A Day in the Life of a Book Reviewer; How a Little Research Can Save You a Ton of Embarrassment!
I had just finished two book reviews by the same the author, sent out my copies to both the author and my e-zine, and printed off my monthly newsletter. I decided to give a copy of my newsletter to a family member before sending them all out in the mail.
First, just let me say in my defense that I usually do not review poetry. But, there is no excuse for not doing a little research before beginning your review. This can save you a major embarrassment!
In my case, I was spared a major embarrassment by a family member who just happened to recognize the subject of my author’s poetry. My author was writing a poetic letter to a person that I just assumed was a fictional character, or was perhaps nature and earth being personified. I was wrong. Had I just googled this person’s name to be sure, I would have easily discovered that this person is an internationally famous writer, poet, and humanitarian.
In any case, I cannot stress enough how important it is to do some background on your author and his/her subject. Ideally, it is best to ask for a media brochure from your author or publisher.
In summary:
Like pulling a band-aid off a scrape, I quickly emailed my author and apologized for my ignorance and lack of research. I have since retracted some of my words in the review and have had to re-print my newsletter before sending it out to my readers; but I would rather find out now that I had made a mistake, than after my audience could see how stupid I am. After all, if only one person could pick out this error, imagine how many other readers more worldly than I, could see this error too?!
(c) Cindy DeJager 2005
For more information on my book review service or articles email cindy@bookreviews411.ca
http://www.bookreviews411.ca
