Guest Post: "How to Write A Review," by Catherine Astolfo
One of the best,
and easiest, things a reader can do for his/her favorite author is to write a
review and place it on one of the online sites that promotes writers or sells
books (or both).
As a retired
educator, let me first make my apologies to students who have followed their
teachers’ rules into the present. Here are some entirely new ones, from me.
When you do an online review, do NOT summarize the book. All the online sites,
such as Amazon, provide excerpts, summaries, or synopses. As a
What I am
interested in is your reaction to the novel. This is your opportunity to write
two or three sentences giving your opinion. You are not bound by the old rules.
You are relieved of the summary task. You don’t have to prove any expert
literary skill to anyone, although you may want to demonstrate correct spelling
and grammar to be taken seriously. Your only goal is to tell other readers what
you thought of, reacted to or how you felt about this particular book.
I want to know
your response to the characters. Did you like them (especially the main ones)?
Were you repulsed, yet fascinated, by any evildoers? On the other hand, did you
find them dull or unbelievable; e.g. their dialogue was unnatural?
Let me know if
the plot held you spellbound, was based on fact/history/fantasy or whatever, or
if it was slow, tedious or implausible. Again, I don’t want the details. I want
descriptive reactions from you. “I couldn’t put this rollercoaster ride of a
book down for one minute.” “I fell asleep every couple of pages.” “The history
was fascinating and informative.” “The fantastical world of Astolfoland was
beautiful, sumptuous and believable.”
You might want
to focus on the setting. Was the landscape truly phenomenal? Was the emphasis
on the surroundings what turned you on or off the book?
Tell me what you
thought of the author’s style. Did you enjoy their sarcastic wit? Was the
funny, sardonic voice of the character hilarious? Do you like crisp, succinct
writing that keeps a plot moving? Did you love the long, luxurious descriptive
narrative?
You don’t have
to use fancy vocabulary and you don’t, I repeat, don’t have the tedium and
difficulty of writing a synopsis. You only have to tell the other readers how
you personally reacted to the book.
This template
translates into perhaps five minutes of your time. You don’t have to get very
technical about each of these categories. Simply craft three short sentences
about your personal opinion. Write about how you felt about the book and what
you thought of the style. Pick a focus if you want: voice, viewpoint,
technique, setting, plot (thriller, narrative, type of conflict, romance)
and/or characters (dialogue, description, actions). Cover all these categories
or the one that affected you most and caused you to like/dislike the novel.
As a writer, I
would be thrilled if everyone used this technique. Why? Because readers would
then submit more reviews. Unencumbered by the difficult task of creating a
synopsis or demonstrating a specific expertise, the reviewer knows exactly what
to say. After all, their reaction to the novel is personal, unique and honest,
and therefore easy to write.
One last thing:
about the honesty. Of course it’s preferable to be truthful. But that doesn’t
have to translate into mean, vicious and soul-destroying. There is a gentle way
to say “that jacket makes you look fat”. A professional, responsible way to
state that your reaction to the book was negative. I can say, “I disagree
fundamentally with the viewpoint” or I can say, “The author takes a stupidly
ridiculous stance”. One accepts responsibility for the opinion; the other
blames and demeans. Another way to accept responsibility and be professional is
to use your own name when you review a book. Don’t hide behind a moniker. If
you are a friend/relative of the author, say so. As a reader, I will take your
relationship into consideration. If you are one of my students trying to seek
revenge for a low mark on a book report, let me know, and I’ll be sure to put
an A on your review this time.
--------------------------------------------------------
Catherine Astolfo retired in 2002 after a
very successful 34 years in education. She can recall writing fantasy stories
for her classmates in Grade Three, so she started finishing her books the day
after her retirement became official. Her short stories and poems have been
published in a number of Canadian literary presses. Her story, "What Kelly
Did", won the prestigious Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Crime Story in
2012.
In the fall of 2011, she was thrilled to be
awarded a four-book contract by Imajin Books for her Emily Taylor Mystery
series (previously self-published), and has never been happier with this
burgeoning second career!
Catherine's books are gritty, yet portray
gorgeous surroundings; they deal with sensitive social issues, but always
include love and hope. They're not thrillers, but rather literary mysteries
with loads of character and setting. And justice always prevails.
Website: www.catherineastolfo.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cathyastolfo
Great post! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIf you are looking for Submit Free Articles site then click Submit Free Articles site
ReplyDelete