Panick Attacks for first reviews?

[moderntimes]

Well, Betty, don't worry that much about a spare comma here and there. And you'll find that comma use is also variable depending on US or UK preferred style.

Your principal objective is to write a fair, honest, and thoughtful review of the book. Little else matters.

[Vermont Reviews]

You should not worry about your reviews that author appreciates any that they receive.

[shelley_soetosenojo]

I have the same problem with my first review. But then again, with all of them. But I think this will help us giving our best, everytime!

[moderntimes]

Vermont, authors don't appreciate biased or unfounded bad reviews at all. I can say that from the standpoint of a published author myself.

We writers have no problems with a reviewer who disagrees with us, so long as the reviewer's opinions are backed up with good logic. But unfair reviews? Authors dislike them.

One example I've given before --- if the novel is a mystery, and it's a slam-bang action thriller, if a reviewer prefers the more sedate type of "Agatha Christie" drawing-room mystery, and therefore downgrades the book accordingly, that's unfair. If however, the reviewer finds flaws in the action thriller, that it's not as well written as it could have been, and there are for example plot holes, then a downrating of the book is a fair analysis.

[Trendydoc_73]

Brave and totally honest, that's all I can say.

[Vermont Reviews]

The best way to get better is to keep practicing.

[MsMartha]

Great support here for reviewers--and I'm one who needs some

I have to agree that practice is important, and I wish sometimes that I had 30 instead of 24 hours a day so I could practice more often

[moderntimes]

My recommendations include this: just write the review as if you were telling a good friend about this book you read. You'd not just tell the plot, but you'd describe the characters, the themes of the book, and your impressions about whether the story was well presented, the characters were believable, and so on.

Then write this down in a more "formal" style, and this should be a good template for your review. In other words, tell the readers a story about the book you just read.

[MsMartha]

My recommendations include this: just write the review as if you were telling a good friend about this book you read. You'd not just tell the plot, but you'd describe the characters, the themes of the book, and your impressions about whether the story was well presented, the characters were believable, and so on.

Then write this down in a more "formal" style, and this should be a good template for your review. In other words, tell the readers a story about the book you just read.

That's a good idea!

[Nicole]

My recommendations include this: just write the review as if you were telling a good friend about this book you read. You'd not just tell the plot, but you'd describe the characters, the themes of the book, and your impressions about whether the story was well presented, the characters were believable, and so on.

Then write this down in a more "formal" style, and this should be a good template for your review. In other words, tell the readers a story about the book you just read.

Thanks for this good advice! Wish I was able to read this thread two reviews ago.

For those worrying about grammar, there's this app called Grammarly which does way better proofreading than Word. Though it still has a few unnecessary corrections, I think.

[MsMartha]

Thanks for the Grammarly information--I will take a look at it.

[Nicole]

Thanks for the Grammarly information--I will take a look at it.

Happy to help. Let me know how you find it. I'd be glad to hear your thoughts on the app.

[Kourtney Bradley]

The first review is always such a nervous experience. I felt like you do, but you will get over that and move on to review another one! If the editors feel that your review shouldn't be published because of spelling/grammatical errors they will reject it and let you know why. You will do fine!

[AA1495]

Dont worry, not at all. The editors are nice and will correct any mistakes you may make! Plus there's always the scope to improve

[Diane Rinella]

As a writer who needs reviews (every writer does), I have to say that while I respect people's concern over how well his/her review reads, what really matters is writing something. I love seeing reviews where readers took a ton of time to write something eloquent; however, even a one sentence review is better than no review at all. Of course, if you are reviewing for a periodical, that is different. In the end though, writers need reviews, and anything a reader does to help is appreciated.