Review Group discussion
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1. DO I HAVE TO BUY THE BOOK I'M REVIEWING?
No. That wouldn't be fair because of the disparity in pricing. For instance, one person may be selling their novel for ninety-nine cents, while another is selling theirs for fourteen dollars and ninety nine cents.
The author whose work is being reviewed is responsible for providing a free copy of their work to the person reviewing it. The reviewer has first choice of format, but at the least a PDF should be made available.
Check the group thread you have signed up for, and find the four people who are reviewing your book. Contact them via their author page. Giving them your email address format preference although you have to accept PDF if that is all they have. Don not post your email on the group thread. It is an open forum.
Each group starts a week ( more or less) after the tenth member signs up. The first week is for getting the books to each other. If you do not receive the book you are meant to be reviewing for a particular round by the start date, move on to the next so you don't fall behind.
2. WHERE DO I POST REVIEWS?
Reviews should be posted to goodreads and amazon.com and .uk.
The author may request the review be posted to other sites and this is fine, although the reviewer is not obliged to.
* How exactly do I write a review on Goodreads? Amazon?
For Goodreads:
1. Enter the relevant information in the "Title / Author / ISBN" search box at top center of your screen;
2. Click on the magnifying glass icon;
3. When the list of books comes up, select the book by clicking on its link;
4. Click the "add to my books" button beneath the icon for the book (right under the stars);
5. Select the number of stars you plan to give the book as a rating, then enter your review text and select the date you finished reading the book.
(Note: Please be sure to check the box to hide your review if it contains spoilers!);
6. click the "save" button (or else "preview" if you'd like to see a preview before saving.
For Amazon:
1. Log in to your account at Amazon;
2. Search by title, author, or ISBN;
3. Click on the hyperlink for the book;
4. Beneath the title and author's name, you'll see a few stars and a hyperlink in parentheses reading "n customer reviews";
5. Click on the customer reviews link;
6. At the "Customer Reviews" Amazon page, click the "Create your own review" button.
7. If you want to be particularly helpful to the author, you might consider clicking Like and agreeing with the tags. This increases the chances of readers finding our books when they search.
Note: If you compose a plain-text version of your review and save it in a special folder, it's easy for you simply to copy and paste into the review text boxes described above. Also, if you create a title, you'll have it ready and consistent across all sites that require titles for reviews --
Amazon does, while Goodreads doesn't.
When you have posted your reviews to the sites, copy the links to the gruop thread so your mod can tick them off their 'done' list. Just have a look at some of the current groups to see the general format used.
3. WHAT DO I DO WHEN I HAVE FINISHED POSTING MY REVIEW?
Move on to the next, there may be a time limit for completing all four reviews, but you can complete them any time after the start date and before the end date.
4. CAN I JOIN MORE THAN ONE REVIEW ROUND?
Please join just one group to begin with. Once you have completed the reviews for that group, feel free to put your name down for another one, if there is one open. This is to prevent the very small minority of people who have signed up to multiple groups and not completed their reviews.
Once you are an established member, you are very welcome to join more than one group bearing in mind the reciprocal review rule and the first come first served policy for group allocation.
4. WHAT HAPPENS IF I CAN'T FINISH MY REVIEWS BEFORE THE GROUP ENDS?
If you have a legitimate reason, try contacting the author you are reviewing: explain the difficulty and try to come to an arrangement. Most of us are quite empathetic as we’ve all had to overcome difficulties at some point in our lives. IF YOU COME TO AN ARRANGEMENT: TELL THE MOD.
If it is your intention to pull out of the Group entirely, remember it is your fellow Group members you are letting down. The mods will not make any attempt to replace you. Hopefully you or the others in the Group will be able to find someone to take over. If not, some of the Group members will miss out on the reviews you should have done. They will have the option of withdrawing reviews of your work if they feel strongly about your actions, and you will be blacklisted from joining another group. So think carefully about what you are committing to, before you sign up.
5. WHAT DO I DO IF I AM ASSIGNED TO REVIEW AN AUTHOR I HAVE ALREADY REVIEWED?
this is fine, as long as it is a different book.
6.WHAT IF I HAVE PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED MY REVIEWER?
In the context of the group, this is not allowed, under the reciprocal review rule. The swap will be flagged up on the system, but please be honest when you are signing up for a group, it makes the whole process far easier.
7. CAN I PARTICIPATE WITH AN UNFINISHED WORK IN PROGRESS?
Unfortunately, no. This group is geared toward Indie/SP works that are complete and already published and available for purchase or free download at Amazon and other online booksellers.
A critique section may be introduced at a later date.
8.CAN I REQUEST A REVIEW FROM THE GROUP WITHOUT PARTICIPATING IN A REVIEW GROUP?
No. The whole aim of this group is to pay the gesture of reviewing forward to a writer who will never review your work as a part of this group. Later, when both authors are no longer part of the group, of course they may do whatever they wish.
9. DO I HAVE TO FINISH A BOOK TO REVIEW IT?
Yes, its only fair right?
10. DO I HAVE TO BE THE BOOK'S AUTHOR TO JOIN A REVIEW ROUND?
No, but you do have to have access to review copies and the permission of the author. We have had friends and family members participating on behalf of an author, as well as the occasional editor.
11. DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN A REVIEW ROUND TO BE PART OF THE GROUP?
Absolutely not. There's plenty going on in the discussion threads, so join in and have some fun. You can leave joining a reviewing group until you feel ready.
12. CAN I REVIEW IF I AM NOT PART OF A GROUP?
Its up to the author of the book you are interested in, although I can't imagine any author refusing a genuine and enthusiastic reviewer, get in touch via their goodreads page if you are interested.
13. WHAT HAPPENS IF I AM MISSING A REVIEW AFTER THE GROUP FINISHES?
Firstly check with your reviewer and your mod to see if there is merely a delay.
if your reviewer is genuinely AWOL, you can place your book on the new 'One by one' review thread without having to review another author's book first. However, there is no guarantee anyone will pick your book to review.