The ramblings part of the journal
Mar. 26th, 2009 09:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reviews_and_ramblingsI really should let not the spur of the moment drives me, but it's the second time that I slept very bad since I had a not nice conversation soon before going sleep. Since I was careless enough to start this thing online, even if then continued in private, if there are people who witnessed to that, please don't make name, I really am not writing this to bring damage to another person, but only since, if I take it inside, it will burst later in a bigger way.
More or less 2 months ago I received a nice review request, and a lot of you know that I really appreciate those. It was from a new author and new publisher, so I was even more glad. Have you notice that I give priority to new authors and publishers? It would easy enough to raise comments on famous authors, but I really think that even the newest author deserves a first chance. I'm not sure but I think that I'm quite alone in doing so, and I believe so since many authors wrote to me telling that I was their "first". And most of the time I already bought the book when they ask a review, it happened only yesterday with two requests, I already had the book.
Anyway when that request arrived I was pretty clear with that author, I said that I didn't buy the book by myself since I believed it was a menages with a woman on the side, and you all know that I don't really like them. The author assured me that it was not and so I accepted the book. I even read it as soon as possible, to give the author as much more visibility near the release date as possible. I started the post giving a warning to the content of the book, specifying that it was not a menages, and received comments, even from the author, saying that many people didn't understand it and was grateful for the warning.
Then nothing for a month; after a month another review site reviewed the same book, starting the post in the same way as me, warning the readers on the content of the book; at that point the author (or the publisher) realized that they were losing readers and took the right measures. All right, two voices are better than one, but now the author is thanking that second review site saying that all started on it. I gently made notice that it was not exactly like that and the author in different comments replied to me that:
1) maybe my review had not so much space or visibility... yes right, that month my LJ had 13.300 single visits when the average for a review site is 3.000/4.000 (those are the standard to be considered "review site"), and the review remained in the front page for a week, I always try to not let them shift on second page for a reason, you know?
2) maybe people didn't read the review since I'm not enough M/M focused (on the contrary of the other review site) and so people didn't understand that it was not a polyamour book... yes, right, if I was more M/M focused I would be a man! I reviewed 1057 books at yesterday and only 20 are M/F and only 73 are menages, and among the menages only 9 with a woman, so 29 books with a woman in 1057 means a 2% of all my reviews.
3) maybe on the other review site the post received more response from people... yes, right, my review received 22 comments from 6 different people, 4 of them not involved directly with me or the author, on the other site it received 16 comments all from reviewers of that site other than 1. 22 comments... yesterday the post in which I featured Allan Hollinghurst, winner of a booker prize, received 17 comments...
So am I taking all this wrong? Should I stick with Man Candy Posts, Gay Romance Movies, and reviews of books that will be read anyway? Should I write reviews in which I say that every book is terrific? Should I ignore a review request from an unknown author and publisher till some other review site spend its time to "taste" it in advance? I know that the answers to all these questions is NO, but authors please, when you send me a book to review could at least take a look at my LJ? NOT ENOUGH M/M FOCUSED?!?!
More or less 2 months ago I received a nice review request, and a lot of you know that I really appreciate those. It was from a new author and new publisher, so I was even more glad. Have you notice that I give priority to new authors and publishers? It would easy enough to raise comments on famous authors, but I really think that even the newest author deserves a first chance. I'm not sure but I think that I'm quite alone in doing so, and I believe so since many authors wrote to me telling that I was their "first". And most of the time I already bought the book when they ask a review, it happened only yesterday with two requests, I already had the book.
Anyway when that request arrived I was pretty clear with that author, I said that I didn't buy the book by myself since I believed it was a menages with a woman on the side, and you all know that I don't really like them. The author assured me that it was not and so I accepted the book. I even read it as soon as possible, to give the author as much more visibility near the release date as possible. I started the post giving a warning to the content of the book, specifying that it was not a menages, and received comments, even from the author, saying that many people didn't understand it and was grateful for the warning.
Then nothing for a month; after a month another review site reviewed the same book, starting the post in the same way as me, warning the readers on the content of the book; at that point the author (or the publisher) realized that they were losing readers and took the right measures. All right, two voices are better than one, but now the author is thanking that second review site saying that all started on it. I gently made notice that it was not exactly like that and the author in different comments replied to me that:
1) maybe my review had not so much space or visibility... yes right, that month my LJ had 13.300 single visits when the average for a review site is 3.000/4.000 (those are the standard to be considered "review site"), and the review remained in the front page for a week, I always try to not let them shift on second page for a reason, you know?
2) maybe people didn't read the review since I'm not enough M/M focused (on the contrary of the other review site) and so people didn't understand that it was not a polyamour book... yes, right, if I was more M/M focused I would be a man! I reviewed 1057 books at yesterday and only 20 are M/F and only 73 are menages, and among the menages only 9 with a woman, so 29 books with a woman in 1057 means a 2% of all my reviews.
3) maybe on the other review site the post received more response from people... yes, right, my review received 22 comments from 6 different people, 4 of them not involved directly with me or the author, on the other site it received 16 comments all from reviewers of that site other than 1. 22 comments... yesterday the post in which I featured Allan Hollinghurst, winner of a booker prize, received 17 comments...
So am I taking all this wrong? Should I stick with Man Candy Posts, Gay Romance Movies, and reviews of books that will be read anyway? Should I write reviews in which I say that every book is terrific? Should I ignore a review request from an unknown author and publisher till some other review site spend its time to "taste" it in advance? I know that the answers to all these questions is NO, but authors please, when you send me a book to review could at least take a look at my LJ? NOT ENOUGH M/M FOCUSED?!?!
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-01 10:09 am (UTC)I didn't say anything on the content of your review, I only stated that both of us made notice to the author that the cover was misleading, and that I made that statement soon after the book was out. If the author was really worried, and gave me a minimum of respect, maybe it wasn't necessary to wait a month to change something, loosing readers and so on.
This is a big world and there is space for more. I for example, focused more on some arguments you on others. So no problem.
Maybe it would be nice that you at least put a small note (about the author at least) when you use photos for your man candy post that you take from me, above all when they are photos that were given to me directly from the photographer and that I posted giving the credit to him, and instead you only listed among all the others, without credit to the author. This is the only thing that I really don't like of your blog, but since it's something not really related to books and similar, I consider this one a minor problem.
Can we all just get along? of course, even since I never started anything against you, not me at least, maybe the author had to be more careful when they denigrated me comparing me to you: and now don't take this as a bad thing or an offense, it's obvious that people compare us, probably we are among the few that devoted to gay romance, I'm only saying that the author didn't take the time to consider their comment before making them.
ETA: I feel the need to add that nor in the post or in the comments I said something against your blog (and instead your "pissing match" comment is not very nice); I was lamenting how the author didn't consider the time I spent for them. I really don't see where you see a "pissing match" here, maybe only on the number of comments the two reviews received, but that was only used to underlight that the author was wrong in their statement. Elisa