Blog Book Reviews

Hello readers!
I just wanted to post a quick notice just to clear some things up as I strive through my 2014 Reading Challenge. As you may know I set out to read 30 books in the year of 2014. So far I've not read as fast as I'd hoped but I'm hoping to still complete the challenge on time. That said, I often review the books I read when I'm done with them however I just wanted to state that I do not post reviews for all of these books. There are multiple reasons for this for example, how does one review a classic? Especially when you've nothing new to say it seems silly to review it. It'd just be a post that read "People said it was good and it was good."


Similarly I've read books that friends or professional acquaintances of mine have read like the workds of fellow Grist author William Thirsk Gaskill or previous mentor Simon Crump. Soon I shall also read a book written by the man who was the editor of my book. I find it very hard to honestly critique the work of your peers: firstly, if you didn't like their book how would you ever go about saying so? Or if you had praise for them, they may think that you're only giving praise because you know them and wish to spare their feelings. Thankfully the books written by the people I know are splendid but it's a situation altogether that I'd really rather avoid.

I'm reading (and reviewing where possible) as fast as I can.
Please be patient with me - I'm not the fastest reader and simply can't review every book but I'm trying to do as much as possible.

Many thanks,
Gabrielle.

Publishing Scams: Writers Beware!

Any legitimate publisher won't charge you any sort of publishing fees. If they try to, back away automatically. Having an agent in these situations can be beneficial but not everyone does, especially first time writers. If a publisher charges it's either a scam or this is vanity press. Consider how the industry works: legitimate publishing companies want your books. They want good material and so they will strike a deal because they want it and believe in the project. Vanity publishers will often rely on new writers due to their enthusiasm and lack of experience in the publishing world. Believe them and you may find yourself totally ripped off.


Before applying or sending work off to any publisher or agency you should do research to ensure the good reputation of the agency in advance. Another good thing to do would be to seek or have contact with a good literary agent who can advise you through the process and maybe hook you up with appropriate potential publishers. Be careful when sending off your work. If you've put a lot of work into writing a book then you owe it to yourself to put it into the best possible hands.

Read about the experience one writer had with vanity press by clicking here.