the request to correct. I can count on fingers and toes how many authors, in their zest to get reviews, send out a mass mailing and forget to change the name of the reviewer. When I first established The Review Board, I had time to inquire, “Did you mean to send this to us?” Now, my philosophy is “If you don’t have the time to address us correctly, then we don’t have the time to entertain your review request.”
Do you get readers emailing you and thanking you for a review?
Yes I do receive them. If I am not the one on the review, I do get people wanting to me to pass thanks to my other reviewers.
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 definitely agree with that! In our guidelines as well as my correspondence with authors, I do let them know that the review will be posted even if it is a critical one. I even send out the link to the guidelines for their records. Yet there are situations if honesty is not delivered in the tones that the author deems a melody, then one’s true candor in the face of not so favorable reviews comes forth. In those fits of anger, the author may feel as if he/she is defending the integrity of the work or even hurting the reputation of the reviewer(s) with the tirades. More likely than not, if he/she gets testy with everyone that gives a ‘bad’ review, word gets around and it may result in the person getting blacklisted—where no one will even dare to give a review because of past grievances. On other occasions, the reviewer(s) may actually get the opposite of what the author wanted: more popularity. I say that to say this: authors just don’t do it!
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 pastime is dying – do you think that’s the case?
Reading can serve as a welcome escape to any level of chaos taking place in the external surroundings. I love escaping to different worlds and learning new things along the way. There is a bit of relevance in the statistics out there. Although electronic means of reading does assist those who don’t want to carry around an ‘actual book’, I am observing more and more that people would rather look at TV or play video games that to strengthen their minds and appreciate the beauty of the written word.
About Writing
What are the most common mistakes that you see authors making?
The most common mistake documented in not just my reviews, but for the entire crew, is not enough care in areas of syntax. Misspelled words and improper grammar in excess can serve as the downfall in a work. Even if the storyline is a strong one, if a book has too many mistakes in the syntax arena, they become distracting and can end up eroding the reading pleasure. One of the most frequently used lines by one of my toughest reviewers Harmony Kent is that the story “could have easily gotten more stars if they just had a good editor to weed out all of the errors”.
In addition, some authors do not know the fine line between effective marketing and spamming and when they have crossed said line. I’m open to hearing back from the author after a review has been completed. However, there were some authors I had to stop receiving correspondence from due to the fact that I kept getting email after email for me to promote for them. I’m not one to promote a book that was less than stellar, and since The Review Board does not provide that service (we delegate that to All Authors Blog), the author would be wasting his time in that type of communication. Besides, that is also covered in our guidelines.
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?
There are some books that can be a bit slow in the first five pages. It could be setting up the location, setting the tone, or even developing the character. I have encountered quite a few books that began a bit sluggish but turned out to be great reads. I think an agent deeming the cut off at that particular point is slightly premature.
Is there anything you will not review?
The Review Board is still open to all genres at this time. I do hope it stays that way because there are some genres that have a difficult time finding places to view their works.
About Publishing
What do you think of the oft-quoted comment that the “slush-pile has moved online”?
Unfortunately, there is a bit of truth to that comment. There have been works that have come across The Review Board that made me wonder what the person was thinking and how did it get past an editor. With everyone having the ability to publish by simply following instructions, being a “published author” doesn’t have as much of the fame and distinction that it did in the past.
Do you think attitudes are changing with respect to indie or self-published titles?
The changes are slight but slow—mainly because of the “slush-pile” on line, as you so eloquently put it. Some of my highest ranked reviews have not been on books from mainstream publisher but on indies.
Do you have any ideas or comments on how the industry can ‘filter’ good from bad, aside from reviews?
There is something to be said about the critical reviews (those with substance) more so than the rave reviews so the industry needs to be more focused on quality as opposed to the quantity (number of sales). Another key component besides the reviewer is the reader. Quality readers are capable of separating what are phenomenal reads from what is mediocre.
End of Interview:
Read No Labels Unleashed’s reviews, along with her cohorts Mr. Controversy, Mini Truth, Harmony Kent and Wordsmith Andi at The Review Board.
