Category — Books

Optimism. Seeing the glass half full. Is it important? Research has found that optimists are happier, experience less stress, are more successful, and are healthier than pessimists. Optimists also outlive pessimists. We teach our children manners, we educate them and discipline them, all in the hope that one day they will fit into the wider world with success and happiness. What if we were to put similar effort into teaching our children to see the glass half full? [Read more →]

Books about the art of book reviewing are few and far between. THE SLIPPERY ART OF BOOK REVIEWING attempts to fill the void. As a reviewer myself I was curious to see what insight was offered to me as well as those just getting started. It was with a great deal of anticipation that I opened my copy.

Most people are anxious to express their opinions; readers are no exception. The internet has made it easier than ever. But it’s not easy to communicate those opinions in an organized credible manner. Criticism should be backed up with fact and examples. Thoughts should be presented in a way that’s informative and entertaining at the same time. The authors address all that and more.

Anne K. Edwards is a writer and editor of “Voice in the Dark,” a free monthly ezine. Mayra Calvani is a writer, reviewer [Read more →]

Reviewing a book involves developing an overall conception of the book from the reviewer’s point of view. A precise understanding of every details of the book will enable you to grasp the entire meaning to contribute to your writing. The contents of the book and the perspective from which it is written will determine how the book will be woven into critical remarks for the reader’s understanding.

Two approaches of Book reviewing

There are two main approaches towards book reviewing – the descriptive approach and the critical approach. Both are contradictory in their genre of analyzing the book. Descriptive reviewing delivers only the essential information, without dealing much with exaggeration. [Read more →]

Do not underestimate book reviews in that they can help you sell your book. If you are a newly published author, one who is unknown or one who is self published, you may find it difficult to get to the base of people that you need to make your book profitable and read. More than anything, most new writers want their work to be read – even more than receiving the money for the book.

But you will have a difficult time getting your book reviewed by Vanity Fair or the New Yorker if you are an unknown writer who is self published. Chances are that you will not get any book reviews unless you are willing to pay for them.

The idea of paying for book reviews may seem like cheating to some writers, but they work. And if your purpose is to get more widely read, then you will see that after you have accomplished this and you get [Read more →]

A book review service will help you get the word out about your book and hopefully make others want to read it. If you look at top novels, you will notice that there are usually quotes from reviews from publications from the New York Times or other papers. This often happens with noted authors that have books published in large publishing houses. But how does the new author who has perhaps self published or is published with a very small publishing house get noticed? Very often, they use a book review service.

As you know, an increasing number of books are now sold online. This goes for movies and music as well. And most of the online websites that offer books also encourage book reviews. There are several [Read more →]

You have just received your masterpiece in print, and it’s both exciting and scary at the same. Perhaps you’ve just realized that you aren’t the only new author out there, and nobody knows who you are. Perhaps you’ve just asked yourself, “How competitive is the book publishing industry anyway?”

The statistics may surprise you. According to a recent survey of the top book publishers, an estimated 25 million people in the United States consider themselves writers, but only 5% have actually been published. Even more surprising is the fact that an astonishing 5 to 6 million manuscripts are still looking for a publishing home at any given time.

So the real question is, [Read more →]