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This week: Review That Published Book Edited by: Storm Machine  
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All knowledge is worth having. ~Jacqueline Carey
REVIEW v.t.
to set your wisdom (holding not a doubt to it, Although in truth there's neither skin nor bone to it) At work upon a book, and so read out of it The qualities you first read into it. ~Ambrose Pierce |
| ASIN: B0CJKJMTPD |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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Information contained within a review can tell you what you want to know, or it can spoil everything. This is one aspect of WDC- that we give our opinions, impressions, and attempt to improve the work we read. But what about published books?
We are writers, but we all started as readers. We love books. We pick them up, devour their contents, and pass them on (or hang on tight - some we can't let go of). It doesn't matter if we get them from the library or the bookstore or a friend. Do you use a favorite site to share the opinions of your books?
One option is a blog. There are many book review sites out there that use blogs to spread the message to others. You can use the review function at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or BAM. You can travel to other sites like GoodReads to spread your message.
Why? When you read a book and put it down, you could forget it. When you spend a few minutes at the end to gather your thoughts, you're using the book as market research. When you finish a book and you know what worked, what didn't, and how it all went together, you know how to reach the audience the next time you want to write a book.
While it starts with characters and a plot, the review can go through more than that. You can talk about the voice of the characters, whether each character had good motivations, or if they all blur together except for the name at the top of the chapter. Dig into the setting and how it relates to the story. Tell other readers whether the book is worth buying, or if the plot got resolved too quickly. Maybe you explain why the plot feels superficial and contrived, and you can make sure your next one isn't.
Good reviews are important on WDC and off. Readers and writers need to set the expectations for everyone else. We are the ones who read the most, and we have to get the words out there so others know what to pick up and read.
How many times do you hear of a popular, bestselling book that you also hear is horribly written? How many times do you try to read it anyway? I read whatever genre catches my fancy, though most of it is speculative fiction. I tire of hearing those reviews, that it's horribly written but everyone's reading it. I hate seeing the first page marked up [by professional editors] to a point where only five words actually move the story forward. Why do these books get passed on, rather than the ones that are done well?
Take ten minutes. Go review your favorite book. Put it out there, on one site or many. Then take time to do the next book you read, too. Put words behind the feelings that the book left you with.
After you do that, think hard about that work-in-progress that's been plaguing you. Do you have enough distance to see that your plot isn't digging deep enough? Did that last book have a brilliant twist in the middle that you didn't expect and you had to dig hard to see how it all fit together? Maybe in the next draft you can foreshadow something to smack your readers when they think they know what the next move will be.
Interested in finding reviews of books? Check the links here: http://www.complete-review.com/links/links.html#brs1 |
| |  | Invalid Item
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#1995299 by Not Available. |
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#1995296 by Not Available. |
| |  | Ring of Fire (E)
The Ring of Fire must be protected at all cost. A secret will be revealed
#1995180 by TJ Marie  |
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#1994891 by Not Available. |
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#1994757 by Not Available. |
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#1943883 by Not Available. |
| | The Swift (13+)
The steam-powered superhero pursues his arch-enemy, Professor Delirium Tremens.
#1879638 by CeruleanSon  |
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| ASIN: B0CJKJMTPD |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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Jhindman33 
This is a good point, for example, the forbidden "F" word has origins in Europe that wouldn't make sense if said on Planet x324f. Even in our own world there are differences for example "bloody hell" in America sis no big deal, but I understand to some European cultures, this word holds the same "shock" or forbidden value as our "F" word.
Right. Shock value is very dependent on what is said, and the culture from where it arises.
BIG BAD WOLF is Merry 
Ah, a fellow Naomi Novik and Mercedes Lackey fan. Perhaps I should interest you into the Redwall series. 22 novels with their own politics and drama.
Sounds interesting.
Quick-Quill 
This has remained with me for years. In one of the Star Trek Next Gen episodes, Piccard was stuck with a creature he couldn't communicate with. The other man repeated "Eyes wide open." After about 20 minutes of a kind of question and answer. Piccard finally figured out their language was based on historical events. Much like we say "catch 22" or "met our Waterloo." To this day every time I hear the song "Eyes Wide Open." I think of that episode. Piccard learned the language and a bit about the alien's history. A great intro to writing a world and its language.
I think I remember that episode. Sometimes Star Trek's universal translator feels like a cheat. It always translates everything perfectly. Enterprise was different; it took place before the translator. One language expert fumbled through all of the new languages, and she was pretty awesome.
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| ASIN: 1945043032 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 13.94
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Fantasy: June 11, 2014 Issue [#6366]
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