Review v. Reality

CheshireCat said:

You mean sell a book to a publisher? Not true. I know quite a few authors who recently sold on the strength of the manuscript alone.

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I obviously don't mean sell a book to a publisher. I'm talking about books that are already published. I mean sell a book to a bookstore, and then, ultimately, to a reader.

Publishers are not going to waste their money getting good placement at bookstores if they don't expect the book to garner a whole array of prominent reviews.

They have their A releases, their B releases and then all the rest, which get few reviews and are hard to find in bookstores. All of this is determined way before the book even comes out.

Sometimes a C book will get a major review somewhere and then the publishers and bookstores have to scramble. But otherwise, you pretty much know the fate of your book before it even comes out. And it's controlled by the publisher.

Then it's up to you to pack a dozen boxes of your book in your trunk and sell it yourself by the side of the road.

priceless1 said:

A lot of reviewers paraphrase the sell sheet that accompanies the galley. No one but the publisher would recognize it as such, and it's annoying as hell.

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That's just depressing. They take the sell sheet, paraphrase it, and make assumptions on the book and give it a bad review just based on what they think the book is about... that is unfair to the author and the publisher. I wish some reviewers had more integrity and professionalism.

maestrowork said:

That's just depressing. They take the sell sheet, paraphrase it, and make assumptions on the book and give it a bad review just based on what they think the book is about... that is unfair to the author and the publisher. I wish some reviewers had more integrity and professionalism.

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Sorry, Ray, but you'd be shocked at the ones I've busted doing this. I had a reviewer actually call me up and apologize. He claimed it was a new reviewer and was removed, blah, blah, blah. This was not an insignificant publication, either. The thing that caught his attention is when I asked him if he wanted his magazine to be known for this type of practice. Sure, I appreciated the nice review, and so did the author, but geez.

popmuze said:

I obviously don't mean sell a book to a publisher. I'm talking about books that are already published. I mean sell a book to a bookstore, and then, ultimately, to a reader.

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Well, the books are "sold" to bookstores by the salesforce of the publishers, mostly. And while good pre-publication reviews can certainly help, it's a numbers game. If the bookstore knows the publisher is backing a certain book with major promo and a big print run, then the bookstore doesn't give a flip how many reviews or blurbs there are on the cover. And if the publisher is paying for prominent placement, on the front tables or end caps or ladders, then the bookstore will happily stock the book. Why not? Whatever they don't sell they get credit for.

Publishers are not going to waste their money getting good placement at bookstores if they don't expect the book to garner a whole array of prominent reviews.

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Depends on the publisher. I know plenty of NYT bestsellers that hit the list with few reviews or blurbs.

They have their A releases, their B releases and then all the rest, which get few reviews and are hard to find in bookstores. All of this is determined way before the book even comes out.

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Well, some of it. Whether you're a lead title, sure. But it's entirely possible for a book to come out, begin to generate good buzz, and then get prominent placement in bookstores.

It really depends on the book, the publisher -- any number of factors. There's no hard and fast rule.

Sometimes a C book will get a major review somewhere and then the publishers and bookstores have to scramble. But otherwise, you pretty much know the fate of your book before it even comes out. And it's controlled by the publisher.

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As I said above, sometimes a midlist book will generate buzz and all the sales/marketing plans and efforts will shift. But I don't agree that you know the fate of your book prior to publication. There are just too many variables, most of them beyond your control, and plenty beyond the publisher's control.

If they could control so much, I think most publishers would put out more bestsellers, don't you? The truth is, they don't know what kind of promotional or marketing efforts will bear fruit until they do -- and then they don't know if the same plan will work next time.

Then it's up to you to pack a dozen boxes of your book in your trunk and sell it yourself by the side of the road.

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And I thought I was cynical.

I heard from a good inside source that a lot of book "blurbs" are, er, paid for. I can believe it. "Firebringer" is a shallow imitation (in every way) of "Watership Down", yet Richard Adams supposedly loved it. Mmm hmm.

I don't have a book on the shelves yet (maybe someday!), but I have a rule about paying attention to reviews/critiques on my articles. If someone takes the time to write to me and point out my flaws without acting like a jungle animal, by all means I will pay attention to what the person has to say and I usually respond in kind.

I write manga reviews, and I make damn sure I read the whole thing before I write the review...no matter how bad it is! I also take the time to note story and character points that worked, didn't work, etc. If someone took the time to write and publish, I can take a few minutes to do that much.

BlueBadger said:

I heard from a good inside source that a lot of book "blurbs" are, er, paid for. I can believe it. "Firebringer" is a shallow imitation (in every way) of "Watership Down", yet Richard Adams supposedly loved it. Mmm hmm.

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That rumor has been around as long as I've been in the business, and as far as I know, it isn't true.

I've been thanked afterward with chocolates or little gifts, but never bribed beforehand.

There were times I could have used the money.

BlueBadger said:

I heard from a good inside source that a lot of book "blurbs" are, er, paid for.

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Do you mean the "buy a Kirkus review" or "buy a Foreword Mag review?" Those have been around a while, and they ain't cheap. I know of one author who did this, and it gave me the shivers. One Big Author I know is "discouraged" to blurb anyone other than his publishers' up and coming authors. Eh, it's a game and we all have to take it for what it's worth.

BlueBadger said:

I heard from a good inside source that a lot of book "blurbs" are, er, paid for. I can believe it. "Firebringer" is a shallow imitation (in every way) of "Watership Down", yet Richard Adams supposedly loved it. Mmm hmm.

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As CeCe said, this is just a rumor. Editors do call in favors to get prominent writers to consider blurbing a book they want to push, but no one gets paid. If you blurb something, you lend your name to it, which means you put your reputation on the line. I dunno about others, but I wouldn't risk readers' contempt to blurb a bad book, no matter how much money I was offered.

That said, there are some writers who are blurb whores. I won't name names, but I definitely roll my eyes when I see blurbs by these folks.

I think blurbs are important not in their presence (I doubt they have a great deal of influence on most people's decision to buy books) but in their absence. I almost never pay attention to author blurbs, but I do notice if a book doesn't have any, and wonder why.

- Victoria

victoriastrauss said:

I almost never pay attention to author blurbs, but I do notice if a book doesn't have any, and wonder why- Victoria

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I feel the same way about reviews.