So You Want to Be a Book Reviewer
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Always wanted to see your name in print, or been curious about trying your hand at book reviewing? Trying to get published so you've got something to put on your CV/resume? Just want some free books for yourself or your library? On November 5, 2014, two experienced book reviewers with a combined 12 years of reviewing experience provided a practical, tip-filled webinar that will tell you all you need to know about becoming a successful book reviewer, regardless of the type of library you work for. Presenters Barbara Ferrara (Chesterfield County Public Library) and Megan Hodge (Virginia Commonwealth University) have reviewed for the following publications: Library Journal Library Management Library Quarterly LOEX Quarterly NMRT Endnotes NMRT Footnotes School Library Journal Women in Libraries
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- Barbara Ferrara has worked for the Chesterfield County Public Library since 1996 and currently is the manager of the LaPrade Branch Library and regional manager supervising four CCPL branches. She received her MLIS from Drexel University in 1990. She has worked in academic, law, and military libraries and has been a children’s librarian, a cataloger, and manager in public libraries for 21 years. She has served on committees for ALA, PLA and RUSA and is a 2014 VALLA graduate. Barbara has had reviews published in local and in-house publications as well as in School Library Journal, Library Journal and Library Quarterly. Megan Hodge is a Teaching and Learning Librarian at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She earned her Master of Science in Library Science from the University of North Texas in 2010 and is the 2014-2015 President of the ALA New Members Round Table. In 2011, she was an ALA Emerging Leader and co-founded the Virginia New Members Round Table. Megan has written reviews for Library Journal, LOEX Quarterly, Library Management, Women in Libraries, NMRT Endnotes, and NMRT Footnotes.
- If you’re listening to this webinar, we don’t have to sell you on WHY you should review. Book reviews help books get noticed and gain readership and can even enhance credibility. A book review is a critical evaluation of a book. It is more than a summary. They have a very important role in providing information to collection development librarians (aka selectors) in libraries when they allocate resources. If you read reviews, you can probably write them, too, and there are lots of opportunities. So, how can you get started? If you don’t have a particular area of expertise you may want to start internally at your own library by contributing to staff picks or blog or newsletter or locally in a community newspaper or magazine. Goodreads and amazon.com welcome reader reviews, too. The NMRT Endnotes and Footnotes publishes book reviews and may be a good starting place, and the VLA Professional Development Forum includes a book review in their quarterly online meeting. Other publications, such as Library Journal and School Library Journal, will want you to demonstrate some expertise in a field, whether that’s instruction, reference, an academic discipline, a literary genre or in professional writing such as articles or books. Many academic disciplines have specialty publications.
- Finding a publication to review for (there are often guidelines published in the front matter of journals, too) o Watch listservs for calls for reviewers * e.g., NMRT-L (for Endnotes and Footnotes), RUSA-L (for reference publications) o Check journal websites to see if they have info posted on becoming a reviewer * http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/about/review-for-library-journal/?ref=menu * http://units.sla.org/division/ded/instructions.html * http://ftfinfo.wikispaces.com/WIL+Reviews o If there’s an area of particular interest to you—such as instruction—take a look around the library literature and see what journals specialize in that topic. See if those publications 1) publish book reviews and 2) have book review contributor guidelines posted. If not, it’s always worth e-mailing the journal editor asking if you could be added to their book reviewer pool.
- Now that you’ve found a journal you’d like to review for, how do you get them to actually hire you? • Email book review editor with your work info and asking to be added to pool • Application o Writing sample – ensures writing skills are good o Appropriate length = same as typical review AND on topic you’re willing to review for • Demonstrate expertise and qualifications on CV = include bullets on reviewing/editorial work
- How journals manage their book reviews = either get to pick your books, or you don’t o More likely you’ll have autonomy of choice for a publication that only publishes a couple reviews per issue o Some publications will ask that you contact them with potential titles to review • You may be responsible for obtaining own book copies, but this provides greater flexibility in terms of what you review • e.g., NMRT Footnotes o Specialty publications keep running list of books they want reviewed • e.g., LOEX Quarterly, Women in Libraries, Library Management • Either pick from this list or possibly find another book that’s similar (pending editorial approval, of course) o This process too time-consuming for publications with large numbers of reviews • Library Journal, for example, will just send you a book in the mail o HOWEVER-- you can generally work with editor on how frequently you’d like to review books
- First thing: you’ll be assigned an editor who will be your main contact at the journal o Most important thing = follow any instructions they give you • Deadline! * If an emergency comes up and you won’t be able to make that deadline, tell editor ASAP so they can make alternate arrangements to fill that space or possibly extend your deadline. * BUT if you review for a publication like Library Journal where you’re not given any advance notice before receiving a book, let your editor know in advance if you’re going to be unavailable to review because of a conference, instruction season, etc. • Length requirements * Especially publications that publish tons of reviews and don’t have a lot of space to devote to each one * LJ’s reviews are only 175 words, so sending in one with 210 is a big no-no o One of the most helpful things you can do as a new reviewer = check out other reviews published by journal • Model the style and focus of your first reviews • This ought to go without saying: READ THE WHOLE BOOK! * Note-taking styles vary, but Megan likes to take note of quotes that stick out as surprising or questionable while reading * Enables her to go back and review notes after she's done reading to see if her thoughts took any particular themes o Hang onto book until review is published • Creates awkward situation if your editor emails you several weeks or months after deadline with a question about your review, that requires you to refer to the book… o In a nutshell: remember you’re not getting paid to write reviews • If you can’t be bothered to follow instructions and the editor has to clean up after you, you may be deemed more trouble than is worth keeping you
- Additional tips to keep in mind when reviewing nonfiction books in particular o Put on librarian hat and research author and their credentials o Publisher too if it’s not one you’ve heard of before o Bibliography or footnotes? o Bias? o Does it address recent trends (keeping in mind limitations in lengthy monograph publication cycle)? o = exactly how you tell your patrons to evaluate things every day at work The publishing journal will also want to know… o Intended audience of book o Compare this book to others on the same topic o How does this new book add to the scholarly conversation? o Don’t have to go out and read all those books, but look around library catalog or Amazon to see what’s already out there on the topic. Nonfiction subcategory = professional books geared towards librarians/people who do what we do o Most common in publications aimed at particular types of librarians • LOEX Quarterly for instruction librarians • NMRT Endnotes for new librarians • Draw upon experience as that type of librarian • Write in 1st person to talk about how book could’ve been/will be useful o If book isn’t geared towards librarians, tease out which aspects of book are not useful to them • Librarians who teach one-shots, for example
- My process is very similar to Megan’s and I’ll restate two of her main points, which are to read the whole book and follow directions. When reviewing fiction, if I have the time I usually read the book once for overall feeling, then read it again for details. On the second reading I may be dog-earring pages or underlining or drawing arrows on the pages to remind myself of something that is illustrative. As with nonfiction reviews, you will want to include an overall impression of the book. You can give a very brief description of the plot if you are careful to avoid spoilers. What are your observations of the characters? Are they credible? Relatable? Likable? Can you say something about the setting, the theme, the pacing, or the tone? Pacing can be rapid or slow. How does it feel to move through the story? Is the setting well-described? How does the location and time period add to the reading experience? Are they integral? Is it rich in details and background, such as clothing and mannerisms and dialogue. The tone is the atmosphere. Is it light or suspenseful? Is there a moral to the story? Don’t be mean! It’s unprofessional and not helpful. Your opinion will be lost in the hostility. That’s not to say that constructive criticism is not welcomed. Pointing out what makes a work good and bad is important. My suggestion doesn’t mean you should lie if you really didn’t like the book. Be honest and critique the book using positive words and avoiding sarcasm. Today’s debut author may be tomorrow’s bestseller. Two final points, review the book as it is, not what you think it should have been. For example, don’t criticize a book for being one genre if you think it would have worked better as another. It’s not fair to the author to comment on something he or she never intended to do. Finally, don’t overlook the grammar. With an advance reader’s copy there will still be a few typos, but if the writer consistently uses the wrong verb tenses or bad grammar or incorrect words you’ll have to decide if it is an intentional style device or really poor writing. This isn’t likely to happen because they will have been edited, unless you are reviewing something online or that is self-published.
- When reviewing fiction and non-fiction books for children you will want to consider many of the same factors, but there are a few additional considerations. In the case of children’s books, the visual and textual messages can not only influence a young person’s self-image but encourage or discourage a lifelong love of reading. For picture books, your review will describe the text and the illustrations. In both of these, you’ll want to check for stereotypes or uneven treatment of certain groups. For example, are there almost all white children pictured except for a token African American? In the story, who are the passive characters (the girls?) and the doers? Who typically causes the problem and who solves it? Are a group’s achievements based on their intelligence or their looks? Are there negative value judgments implied about unfamiliar cultures. Does the book reinforce or counteract messages about certain skin colors, genders, family types, economic classes or abilities? For example, in the mid-90’s I reviewed a juvenile biography series and one of the volumes that was sent as a sample had to do with Christopher Columbus. It was an update of an earlier edition and had quite a few pictures of happy Indians welcoming the invaders to the New World, and the illustrations looked very dated in style, too. This observation led me to check the artwork in the other volumes I had and was included in the review. Just as with adult books, the credibility of the author is relevant. What is it about the author that recommends them as the writer or illustrator of this book? Are sources and links current? Does the author select good words for the age audience and avoid offensive overtones. Not everything has to be politically correct, but if you consider the context in which a word is used and whether alternatives are available (firefighter instead of fireman) you are providing the review reader with valuable information. Neither of us have written reviews for young adult or teen materials, so if that is your interest you may want to check out recent published reviews for that age group to see if any other factors are addressed.
- Check journal websites to see if they have info posted on becoming a reviewer. For example: o Library Journal: http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/about/review-for-library-journal/?ref=menu o Education Libraries: http://units.sla.org/division/ded/instructions.html o School Library Journal: http://www.slj.com/about-us/guidelines-and-application-for-reviewers/ o Virginia Libraries: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/VALib/submission.html o Women in Libraries: http://ftfinfo.wikispaces.com/WIL+Reviews