Review: The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing

A few months ago, I joined an online group called Blog Book Tours to learn how to plan and execute effective virtual tours for future books. From this group I not only learned what I’d hoped, but also learned how to effectively use social networks, how to create a blog site of my own and grow readership, and how to become a good host for other authors’ virtual tours. You, fair reader, are a vital part of the cyper-space tour, just as readers are a vital part of in-person author appearances. In a virtual tour, blog readers use the comments button at the bottom of the artical to submit questions. The authors check in throughout the day to look for and respond to your comments and questions. This is your opportunity to ask the authors anything, and you don’t have to stand in line to do it!

Today I’m pleased to announce my very first victims, I mean guests. Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards have bravely agreed to be the first to bring their tour to this site. Let’s use the comments to extend a warm welcome and ask many questions to keep them busy throughout the day.

Ms. Calvani and Ms. Edwards teamed up to create a much needed guide to writing book reviews. I used tips and suggestions from their book to write the following review.

The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing
Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards
Twilight Times Books
ISBN: 1-933-35322-8
Copyright 2008
Paperback, 186 pages, $16.95
Non-Fiction

Do you know the main difference between “reader reviews” and “professional reviews”? Do you know how to interpret the first sentence in professional reviews? As a reader, do you know how to determine if the review is a fair and critical review that you can comfortably use to make purchasing decisions? As a reviewer, do you know how to write negative reviews in a fair and constructive manner? Have you ever wished for a reference book that could help with these kinds of questions? If so, you wish has been granted.


Authors Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards, two professional reviewers with more than ten years experience between them have created a concise, helpful, and easy to use reference for both readers and reviewers at all levels. Ms. Calvani has a Bachelor's Degree in Literature/Creative Writing from the University of Bridgeport, CT. Her stories, articles, and book reviews have appeared in many online and print publications in the States, England and Puerto Rico, and she is co-editor of "Voice in the Dark" ezine, where she writes a monthly column. Ms. Edwards is an author, a voracious reader of mysteries and reviews books for All About Murder, Murder and Mayhem, and Reader to Reader.


The two define a well-written review and go on to say, “A well-written review may lure the reader into a new genre, thus opening a new market for that genre’s writers and giving the reader a set of new places to visit and new people to meet…Reviews that are well written offer much to the reading world, they carry information about the book, the author and the reviewer. A poorly-written review offers the same information, but may turn readers from exploring the book, future works of that author, or turn them against recommendations by the reviewer…”

The book is presented in three parts. Part One covers all topics related to writing the review itself – everything from how long different kinds of reviews (i.e. fiction, non-fiction, children’s) should be, what topics should be covered in each, how to write negative reviews in a professional manner, and even how to handle email/phone calls/letters from angry writers/editors/publishers/readers. It even provides tips on how to create your own review site. In Part Two, the authors discuss how reviews are used by different entities such as libraries, authors, book clubs, and readers. Part Three offers an extensive list of resources for anyone who wants to see their reviews published either on the world wide web or in print. Throughout the book, there are little gems of information that can keep reviewers or of trouble. For example, did you know that some electronic review sites have a policy that states if you post a review to that site, you give all rights to that review to the site, which means you no longer own your own work and may not post the same review to other sites. Would you know which popular book sites have policies similar to this?

Readers do not just receive the wisdom and views of the two authors. Other experts in the field (e.g. Maggie Ball, owner and book review editor of The compulsive Reader, and Alex Moore, Editor-in-Chief of Foreword Magazine) are effectively quoted. James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief of Midwest Book Review wrote the extensive forward.

The book is filled with examples that clearly demonstrate how to implement the guidelines. The authors do not shy away from the tough questions, either, but tackle them head on in the same straightforward manner with which they address the fun topics. All reviewers and any reader who depends on reviews for purchasing decisions will find value in this book. I plan to keep The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing on my desk for handy reference. Highly Recommended.

You can find the complete tour schedule for The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing here.

Now it's your turn. Use the comments link below to ask your questions and check back later today for answers. I'll start.