Policies

The Quarterly Review

What is a Quarterly Review?

I like reviewing the books I read, but I often get to the end of (or decide not to finish) a book, only to feel like I can't give a proper review because all I'm left with is a general feeling of whether I did or didn't like the book. In the course of normal conversation, this wouldn't be a problem; I could easily tell someone, "Yeah, this book was great!" or, "No, it's not that great because ..." and that would work perfectly fine. But star ratings don't really work that simply, and yet they are incredibly important to authors, so I wanted a way to regulate my ratings. Thus, "Quarterly Reviews" were born, reviews written live during the reading process, rather than all at once at the end.
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Well, how's that supposed to work?

While reading a book, I'll stop at the 25%, 50%,  and 75%  marks to write a short paragraph about my impressions so far. I'll include critique of the story, the formatting, the writing, and any other part of the book that has left an impression on me as a reader at that point, and then I'll continue on. At the end of the book (100% finished), I will write a final paragraph that'll include my lasting impressions and my rating of the book as a whole.

What does the rating system look like?

The system is meant to conform to the typical marketplace system, with books being rated from 1-5 stars as follows:

• 1 Star: I didn't like this book at all. Or worse, I hated it or couldn't finish (more than 50% of) it. I'll tell you which it was too, and why.
• 2 Star: I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to. This may be because of errors plentiful enough to be distracting, writing that I feel is sub-par or unprofessional, or a storyline or characters that I simply couldn't relate to. I'm not sure it was worth the time to read it (or the money, if I bought it) ... either way, you know I'll explain my feelings honestly. And hey, at least I finished it!
• 3 Star: Meh. I don't dislike this book ... but I didn't really like it, either. It was ... average.
• 4 Star: I liked it. This book has a good story concept, good characters, good writing, etc.
• 5 Star: I loved this book!! The writing was well done, the characters made me feel, the editing was on point, and the product was well put together. This is the kind of book I'd rave about, and the kind of rating you'll only see on truly exceptional books.

*gasp* If you didn't like a book, WHY are you posting reviews at all? That's not nice! Didn't you ever hear that if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything?? I mean, you're an author too! Don't you get it??

As I've taken this journey to becoming an author and realizing how important reviews are, I've learned that ALL reviews are important, even the unfavorable ones. I appreciate feedback, and I would hope that the authors I review would appreciate feedback, too - even if it isn't always glowing. Besides, if all they wanted was to hear what a genius they were, they should have just showed their mom and stopped there. Even the likes of Diana Gabaldon and J.K. Rowling have bad reviews, and they suck it up. Other authors should, too.

PLEASE NOTE: All book purchase links will be affiliate links. This isn't so that blogging my reviews will make me rich - it's so that blogging my reviews might actually pay for some of these books I'm reading.