This book review service supports ALL authors who wish to have book reviews--traditionally published and Indie (self-published).
Self-publishing opens the way for authors to get their efforts into the marketplace without the rejection slips and long delays involved with traditional publishing, as well as receive a greater percentage of royalties than traditional publishing houses pay. Self-published authors wear many hats as they move forward from creating their manuscript to a published and marketed product. Then what??? They need real readers to review and recommend their books. Self-Published Authors Book Review Service reviews
Fiction & Nonfiction Genres Reviewed: Memoir Mystery & Suspense Romance & Chick-lit Science Fiction & Fantasy Spirituality Self-Help Where Reviews Are Posted: Your self-published site retail page (please provide the link) Amazon Barnes & Noble GoodReads Self-Published Authors Book Review Service Blog SelfGrowth.com (if it's a self-help book) Ezinearticles (Book Reviews) *You are also free to post your review wherever it will benefit you. Sample Fiction Review (long form):
Title: The People’s Will Author: Eric Berbig Genre: Mystery/Historical Fiction ISBN: 978-0-615-40842-2 Year Published: 2010 Pages: 300 Edition: First Publisher: Eric Berbig Reviewer: Joyce Shafer - http://Self-PublishedAuthorsBookReviews.weebly.com Author’s website: http://thepeopleswillbook.com/ The People are restless; some are bent on murder and destruction—and the tension is building. Primarily set in pre-Revolution days in St. Petersburg, Russia, this compelling historical mystery novel is based on actual events. Serfs have been emancipated and more people are allowed to be educated, but improvements meant as a result of these and other changes are slow to happen for the people most affected. The disenfranchised new working-class discover “Horrid living conditions, poverty, debt—were constant companions.” One particular leader of a splinter revolutionist group believes the only way to get the right message across to the tsar and others who need to hear it is to plan and execute something that makes it clear it was no random event, but a decisive one. Where better to create such a spectacle than in public, in front of the grandest opera theater in town, at the opening of a new show. The plan is to do the deed and blame the Nihilists, because this leader and his group must remain hidden and unknown until the moment they can safely reveal themselves, once they have public support. The event goes off as planned, and Detective Yuri Vladimirovich Petrov decides to visit the scene, where his presence gets noticed by someone from the Okhrana, as well as one of the perpetrators. Yuri rose to his position in the investigative division of the St. Petersburg Police Department on merit, not politics or who he knew. He sticks to investigative basics and has a higher success rate for solving crimes than anyone in his division. His instincts are keen and he follows where they lead him. He’s on the case to find those behind this crime. It’s not his district, so this shouldn’t be his case, but his reputation for competency and, particularly, discretion in a prior case involving a member of the royal family motivated the appropriate investigative service, the Okhrana, to include him. Yuri’s instincts tell him there is more to his involvement than this. Trying to find the right trail to follow leads to many frustrations as well as good leads, and into disturbing realizations about how his government actually works at the inner level. Trying to determine who, what, when, and how haunts him, even as he makes headway in his investigation. His instinct, and a few experiences he has along the way, indicates something even bigger is being planned. His gut tells him he needs to hurry. The question that drives him is Will he be too late. I don’t usually go for historical novels as my personal reading choices, but this one is done well and worth the read, and is as much a mystery novel as an historical one. The author, Eric Berbig, sets the tone and mood, and has excellent plot and character development. He builds the tension and sustains it all the way through with a well-organized progression of the story, The writing is smooth, flowing, and so descriptive that you feel the settings, locations, and time period, as well as the emotions of the characters; he engages the senses. This book held my attention all the way through and contains several riveting scenes. It could have used very slight editing touch-ups, but instances are few and do not detract from this engaging story. It’s top-of-the-line storytelling from start to finish. Sample Nonfiction Review (long form):
Title: Are You Happy Now? 10 Ways to Live a Happy Life Author: Barbara Berger Classification: Nonfiction Genre: Self-Help/Spirituality ISBN: 978-1-78279-201-7 Year Published: 2013 Pages: 197 Edition: Reprint Edition (August 16, 2013) Publisher: O-Books, imprint of John Hunt Publishing Reviewer: Joyce Shafer ~ http://Self-PublishedAuthorsBookReviews.weebly.com This is a book to read more than once! I love and appreciate what the author did with this content. I could go on and on about the value and wisdom of this book. But I’ll start here, with a profound statement I heard years back: Sometimes the questions matter more to us than the answers. Though author, Barbara Berger, presents us with beneficial answers and information to consider and integrate, she also presents us with valuable questions (and all-important solutions), such as: Is the past controlling your present? Are you a people-pleaser with an aversion to conflict? Do the opinions of others influence or manipulate you? Do you have healthy boundaries? Do you fear your emotions? Do you know what the collective lie is that affects nearly all of us? What is the difference between consciousness and mind? Who are you beyond your thoughts that arise? What kind of life might you have if you stopped allowing other people to mind your business and if you stopped minding theirs? How many ways do you make or keep yourself unhappy, without realizing you’re doing this? How can you communicate honestly and clearly with others if you aren’t honest and clear with yourself? How can you have a fulfilling life if you’re afraid of making mistakes or fear others believing your choices are mistakes? How can you become mindful, especially when emotionally upset or afraid? These (and others she covers in the book) are questions many of us contend with but may not address, as this book does and does so well. The ten chapter titles give a preview of what’s to come in the book, whether they build enthusiasm and eagerness to delve into them or, perhaps, make you quake a bit. It all depends on how ready you are to live a more authentic and fulfilling life. The titles are as follows: Accept what is; Want what you have; Be honest with yourself; Investigate your stories; Mind your own business; Follow your passion and accept the consequences; Do the right thing and accept the consequences; Deal with what is in front of you and forget the rest; Know what is what; and Learn to see beyond impermanence. There are worksheets at the back that help you address each chapter concept, as well as an Epilogue titled “Don’t Believe What You Think.” You’re either ready to see what the author has to offer about each of these or you’re telling yourself there’s laundry to fold or grass to cut (i.e., avoidance). This is a book written by someone who who’s been through a lot, was facing a lot, including moving forward in years—and asked herself an important question: “...what do you need to remember to live a happy life? If you would sum it all up, what would it be? What do you need to know to get you through the rest of your life in a better way?” This is a question (what do you need to remember to live a happy life?) many of us contemplate, but likely do so in passing rather than addressing it head-on as the author did. Berger states in the Introduction that she recognized how much of her life she’d “spent worrying about stuff or being nervous and insecure about stuff or not really enjoying the fullness and richness of” her life. This is more of a common complaint than, I believe, most of us would like to admit, and one we truly desire to resolve. (I love the mountain example in Chapter 8, and find it highly beneficial!) In her candid, straightforward manner, Berger discusses how we resist what-is, whatever the what-is is in a moment (weather, an event, pain, health, relationships, finances, etc.), and how we tend to fight the reality of what-is nearly all the time, as well as how this resistance affects not only us but how we experience life. However, she makes a keen point that accepting what-is is not saying “yes” to everything and doing nothing; that it is not about passivity, but the opposite. There were certainly additional brilliant points made beside these two I’m about to share, but I love these: We more often than not don’t live our lives, but live our interpretations of our lives; we’re dancing with illusions. And, we let other people manipulate us with their uninvestigated codes of behavior. Berger proposes that all of us can lead happy lives regardless of our situation, and then demonstrates how to accomplish this throughout the book. She asks how well we know ourselves, or if we’re afraid to do this, asks why; discusses our responsibility to ourselves and our right to exist; and how we can deal with the fear of criticism and choice with integrity. She shares that we can remember the wonder of our own existence; discusses common worries and stories we tell ourselves and how to transform them; and shares what she discovered real happiness and success is, and how clear and simple it actually is. Berger reminds us that life is always a process that we’re in; that it’s about awakening our awareness so that we make appropriate choices for ourselves, and not focus on perfection, which is unrealistic. I give this book an all-thumbs-up; and as I said earlier, it’s one to read more than once. |
About Joyce Shafer A self-published author of a number of books and e-books, I've provided services for writers for nearly two decades (http://editmybookandmore.weebly.com/), while living in New York City and now in my new location in Louisiana. I publish a Blog called New Writer Blues & Clues at http://newwritertips.blogspot.com/. Review Fee:
Up to 200 pages: $77 201 to 300 pages: $97 301 to 400 pages: $117 401 to 500 pages: $137 501 to 600 pages: $157* 601 to 700 pages: $177* 701 to 800 pages: $197* 800 to 900 pages: $217* *Contact me if your book is over 500 pages, for payment instructions. And, I prefer books over 300 pages be mailed as either paperback or hardback copies. Note: For books 300 or fewer pages, I do prefer real books to review, but will accept PDFs. 4 Steps to Schedule Your Self-Published Book Review: 1. Use BOOK REVIEW in the subject line and e-mail me at [email protected] to get set up. 2. Choose to mail your book or to e-mail the pdf. if you choose to mail a copy to me, I'll give you the address at that time. 3. Go to the STORE page to make your payment. 4. Your review goes onto my calendar, and I notify you of the start date. Allow 1-2 weeks for reading, review writing, and postings. Note about reviews: I'm respectful of what self-published authors experience throughout the entire manuscript-to-market process, so even if I don't love a book, someone else may. People like what they like, and everyone’s reading tastes are different. But I do want to give books by self-published authors a decent, respectful opportunity to be heard about. Services for Writers: Critiques, Developmental Editing, Proofreading, Copy-Editing http://editmybookandmore.weebly.com/ Blog: Self-Published Authors Book Reviews http://reviewserviceforself-publishedauthors.blogspot.com/ |