How about a review swap

When I was in a band, local bands would support one another by swapping shows, or exchanging links to their website. What if we were to swap book reviews? I'm a fantasy/science fiction writer but I read other genres as well. What if we agreed to review eachothers work? Just an idea.

Good idea Mel. I think many have reviewed the work of fellow authors, however it was not done as a project. Reviewing fellow-author's work has a good and bad side. When you truly enjoy the story, it is easy to write a good review. What do you write when you don't like it? No review is preferable to a bad review. If the authors asks for feedback in the form of a critique, it is best done privately.
Critique before publication is more beneficial. Once published, it's too late.

I made a comment about promoting the author and the work of the author to avoid self promotion. No one has yet responded. Any takers can pm me or send me an email. Naturally, I would want to read the author's work and like it before agreeing to promote.

That is a very good point Abe. If reading a genre you truely care for, there must be something good to say about it. Maybe this is cheating as far a reviews go. Perhaps I should do my homework first

I beleive if there is anything we can do to support eachother, it will be beneficial. And certainly any constructive criticsm should be done in private. This too would be a great example of helping one another.

Always a good idea to actually read the work and then review....and as authors, we should always want the truth about our work. I know I do...give me feedback and give me truth. Why? So I can get better.

Thanks Mel....(and Abe!)



Lee

I'm in. Let me know how the swap would work.

melLkinder wrote:

When I was in a band, local bands would support one another by swapping shows, or exchanging links to their website. What if we were to swap book reviews? I'm a fantasy/science fiction writer but I read other genres as well. What if we agreed to review eachothers work? Just an idea.

Hi Mel!

It is a good idea.

I've read the work of some of my online writer friends and I have posted reviews for their works in various places such as Amazon and Goodreads.

Only a few have read my books and written reviews on mine.

Abe makes an excellent point. One that really touches home with me. I hesistate to read friend's work unless I am sure they can take critique well. I believe in being honest, but I have a hard time telling someone I like that I didn't enjoy what they worked so hard on. I will find what I like about it and focus on that ... but telling them what I didn't like is very hard.

This happened to me before, I bought the book of a very dear friend. It was a romance and I love reading romance. This person also wrote well in the forums and knew a lot about writing. I was sure I would like the book. And I didn't. This is only my opinion, but I felt my friend was a good writer, just not so much a great storyteller.

Yet, another writer friend of mine wrote a few books in a genre I don't normally read. I bought my friend's first book and was hooked. Couldn't wait to read the next one and immediatly posted great reviews for the books.

Exchanging links is a lovely idea. I have Abe and Betty and a few others linked with me on my website.

My thoughts are this: If by the end of my book, you cannot provide a semi-positive review; certainly doesn't have to be a five-star review. Any less than three stars and we might want to discuss, in private, the things you disliked, which can be very helpful for me, especially moving forward in my trilogy.

And the same goes for the person I swap with. I mean, if you prefer nothing less than a 5-star review then I only post it publicaly if I rate it as such. We can even agree to let each other see the review before it's posted.

We all know that everyone has their own opinions. I don't expect everyone to love it or hate it. Our tastes are different, our standards are different, and our experience in the field of writing and reading varies.

I guess the my idea is to work together, read eachothers material and if you like what you read, spread the word to the world. Be honest, be professional, and work together.

And in addition to reading the other author's book, when finished with it you could give it to a friend who might enjoy it, so they can tell their friends about it.

I'm in the US while the book I review could be from the UK. I could work, it might not but I think it's worth a shot.

One book could travel a long way. If the person you pass it along to doesn't like it, maybe it will wind up in the hands of someone who does.

I think the idea of a review swap could be quite interesting to pursue. I would find it valuable -- and I have been in Writing Groups, so I have developed a thick skin. Besides, what is one person's cup of tea.............