Dear Rejecter:
I have a friend who is a professional book reviewer (www.bookwormsez.com) read by millions through the U.S. and Canada. She's promised to blurb my book when it's published. Is this something I should mention in a query letter?
I'm very skeptical of people I've never heard of. After all, there are a lot of places that basically just give everything a thumbs-up because a publishing company pays them to. Anyone heard of this person?
PS: Why have all the best bloggers in the publishing industry cut so far back on their blogging?
We're busy/on vacation.
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12 comments:
Maybe I'm the only one, but when I read this the first thing I thought was that it was somebody's clever way of getting their website advertised on a publishing blog...
The publications page is under construction. Suspicious.
Anon,
I don't think it's good advertising if we proceed to trash this person. Or, she might be legit. I don't actually know.
"No mass-market paperbacks, please."
What does that mean... Aren't most books mass-market paperbacks? Does the site review only hardcovers? Can someone explain to me what is the precise definition of mass-market paperback?
Flogging the site, probably. And if they don't do mass market pb's they don't seem legit to me. Either that or horribly snobbish and not worth my time therefore.
It's much more difficult to get mass market paperbacks reviewed than hardcover books.
niteowl: "Mass market paperback" is the industry term for the smaller size of paperback books, the size that most genre fiction (science fiction, series romance, etc.) is published in. The larger size paperback novels are called "trade paperback." Mass market paperbacks tend to be under $10 retail price, while trade paperbacks are usually between $10 and $20.
The fact that no reviews or clients for reviews are listed makes me believe the site is new and seeking free publicity.
I'd say free publicity. Can't say anything about it though. Searching on google with "Terri Schlichenmeyer" uncovers a number of newspapers artcles that feature her as a professional book reviewer with 9500 books in her small home. She's legit to be sure.
Her website needs some help though This isn't the first time an otherwise respectable person looked bad because of a poorly done website and a yahoo e-mail address.
'drew : thanks :) That term 'trade paperback' just makes me think of books written about arc welding or bathroom tiling.
I vaguely remember Anna Genoese saying that the difference between mass market and trade paperbacks was that returned mm's get their covers stripped and trades don't, rather than it being a question of size.
And, something I learned from Alice Acheson -- if you think someone might review your book, don't ask them for a blurb. No one who blurbs your book can or should also review it.
Maybe that's why so many of those NY Times review quotes come on the next person published by the author and not on the original.
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