Ayr Writers Club
Workshop
10th Sept 2014
The book review
Alison Craig
Workshop format
- Intro
- Free writing
- Why do we write book reviews?
- What does a book review do?
- Choosing and reading a book for review
- What to include in your book review
- Book review no-no’s
- Publishing your book review
- Competition details
- Questions
Free writing
- 5 mins
- Keep the pen moving
- Don’t worry about spelling and punctuation
- Don’t cross out
- Write about something you noticed on the way in
Why do we write book reviews?
- Because we are contracted/paid to!
- For a competition
- To recommend books because we enjoyed them and want others to read them
- Enthusiasm for a particular author/genre /non-fiction area
- To communicate with your reader
- To communicate with authors
- To develop a following
- As content for a writing website or blog
What does a book review do?
‘…a book review is meant to inform the potential reader of the merits (and sometimes, demerits) of a book, so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not to read it.’ (Baeli, 2013)
What else does as book review do?
- Expresses your opinion – what you liked and disliked about a book.
- Provides unbiased comments – i.e. comments on pros and cons regardless of whether review likes or dislikes author or genre
- Warns about potentially upsetting content, e.g. profane language, graphic sex or violence, sensitive topics such as abuse
- Assists purchasing decisions
- Assists authors
How do you choose a book for review?
- Instinct?
- Genre or subject you are interested in
- Author you have read before
- Author recommended to you
- If linked to publisher, you may receive ARCs
- Magazines or newspapers may ask you to review particular titles
What should your review include?
- Plot
- Characters
- Pace
- Structure
- Dialogue
- Style
- Overall enjoyment
- Potential areas of difficulty
- NB. Remember that is YOUR review
How do you read a book for review?
- Read it, then read it again!
- Don’t skim and fill in the gaps by assuming
- Keep a piece of paper inside book for notes (use template?)
- Identify one or two very short quotes
- Remember that it is YOUR review
- Look for the positive
- Treat the negative honestly
Dealing with the negative
- Mention negatives after you have got a good few positives in
- Be polite and professional
- Be clear on why the problem is a problem
- Is it just a problem for you?
- Be encouraging. Remember the author!
Reviewing non-fiction
- Many of same rules apply, but you’ll be looking for:
- Subject and contribution to field
- Clarity
- Bias/objectivity
- Format/layout
- Visual appeal
- Illustrations and graphs etc. – how helpful are they?
- Depth
- Argument
- Style
- References
Don’t…
- …give away the ending!
- …just summarise the plot
- …lambast a book. If you hate it, don’t review it
- …attack the book or author
- …be demeaning
- …use profane language
- …be sarcastic
- …be rude about the cover
- …think your preference is more important than the quality of the book
Publishing book reviews
- Magazines and newspaper, but you usually have to be a contracted reviewer
- Lots of online outlets –
- Own blog or website
- GoodReads
- Amazon
- Etc.,
Entering the competitions
- AWC
- 350-500 words
- Any book published after 1997
- Deadline 24th September
- SAW
- 350-500 words
- Any book
- Deadline 16th January
References
Kelli Jae Baeli, Giving it Away: Spoilers as Both Noun and Accusation (Why Book Reviews Matter, and How to Write a Proper One), 2013
Rebecca Graf, How to Write a Book Review, 2013
www.teacher-scholastic.com/writewit/bookrev