I still feel very strongly that most people who pick up a book of fiction want to be swept away into a story, whether it’s romance, adventure or even horror. It’s the same reason why we go see a movie or play a videogame. We want the experience.
Petra van der Ploeg – 4 May 2020
About Reviewing
How did you get started?
Officially, I started reviewing books for a Dutch website called Boekiewoogie. I worked as an editor and about every two months I read and reviewed a newly released book.
Unofficially, I’ve been reviewing books for much longer than that, mostly for Goodreads and Amazon whenever I’d bought and read a book. It wasn’t until I self-published my own book, and realized how much effort it takes to get your books noticed, that I decided to fully focus my book reviewing on Indie 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?
I make notes as I go along. After I’ve read the book, I have a few subjects I want to address and so, I use my notes to get everything sorted.
What are you looking for?
Besides grammar, pacing and story structure, my focus is finding the answer to the question: does the story pull me in? I feel most traditionally published books are based on whether or not they follow what’s trendy, not necessarily what they’re passionate about. To me, the latter is more important because if an author is passionate about the story they wrote, you can feel it throughout the whole story. There’s no hidden agenda, no people pleasing. It’s just focusing on the journey into the unknown, and I’m going to love every moment with that book. But I do want to add: I am holding the story to the highest standards, because I feel very strongly that whether or not you’re self-published or traditionally published, there is no excuse for unedited material.
If a book has a great plot, great characters, but the grammar is less than perfect, how do you deal with that?
I’ll make note of it, and I will put that in the review with the suggestion to hire an editor to take those issues out. Bad grammar can (and should) be fixed. After all, if the author wants their book to succeed, it has to be up to all standards. However, that won’t be the focus of my review as I feel that the plot and characters are what drives the story. Those are from the creative mind of the author and that’s not something you can learn. That comes from the heart.
How long does it take you to get through, say, an eighty thousand-word book?
I’d like to take my time, because my reviews aren’t just ‘great book’ or ‘definitely a no for me’, so, about 4 weeks is usually what I aim for.
How did you come up with your rating system, and could you explain more about the rating system?
I have a 5 star rating system, just because I feel that gives the most clarity and it’s a solid way of rating. The way I rate the books are:
1 star – too many issues, definitely not ready to have been published, not worth your time or money (yet)
2 star – a lot of issues, in need of revisions
3 star – minor issues, but weak storyline. This book’s not bad, but it’s forgotten in a few weeks’ time
4 star – minor to no issues, good story, well done
5 star – great story, worth your time and money, a keeper
What advice could you give to authors looking to get their books reviewed?
Join Writing Groups on Facebook and connect with other writers, and readers, on Social Media platforms like Instagram or Twitter. Don’t just throw your book at them, but get acquainted first, before you get into the reviewing with them. Also, don’t pay for a review. Ever. When asking for a review, be able to accept the outcome, whether it’s good or bad. Don’t retaliate. It’s just one person’s opinion.
Also, make sure your book’s been handled by professionals – yourself included. If you publish a book unedited, with a self-made cover, the likelihood of your book being chosen to be reviewed is slim to none.
Do you get readers emailing you and thanking you for a review?
No, I didn’t even know that was a thing. But I have had writers emailing me and thanking me for the valuable feedback, saying I found things they hadn’t received back from 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?
100%. Don’t feel the need to explain the issues either. Just improve where you can (and feel comfortable to do so – after all it is YOUR story), say thank you and move on.
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?
I don’t believe those statistics. I still feel very strongly that most people who pick up a book of fiction want to be swept away into a story, whether it’s romance, adventure or even horror. It’s the same reason why we go see a movie or play a videogame. We want the experience. (Okay, so maybe I should substitute the ‘we’ for ‘I’ because this definitely is the case for me.)
About Writing
What are the most common mistakes that you see authors making?
Publishing unedited material. With that, I mean, not being edited by a professional editor. The vibe I’m getting is that most Indie Authors who do this, seem to think that a professional editor is way too expensive. There’s a budget for every Indie Author, I get that. But the price they’ll pay for a bad book is always higher. You can’t fix a first impression. I’m a big supporter of Indie Authors. I want them to rise to the same level, and be seen as the same, as traditionally published authors. But as long as Indie Authors still publish unedited work, they not only cause harm to their own work and name, but also to the name of Indie Authors in general.
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?
No, I don’t put it down, though I can understand why agents keep it to 5 pages. Even though I don’t put the story down, I do find myself less invested if I have to ‘wait’ for it to get exciting. However, I’ve read more than enough books that turned out to be awesome reads, but they had a slow start. So, I don’t brush those books off. However, I do reserve the right to DNF a book if by page 50 I’ve come across so many issues, that I just don’t want to invest any more of my time in it. And I do write a review of every book I read, even the DNFs.
Is there anything you will not review?
Even though I can appreciate and love most poetry, and I have reviewed it in the past, I’m not a fan of reviewing it. The reason it being open to interpretation, it’s to be experienced. There’s not a clear ‘rule book’ if you will, and some poets deliberately use the wrong grammar to get their poetry across.
Other than that, I’m open to pretty much any kind of story. I love all things magical, so if the story has that, then it’s a definite plus for me. But, really, I’d love to review a variety of different genres.
About Publishing
What do you think of the oft-quoted comment that the “slush-pile has moved online”?
I think it’s fair – to a certain degree. It’s one of the reasons why I’m so passionate about helping Indie Authors get to a higher standard of publishing. I believe a lot of books that are published, shouldn’t have been, absolutely. But there are also a lot of books by Indie Authors which are worth your time and they’re amazing reads. But because of this one line, all Indie Authors start with a disadvantage; trying to prove their book isn’t one that’s meant for that dreaded slush-pile.
Do you think attitudes are changing with respect to indie or self-published titles?
I do feel there’s been a little shift in the right direction, though I feel it’s definitely not where it’s supposed to be. Most people, especially in the publishing branch, still look down on Indie titles.
Do you have any ideas or comments on how the industry can ‘filter’ good from bad, aside from reviews?
Reviews unfortunately aren’t 100% reliable either, especially because there are still a lot of reviewers out there who won’t post a review if it’s a ‘negative’ one. I don’t believe in negative reviews, or in superficial reviews for that matter. “Great book!” or “Not worth your time.” can be placed under any book. It doesn’t say anything about this specific book, so I don’t think those reviews add value. I only believe in honest reviews with objective reasons why a book is great (or not) because I think those are most valuable to the author and perspective readers.
Other ways to filter the good from the bad, are: the book cover; the first pages in the Look Inside function on Amazon; the price; the blurb; other books that might’ve been published by the same author. I also feel the level of professionalism of the author shows in other things, like, does the author have a professional website? Is he/she on Social Media? Do they interact (positively) with others, who reply to their messages? This might not say much about the content of the book (as in, the story itself) but it does say a lot about whether or not the author takes their writing business seriously.
End of Interview:
To read Petra’s reviews, visit her website.
