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Sunoasis X 2006 V3 Issue 6
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David Eide
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Jun 30, 2006 19:47 PDT
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S U N O A S I S X 2 0 0 6
Volume 3 Issue 6
June 2006
"I never read a book before
reviewing it; it prejudices a man so."
- Sidney Smith
_____________________T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
1) [Editor Notes- The Writer as Reviewer; Writer as Reviewed]
2) [Resources]
3) [Job Lead - Markets: Ethnic and Minority publications]
4) [C/Oasis - Three new stories, book reviews]
5) [Community - Writer Conferences]
http://www.sunoasis.com/sunoasisblog.html
Switch to the online version right now!
http://www.sunoasis.com/honor.html
I'm not charging for subscriptions but if the spirit
moves you please use the Amazon Honor System. Thanks.
Enjoy this issue! Forward any comments to:
eide-@earthlink.net
__________________E D I T O R N O T E S
Sunoasis continues its long climb up to respectability.
I was contacted by a publicist for the Carnegie Mellon
University Press asking if I would review two new books
of fiction they are publishing. If Sunoasis has that much
credibility with a decent university I couldn't say
anything but yes.
http://www.sunoasis.com/bookreviews.html
Those reviews are here if you're interested.
Reviewing is both an intelligent act and one useful in the
marketing side of the writing business. The writer is a
reviewer but there comes a time when she wants to be reviewed.
The reviewer's job is simply to experience the work as best
she can and then write honestly about what "comes up."
Do that fairly, honestly, with intelligence, and you can
be a decent reviewer.
Reviewing often has a reputation as being a slightly corrupt
enterprise, especially in old literary cultures like Great
Britain. But in America, where everyone is slightly naive
and democratic, the reviews tend to be earnest and sincere.
In America the attitude is, "will this book make me do what
I want to do better?"
There is hardly any opinion about the literary merits of
a book.
Just as in writing the admonition is to read and read more,
so too with reviewing it is necessary to read that which
fascinates you and then go review books written on subjects
that fascinate.
Editors run reviews because they see it as part of the
journalistic function to separate the wheat from the chaff.
The editor also knows that people hate making decisions and
want other people to do it for them.
According to Scott Pack, writing in the Bookseller, "Book
reviews should inspire reading. They should excite,
stimulate, agitate and empower readers to discover new books
and avoid bad ones. They should turn you on to undiscovered
authors, prompt you into finally reading the writer you have
never quite got round to, and make you wonder at the world
of delights that remain unread."
Who needs book reviews? How about academics, students,
consumers, people who read for pleasure, parents,
professionals in technical arenas, and certainly librarians.
First law of the reviewer: "Trust the tale not the
tale-teller."
Book reviewing is one of the keystones that holds the
literary system together. It necessitates a kind of rare
honesty. After reading a reviewer do a hatchet job on some
poor guy's work you think more about what is wrong with
the reviewer than with the work under review.
Y e a h, b u t i s n ' t r e v i e w i n g d e a d ?
In the past reviewers have made a decent living in
large-circulation publications such as newspapers and
magazines. As with many other aspects of the literary system
traditional reviewing is being challenged by the internet.
"Book criticism is an increasingly endangered beat in a
chain-dominated newspaper industry," says Kevin Berger of
Slate. "Its pleasures are too quirky and cerebral to fit
newspapers' marketing formulas."
Reviewing, in my opinion, is a professional obligation.
Poets should review poets, novelists should review novelists,
journalists should review books that journalists write.
Lawyers should review books written by lawyers, school
superintendents should review books by school superintendents
and on down the line.
In doing so the professional or knowledgeable amateur
undercuts the vapid press release that undermines the
credibility of language. Book reviews build up a credible
foundation that is useful to many types of people.
We all know the internet is a great catalyst for change. It
has two large impacts on book reviewing. One is the tsunami
of information that people can tap into and get substantial
opinions about books, beliefs, ballet and everything else. Why
one opinion about a book? Why not a dozen from both known and
obscure sources?
And people chat on the beast. They discuss and recommend.
If you are in a community of chatters, a recommendation can
sometimes be more potent than a review.
Damian Horner, a freelance marketing consultant, has termed
it a new "recommendation model." He points out the arrival
of focus groups, bloggers, and reading groups playing a role
in the new reviewing game.
Look no further than that strange, awesome beast Amazon.com,
which quickly seized on the advantages of the Net by
allowing readers to post reviews of books. This practice has
had its share of scandals. And as a guy who buys books from
Amazon I can attest to how powerful a real good or a real
bad review plays on the decision to buy. Reviews are now
the property of all the communities on the internet and go
far beyond specific publications.
Reviews are not going away.
Resources to consult:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/
Reviews of Books runs original reviews and links to reviews
of specific books from other review sites.
http://www.newpages.com/NPGuides/reviews.htm
This is an extensive resource into publications that review
books. I recommend it!
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Despite changes don't write off the review game as irrelevant.
There are plenty of powerful publications that wield clout with
readers that include books-buyers from Barnes and Noble,
Borders and libraries.
A quintessential goal for the writer is to get her book
reviewed!
A review will vault your book over thousands of others that
go unreviewed. It is a central part of the marketing plan.
It's a complicated game. Here are some tips on building your
odds of success in this area. I am not an expert but I have
consulted a few. They are credited at the end.
S o m e E a s y T i p s F r o m T h e E x p e r t s
* Start early. Put it on the planning list. If you have an
in-house publicist make sure you stay on top of where she is
trying to get the book reviewed. Start thinking about
reviewers six-months before the book is published.
* Develop a solid list of reviewers and especially look to
see if your book has a unique audience and connect to all
publications that share that audience.
* Don't stop looking for reviewers. Keep assuming that your
work hasn't found all its potential audience.
* Don't limit yourself to the traditional print-review
sources. Consider radio and television shows and internet
review sites with their more flexible lead times.
* You can't force anything. Think small, think niche.
* Include all personal information plus the publication date
for the book in a cover letter or as part of a media kit.
* If you get any decent comments from the advanced copy reviews
use them in all other post-pub reviews.
* Request a clipping of the review from the reviewer.
* Don't send a reviewer a shabby copy. Get the production
value to, at least, normal standards for the book industry.
* Make sure your book fits the format norms for the market
segment. For example, most general fiction reviews are for
hard cover only. So, if you have a trade paper original it
may hamper your ability to be reviewed.
Sources:
The Book-Review Game by Bharti Kirchner in Writer Magazine,
October, 2005.
The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Tom and Marilyn
Ross, Writer's Digest Book, pp. 225-228
[ CODA ]
David Sexton, in The Evening Standard (U.K.), makes the point
that, "in private life, nobody sane reads all books
through."
According to Sexton when Dr. Samuel Johnson was given a book
to read by a clergyman he is alleged to have said, "A book
may be good for nothing; or there may be only one thing in
it worth knowing; are we to read it all through?"
The book reviewer has the obligation, however, to do the
deed on behalf of the reading public who remain short on
time and/or money.
So obey the simple rule of Evelyn Waugh and never review a
book you didn't actually read!
Directory of Review Sources:
http://www.literarymarketplace.com/lmp/us/index_us.asp
Literary Market Place: Lists everything you need.
http://tinyurl.com/ll3hb
Library Journal
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Publisher's Weekly
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/index.jsp
Kirkus Reviews
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/index.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
New York Times
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/index.asp?publication=slj
School Library Journal
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/choice/home.htm
Choice:
http://tinyurl.com/nx7wb
Booklist
http://www.dustbooks.com/sprinfo.htm
Small Press Review
_________________________________R E S O U R C E N O T E S
http://www.usd.edu/~khackeme/guides/reviewgd.html
Writing Good Book Reviews
http://www.writing-world.com/freelance/asenjo.shtml
How to write a book review
http://www.well.com/~ladyhawk/bookrevs.html
How to write a decent book review
http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Literature/Reviews/
Places that review books.
http://www.writing-world.com/selfpub/reviews.shtml
Getting your book reviewed.
http://www.soe.usfca.edu/institutes/icel/forum-bookreview.html
A guide to writing a book review
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_________________B U S I N E S S O F W R I T I N G
http://tinyurl.com/q567t
Blogging continues to influence newspapers. "Williams said
publishers can no longer just concentrate on what he calls
"inside-out" information flow, where stories are composed
entirely internally and then pushed to an audience.
Participation and feedback should be welcomed and expected,
he said." The mainstream is just now understanding that the
Net is a new publishing system. I suspect long-time
subscribers of Sunoasis have known that for awhile.
http://tinyurl.com/zdboc
(Pay-for-view article)
Another discourse on the impact of digital publishing. It's
not a zero-sum game at all. I think more than a few writers
will abscond with their talents, make websites with a portion
of those talents and then make solid print-on-demand hard
copies for readers who, like myself, read books. A writer
should approach all of this as a grand adventure, with risks,
that permit him or her to actively participate in their own
writing life. I would not want to read War and Peace on the
computer. But, I would (and have) read The Odes of Horace on
a screen. I love reading my own stuff online. It wouldn't
bother me to see it in print, with a nicely designed
cover and hard-bound. But I know I can do that if I want.
Digital publishing is about ownership, plain and simple.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1790651,00.html
Jeff Jarvis analyzes the future of the book. It's not good
he says. He makes several excellent, correct assumptions.
First of all, it's the content that makes the book, not the
cover, binding, paper, and typography. All of those enhance
a book but the essence is the content between the covers.
The economics don't favor the book. The new habits among the
young don't favor the book. There are severe problems
however. One is protecting the rights of the author,
including the right to get paid. There will be no seamless
continuity between these forms.
http://tinyurl.com/rca6z
A maverick publishes his own books and makes an acute
observation. "Tired of the modern publishing-house system
that he figures is only looking to make a quick buck off its
writers, Livingstone has gone the self-publishing route and
purged his vast catalogue." What this wonderful writer does
is introduce the wisdom of a writing life. Is the publishing
system going to invest in your writing life? Think hard and
twice about it.
http://tinyurl.com/m7nf6
Yes, they are still arguing about print vs. digital. Let
the future take care of itself. This impressive panel agreed
on one thing. When a excellent portable reading device comes
into play, print is in grave danger.
http://tinyurl.com/rxfxv
But is the threat to print and newspapers, especially, a
threat to democracy? No. The low levels of literacy in a
"super-power" such as this is a threat to democracy.
______________W R I T I N G O R G A N I Z A T I O N S
http://www.berry.edu/ajha/
American Journalism Historians Association
http://www.asascreenwriters.com/
American Screenwriters Association
http://www.mediainfocenter.org/
Media Info Center
http://www.mediabloggers.org/
Media Bloggers Association
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/
Nieman Foundation for Journalism
There are many more links to writing organizations here:
http://www.sunoasis.com/newmanna.html
____________________J O B L E A D S A N D M A R K E T S
GUIDELINE and CONTACT INFORMATION ABOUT:
Ethnic and Minority Publications:
http://tinyurl.com/odozq
Essence
http://www.nativepeoples.com/about/editorial.php
Native People's Magazine
http://www.germanlife.com/submissions.html
German Life
http://www.atlantatribune.com/writerguidelines.html
Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine, for African-American business
http://www.aiamagazine.com/guidelines.htm
American Indian Art Magazine
http://www.celticheritage.ns.ca/whoweare.htm
Celtic Heritage Magazine
http://www.filipinasmag.com/contactus.html
Filipinas Magazine
http://www.ou.org/publications/ja/images/guidelines.htm
Jewish Action
For more guidelines go here:
http://www.sunoasis.com/sunoasismarkets.html
___________________________________________________________
C / O A S I S
http://www.sunoasis.com/ithappenedlondon.html
IT HAPPENED ONE COLD, RAINY DAY IN LONDON by Roy A. Barnes
"Love has many prices. One of them is accepting the
imperfections of the person, place, or thing that has
found its way into your heart. The sum of my love of
the many geographical twists and turns that make
London what it is, is made more complicated by my
uncanny ability to get lost when blazing a new trail
for myself and anyone with me."
___________________________________________________________
http://www.sunoasis.com/diva.html
DIVA by Elizabeth Varadan
"It’ll be nice to see my grandbabies," Renee chattered
nervously. Since they’d left the bus depot the taxi driver
had only made noncommittal grunts to her comments.
"Six months old," said Renee. "Twins. A boy and a girl."
Rose had sent her a picture with the birth announcement.
They both had shocks of dark hair like her daughter’s above
their wrinkled faces.
___________________________________________________________
http://www.sunoasis.com/ontherocksstory.html
On The Rocks by Liam Rands
"Are all bodies this heavy?" Brad asked. He struggled to
maintain his grip around Wayne’s thick legs.
"He’s a dead weight alright." Todd chuckled. He looked
down at the overweight man they carried between them. "It’s
all those chocolate cookies the kids in his class
make for him. They stick like lead to his waist."
_________________________________________C O M M U N I T Y
http://tinyurl.com/rb6lv
New York State Summer Writers' Institute
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
July 3 - July 28, 2006
http://www.pnwa.org
Pacific Northwest Writers Association
Annual Summer Conference
Seattle Airport Hilton
Seattle, WA
July 13- July 16, 2006
http://www.sewaneewriters.org
Sewanne Writers' Conference
The University of the South
Sewanee, TN
July 18- July 30, 2006
http://www.squawvalleywriters.org
Squaw Valley Community of Writers
Olympic Valley, CA
July 22- July 29, 2006 (for poetry)
August 5 - August 12, 2006
http://www.writingtheregion.com
Writing The Region-
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Writers Workshop
Gainesville, FL
July 26- July 30, 2006
http://www.imagejournal.org/glen/06/
The Glen Workshop
Seattle, WA
July 30 - August 5, 2006
http://www.glcc.org
Green Lake Writers Conference
Green Lake, WI
August 5- August 12, 2006
http://www.goucher.edu/cnf
Mid-Atlantic Creative Nonfiction Writers' Conference
Goucher College
Baltimore, MD
August 9- August 14, 2006
http://www.middlebury.edu/blwc
Bread Loaf Writers' Conference
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT
August 16 - August 27, 2006
_______________________________________E T C/ E T C/ E T C
Editor/Publisher: David Eide
E-Mail: <mailto:eide-@earthlink.net>
Sunoasis X 2006 is fully protected by copyright.
Please ask permission if you are going to use any or
all of this publication.
Reprint rights belong to the authors.
Contact them if you wish to use their material.
Unauthorized use of any material is strictly
forbidden.
Our hope is that we can help and enhance the world
of writing, publishing, and editing.
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