Getting reviewers to review your book is becoming more and more difficult as the traditional venues for reviewing are drying up. For me, it's odd coming out with a book because the map has changed so much since I began my writing career. I've published eight books over the past twenty years and I remember that my first little book, with a print run of 500 or so, seems to have had an easier time garnering reviews. That's not to say that my new book has fallen into a black hole. Not at all. It's had a lot of radio attention and some good internet attention but the reviews have been slow in coming. It's always odd, too, to write a book that takes anywhere from two to five years and to watch a reviewer or passing commentator on a blog complain that you haven't written the book they wanted you to write. Flannery O'Connor once wrote that if you receive any attention at all as a writer you will one day receive a letter from "Some inmate of the state penitentiary or an old lady in California telling you where you failed to meet their needs." Amen. But thankfully, there are still smart reviewers out there. I received a wonderful review in The Chicago Tribune today, wonderful not only because it was positive but also because it was smart. Contrast Brian Bouldrey's review in the Trib with a silly little review I received a little while ago in the Columbus Post Dispatch. Well, it comes with the territory . . . At least, Flannery O'Connor prepared me.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/booksmags/chi-0718-books-do-overjul18,0,5934153.story
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2009/07/05/2_HEMLEY_BOOK.ART_ART_07-05-09_E3_O6EB2LO.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment