Favorite part of writing a review?

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hyrumseries
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Re: Favorite part of writing a review?

Post by hyrumseries »

I love the fact that critiquing someone else's novel always makes me go back and re-think mine. Did I manage to sneak some of my most hated tropes in there? What about repetitive action?

My least favorite part is when I'm trying to post a review to 25 places and my internet decides to act up.
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Post by moderntimes »

You're right about learning from a not-so-good book which you're reviewed and using what you've learned to improve your own writing. I've found this very helpful at times.

I've only written reviews for a single professional location, whether a newspaper or a website, so I'm free & clear from your 2nd point. And my WiFi works great.
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Post by TrishaAnn92 »

My favorite part about writing book reviews is talking about the book in general, whether I particularly liked themail book or not. If I could pick a second favorite it would have to be the people I have met online. I've made a few friends, some of them even authors and it's been a great experience.
My least favorite....I can't really think of anything. The occasional writers block would be my most disliked but I'm sure everybody has that issue.
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Post by bookowlie »

TrishaAnn, I agree with pretty much everythng you said. I really enjoy talking about the book and pointing out the little things that made the book special.

I have to admit there is a part of the review process that makes me INSANELY HAPPY! You will all think I am crazy, but my favorite part is selecting the review book from the list. I love checking the list to see what appeals to me, reading the Amazon samples, and then deciding which book to pick. If I don't find an appealing choice, I check back periodically to see if any new books have been added. I absolutely love when I see a few books that look appealing and the whole process of choosing. I love this part of the process so much that I feel a little letdown after I've made my choice and committed to a review book. Crazy, huh?
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Post by TrishaAnn92 »

bookowlie wrote:TrishaAnn, I agree with pretty much everythng you said. I really enjoy talking about the book and pointing out the little things that made the book special.

I have to admit there is a part of the review process that makes me INSANELY HAPPY! You will all think I am crazy, but my favorite part is selecting the review book from the list. I love checking the list to see what appeals to me, reading the Amazon samples, and then deciding which book to pick. If I don't find an appealing choice, I check back periodically to see if any new books have been added. I absolutely love when I see a few books that look appealing and the whole process of choosing. I love this part of the process so much that I feel a little letdown after I've made my choice and committed to a review book. Crazy, huh?
Not crazy at all! While not necessarily my favorite I do still greatly enjoy it. :)
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Post by moderntimes »

owlie, I also enjoy the selection process. My editor emails me a list of possible books, including a brief synopsis. I usually pick 4-6 per month, and another part of the fun is when this big box arrives with all the books packed inside. I'm like a kid on his birthday, opening the box and flipping thru each book.

Next comes selecting which goes first and which is last. I try to avoid the most tempting up front because I'll shoot my energies on the good ones and the others are kinda pushed aside. So I mix a good/bad/good/bad. And by "bad" I don't necessarily mean a bad book, but only that those are the ones which are, on surface, least interesting. Sometimes of course I find a gem, a pearl hidden. That's yet another pleasure of reviewing.

Then after the books are reviewed, I'll keep some and give the others to friends. One more fun element of the process.

Right now, as I'm involved in the final galley proofs of my 3 extant novels and working on the 4th, I've temporarily put my review work on hold, but after the New Year I'll get back into harness for the spring book rush. Keen, eh? Each month getting a big box of nifty new books, most yet to be released to the public, so I get my mitts on them early. Fun!
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Post by TrishaAnn92 »

I too enjoy the rare times I get books in the mail for review. They are so rare that I am like a kid on Christmas morning. It doesn't happen often since most of the review books I read are ebooks.

That is always fun and getting the books before everybody else I also greatly enjoy!
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Post by j p gilbert »

My favourite part of writing a book review is coming across a real gem where the author has allowed their craft to flow. It shows when an author has taken time to nurture their art. I respect the amount of work it must take to complete a book and take the responsibility of a review very seriously.

In my own writing though, I hate my terrible grammar and typos. I practice as much as I can. Yet, I still over-comma.
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Post by moderntimes »

First of all, if your most horrible fault is too many commas, you're doing fine in my book. What I find is that I can use commas or delete them (much of this is okay in modern fiction these days) to affect the rhythm of the paragraph or sentence. I may deliberately use a run-on sentence lacking commas to indicate a rapid pace.

I agree that one of the real pleasures in writing reviews is discovering a newbie author who may soon make it big, and writing a review that is enthusiastic and also genuine.

I've also formed a few pleasant email friendships with authors whose books I reviewed. That a great bonus.
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Post by j p gilbert »

Thanks for your support. I try to write as I speak. This now leads me to believe that I don't speak grammatically correct. But hey, in the forums I can be myself, so to speak. I understand the need for professional writing and have added the NYT book reviews to my to-do list so I can get some tips.
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Post by moderntimes »

Better, I imagine, to write as we think rather than as we speak.

Of course we all know the "rules" of our grammatical and literary understanding, a Venn diagram, the largest circle being our reading comprehension and words we know when seeing them. Inside that is the circle defining how we write, and smallest is our speaking vocabulary.

So maybe the rhythm of our written words will be similar to our speaking, but the actual word use will be greater. That's how is is for most writers, at least.
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Post by Loverockers »

My favorite part is that I get to list all the things I did not like about the book. It gives me the freedom to share my opinion without any pressure. But of course, I try not to be too harsh, I'm a writer myself!
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Post by MsMartha »

Yes, the selection process is wonderful! Of course the hard part can be finding several books that look interesting, and then having to decide which one to read.

I've also seen some samples of books that have a great first chapter on Amazon, but I've been disappointed to discover that later chapters weren't written--or edited?--as carefully.
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Post by Mag »

For me I think it simply would be the sharing part. Just sharing your thoughts and opinions with the rest of the world is the most rewarding part of writing a book review.
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Post by Heidi M Simone »

Mag wrote:For me I think it simply would be the sharing part. Just sharing your thoughts and opinions with the rest of the world is the most rewarding part of writing a book review.
I love being to share my review, as well. When sharing a review of a book that I enjoyed, I feel I am showing my support to those authors and spreading the word. There's something about it that makes me feel happy to do so. :)
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