Comments on: Are Prepub Reviews Irrelevant?

By: Michael Cogdill

Michael Cogdill — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:52:51 +0000

Seems in these times of traditional media collapse, an Amazon review perhaps carries a weight once reserved for the likes of P.W. Anyone agree?

By: Don Lafferty

Don Lafferty — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:17:48 +0000

I make a living helping authors and publishers find their readers, so waiting for the Kirkus review has become one of the milestones of our prepub buzz-building schedule. Double-edged to be sure, but a known commodity in a world where online reviews have become diluted by host of underlying motivations and undisclosed connections.

This past 18 months has witnessed an overall devastation of the book review market, as traditional media outlets trimmed staff and freelance hires for work related to the arts in general.

Fortunately, credible early review programs in communities like Goodreads and LibraryThing have already become important facets of our prepub effort. The programs have been crafted to encourage transparency, reliability and quality, so as credible book reviewers emerge in these places, their impact has the ability to partially plug the gap left by Kirkus.

Review blogs too will naturally be held to a higher standard now as they jocky for position to fill the gap. I can tell you from a publicists perspective, that now more than ever, ranking book review bloggers – by genre, by timeliness, by quality, by transparency and by consistency – is something I would LOVE to see come from a mainstream publication like Publisher’s Weekly.

By: “If the book is a disappointment, [booksellers] can simply return it.” « Florida Writers Association Blog

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:21:08 +0000

[...] 2009 December 16 by Chris Hamilton The title is a nugget buried in a blog post in Publishing Perspectives, a newsletter about the global publishing community. The post is speaking about the demise of [...]

By: novelist

novelist — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:37:28 +0000

As a novelist who has been reviewed by Kirkus and PW each time out, my experience has been that Kirkus reviews were not only peevish and weirdly personal, always written as if there was a hidden agenda just below the surface, but also — they were often wildly inaccurate. Even the praising reviews felt strangely hostile.

By: On Kirkus and Pre-Pub Reviews « SONYA CHUNG

On Kirkus and Pre-Pub Reviews « SONYA CHUNG — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:30:35 +0000

[...] In light of the recent announcement that Kirkus Reviews will close down, some wonder whether the pre-pub review is even useful or relevant anymore. Here’s a post at publishingperspectives.com. [...]

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:29:26 +0000

To say that “booksellers, these days, typically get the books just early as the pre-pub review outlets and are just as likely to have read a books by the time the prepub review comes out” is ridiculous. Kirkus has about 60 people who review children’s/YA books plus however many review books for adults. No bookseller matches that. As to bloggers replacing professional reviewers, I review children’s books for Kirkus (and I don’t think I’ve written a vicious review in my life). I’ve been a children’s librarian for 25 years, reviewed for different publications for 20 years, served on Newbery and Caldecott, and written guides to children’s books. I teach graduate children’s and YA lit classes. Quite a few Kirkus children’s reviewers have a similar depth of experience, which not many bloggers do. And Kirkus has excellent editors, something bloggers also lack.

By: Kidlit43

Kidlit43 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:38:00 +0000

People who think Kirkus Reviews are mean-spirited haven’t read Kirkus in a while. And you should know better, Norma Jean. Subscription base for the print magazine had little to do with how many people used the reviews. Libraries shared them among staff while only buying one subscription. Librarians depended on them being available through their distributors. They were read with reverence and attention by most savvy buyers. A Kirkus star had real meaning, because Kirkus was so careful about praise. ‘Nuff said.

By: ReadHowYouWant

ReadHowYouWant — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:12:20 +0000

I will miss having an old, familiar member of the conversation not be there anymore There are so many new voices in current discussions in the publishing industry that it is nice to still have some of the old voices around. Anyway, times change, alas.

By: Bill Trzeciak

Bill Trzeciak — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:29:16 +0000

As a librarian I have long used, and loved, Kirkus Reviews. I’m about to retire and I was hoping to subscribe to Kirkus on the eReading device I’m expecting to get this Christmas so I can know which books will be worth buying for myself on the device. I don’t trust user reviews and while I realize we wouldn’t be a huge market, I would think a few thousand of us nationally, librarians and academics, would subscribe online at least.

By: Norma Jean

Norma Jean — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:58:59 +0000

Kirkus will not be missed…their reviews were mean spirited, sometimes vicious and had more to do with the reviewer…look at me, aren’t I clever….than they did with the book and the writer. And their subscription base was miniscule.