Thursday, November 12, 2009

You Don't Hate Me! You Really, Really Don't Hate Me!!

Do good reviews matter? If one's first book sold few copies, but received excellent reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, and others, will a publisher take that into consideration when deciding whether to offer a contract for a second book?
Yes. As long as we're in agreement about what "excellent" means.

I know some authors who think the world is ready to crack open and give them an oyster the size of Hong Kong if a reviewer simply refrains from impaling their book on a bloody spike.

Most really glowing reviews are starred reviews, and that's what really makes a difference to how ready I am to overlook bad sales history.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you define "bad sales history"? I've often heard that picture books don't earn out their advances. So is that a "bad sales history"? I'm clear on best-seller status but what differentiates an "acceptable" sales history from "bad"?

Also, can you go over expectations for how quickly a book should earn out? Granted this depends on the advance and print run, I know, but generally is it within a year? More?

And are there different expectations for a picture books vs. middle grade or YA?

Thanks so much!

Literaticat said...

I know some authors who think the world is ready to crack open and give them an oyster the size of Hong Kong if a reviewer simply refrains from impaling their book on a bloody spike.

I find that the reverse is quite often true. The (brilliant darling wonderful) authors that I know tend to find the one teensy sentence fragment that is "bad" in an otherwise glowing/starred review, commit the words to memory and worry them like unholy prayer beads.

Authors are kooky and neurotic. Love them, though!

Melinda Szymanik said...

Getting reviewed at all can seem like winning the lottery. A starred review? - I've died and gone to heaven.

Sadly its possible to have a great book that never gets reviewed and doesn't sell

Editorial Anonymous said...

Very true, Lit. I do think the behavior you mention is more common. And it's unhealthy, but not quite as unhealthy as thinking EVERYTHING is praise.

Anonymous said...

It really is hard, particularly for a first time author, to know how to take reviews. And often an author has other people in her life winding her up about reviews that are now accessible to anyone on the internet. I found it particularly helpful in my debut year to have an editor who forwarded my reviews with comments. "You rock!" when they were good, or when they were mixed, "this person really doesn't get your book, don't worry about it," or "let's think about this criticism as we work on our next project."

Just that little bit of support helped me put them in perspective and be less obsessive about them.

Kimberly Joy Peters said...

What about moderate sales with a small publisher (on a small marketing budget) vs. small sales with a big publisher (with a big marketing budget). Does any of that matter, or is it strictly numbers?

Anonymous said...

EdAnon: "Most really glowing reviews are starred reviews, and that's what really makes a difference to how ready I am to overlook bad sales history"

Not necessarily. I've seen stars next to decidedly mixed reviews, and truly glowing reviews for books that weren't starred. The latter seems more common with offbeat books from small presses.

And Kimberly, I think the small press where you had moderate sales--or at least sold above expectations--will be glad to have you back.

Unknown said...

Banned complain !! Complaining only causes life and mind become more severe. Enjoy the rhythm of the problems faced. No matter ga life, not a problem not learn, so enjoy it :)


Obat Penyakit Jnatung
Penyebab TBC Kelenjar
Obat Gatal Bibir Vagina
Cara Mengobati Vitiligol
Pengobatan Infeksi Jantung

Assignment Help said...

Thanks for sharing valuable Information.
Engineering Assignment Help

Slot said...

ได้แค่ไหน
ambbet

ทดลอง เล่น เกม pg slot said...

ทดลอง เล่น เกม pg slot คุ้มไหมถ้าเกิดจะวางเดิมพัน PG SLOT ไม่ต้องวิตกกังวลอีกต่อไปด้วยเหตุว่าพวกเรามีบริการ ทดสอบเล่นสล็อตพีจี โดยที่ไม่ต้องเสียเงินเสียทองก็สามารถเล่นได้

Pgslot แหล่งรวมสล็อตสุดฮิต said...

pg slot game vip เกมสล็อตออนไลน์ถ้าเกิดให้เอ๋ยถึงใน PG SLOT ในตอนนี้จะต้องบอกเลยว่า แล้วก็ ยังเป็นเพียงแต่ค่ายเดียว สามารถเล่นได้บนคอมพิวเตอร์แท็ปเล็ตโทรศัพท์มือถือรองรับ

เกมส์ สล็อต PG said...

Nemoslot คืออะไร เป็นเรื่องที่สนุกและน่าตื่นเต้นมาก เว็บตรงซึ่งเป็นเกมสล็อตออนไลน์ที่มีความนิยมอย่างมากในขณะนี้ หากคุณต้องการเข้าร่วมการเล่น PG SLOT

ทดลอง เล่น สล็อตxo said...

เว็บ สล็อต ตรง ยุคนี้มีมากมายให้เลือกเล่น ทั้งเกมเเละค่ายเกม หลายหลายสไตท์ เป็นช่องทางการทำเงินแบบง่ายๆไม่เสียเวลามากแค่ใช้เวลาว่างในแต่ละวันเล่น pg slot จะแนะนำให้รู้จัก

pg slot said...

รีวิว PGDragon ถ้าหากว่าคุณเป็นนักเล่นเกมออนไลน์คนหนึ่ง อัตราคุณคงไม่พลาดที่จะรู้จักกับชื่อ pgdragon เกมใหม่ชื่อนี้ได้เป็นที่รู้จักกันอย่างกว้างขวางในวงการเกม PG SLOTออนไลน์

Hadassah said...

Wow, incredible blog format! Your site is fantastic. Unique style, great job

Katherine said...

I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of this website. I also love the blog Thanks

Arellano said...

Fantastic!! You put very helpful information here with us. Thanks a lot!

Delarosa said...

Your data was very informative and helpful for us. Keep writing like this!

Mauricio said...

I read few blog posts on this website Keep up the good work. Cheerssss