When Reviews Are Negative (Or Worse)

I almost never blog about reviews (especially poor ones). Truth is, I try not to read reviews very often. Every once in a while a top reviewer who requested a book copy will let me know they posted a review and I will go out and read it. But while I’m there, I can’t help […]

 

One-Star Reviews Don’t Suck

Until midway through last year I had an unpleasant reaction to one-star reviews. Partly it was because, being a newer author, I had not received any. So the first one stung. The next one was worse, not because of the review, but because more than one meant the first one wasn’t a mistake. As writers […]

 

Book Awards: Are They Really All That?

As independent (more importantly, somewhat—or totally—Unknown) authors, one of the first questions we must always ask ourselves whether it be a blog or an interview or a promo is “does this increase, in a significant and long-lasting way, my visibility and my notoriety (you’d hope in a promo the answer would be “yes”, at least […]

 

All For One, One For All: Not Just A Cliché

My first non-fiction book on writing is blog-touring for a couple of weeks, so I felt it was fitting to also post said blog here, in my own personal space, exactly as (hopefully) printed on the other sites. I hope you writers out there read this. I wrote this book for YOU. I don’t know […]

 

Even The Mighty Smaug Had A Weak Underbelly

My magnum opus received a rejection today, not for publication, but rather, that it was not qualified for a review by any “reviewers” on the website “The New Podler Review of Books: Small Press and self-published books worth reading”. Now I don’t remember ever submitting a review request to this site, although it’s possible. I […]

 

Should Writers Review Writers?

On March 9, 2013, in Book Reviews, New Books, Opinion, by rsguthrie

Since I first started meeting up with my fellow author crowd online, a conundrum of epic proportion began to formulate itself right on my doorstep. Other authors began to ask me to review their books. Publicly, I mean. Go out on Amazon and rate the book, say what I felt about it. Uh-oh. Well, at […]

 

Scuds: Writers Who Use Reviews To Hurt Other Writers

On September 8, 2012, in Amanda Hocking, Book Reviews, Opinion, Reviewers, by rsguthrie

I was never that big a believer in the “One Hit Wonder” as a necessarily deliberate act to sabotage another author’s work. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. If there’s anything in this world that you think never happens (aside from Republicans voting for Obama on anything), I’d at least suggest you take another look […]

 

Can A Hero Be Someone Who Terrifies You?

On August 31, 2012, in Book Reviews, Great Reads, Indie Authors, LOUIS C.K., Reviewers, by rsguthrie

So a few weeks ago I received a review from Russell Blake, an author whom I’ve admired quite a lot since jumping into this Indie swamp so many of us find ourselves treading in these days. One of the primary reasons I always admired him, I must say, is that he maintains this rebellious and […]

 

A Book Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie)

On August 16, 2012, in Book Reviews, by rsguthrie

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie My rating: 5 of 5 stars I am a huge Alexie fan, having read most of his books. Ironically I discovered him because of the Indie movie “Smoke Signals”, based on the interwoven short stories in the collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight […]

 

Two Badges, Wyoming, Joe Namath, A Magnum Opus – Can You Actually Resist?

On July 6, 2012, in Book Release, Book Reviews, Indie Authors, New Books, by rsguthrie

I’ve been writing this novel, a tribute to my home town that has been (literar-ily) dying to get out of me, off and on for three years. It sounds like a bad love affair. It’s not, I promise. But then something happened within days of my magnum opus’ release: My first bouncing baby book, Black […]