16 October 2014

I'm a reviewer!

Well that's the focus of this topic, as to whys, hows, whens, whats of reviews in and out of my life!
Surprisingly, I'm not a long-time reviewer. One fine day in the beginning of the year 2013, I felt like writing down my thoughts after reading a good book, so then I signed up on Goodreads. And from that time, I got almost obsessed with the idea of reviewing a book! And trust me, reviews do create a bridge between a reader and an author. 

Eventually I started approaching authors, mostly indie, for a free-of-cost review request of their latest book. Many replied, many didn't! And those who replied, helped me to grow as a reviewer. And for them, I got a stand. I stared getting popular and eventually the authors stared asking me for a review.

I'd be proud to say that even I got to review this year's Man Booker Shortlisted author, Neel Mukherjee's book, The Lives of Others.

After 200 reviews old, I feel ever so grateful to all those authors for whom I got my confidence and became a reviewer. Also the sole purpose of this blog is to thank them for their kind support and I'd love to promote more of their great works on my blog! Don't ask me to name the authors, because there are hundreds of them.

How do I review a book? It's a good question indeed! Yeah, I do maintain a proper format while reviewing a book! I sometimes start with a quote related to that particular book, then I talk about the author, then I thank them, then comes the brief central idea or say synopsis of the book and then comes the part where I'd either brag about the things I liked the most about the book or sulk about the things I hated the most- mostly my feelings about the book and at last, I encourage people to read the book with a quirky quote of mine- self-invented quote! And that's it!

If you want to be a reviewer like me, then do the following to make your review look good to the eyes of the general public:
  • Start-out with a stand-out quote, which instantly wins a reader's heart!
  • What is the book, who is the author, if possible, write about the book, in just one-line
  • Blurb, don't copy paste from the back of the book- make it articulate in your own words- Remember No Spoilers are allowed while writing a review
  • Your thoughts in simple and easy words- describe the characters, narration, plot, twists, author's imaginative skill, chemistry, protagonist blah, blah, blah....
  • You can either encourage or discourage- Remember the power is in your hand to publicize the book either positively or negatively
And at last do remember- reviews are important for a book since they can change the fate of a book's popularity. And never write poorly about a book. Harsh words are a strict No! No! So judge the book sensitively and thoughtfully!

Happy Reviewing Guys! :-)


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