Things I Am Thankful For This Year

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I slept late this morning and let my husband do most of the holiday cooking today, as I am still (still!) having this off-and-on flu virus wrestling match. I have a stack of magazines and books to read, calls to family already made, and generally, though the weather outside is frightful (40-degree hard rain with wind for a week, anyone?) am feeling warm and fuzzy.

Things I am thankful for this year:
–Friends and family. My family is, mostly, too far away to visit easily, but I’ve enjoyed using Skype to stay in touch, as well as e-mail, IM and other technological inventions. My friends here in Seattle, the artists, the writers, who continually inspire me and challenge me to do more and better, who remind me that spending time working on creative stuff isn’t wasted time…
–Being back in Washington State. The friends, the readings of all kinds, the library systems, the bookstores…everything except, possibly, the weather.
–The lovely publisher of my second book, Kitsune Books, who has done so much to make my experience with She Returns to the Floating World a happy one. Including putting me up for the Florida Publishing Book Awards, which ended up landing me this fancy sticker for my book cover:

–My wonderful husband, creating a beautiful Thanksgiving menu for me (sans wheat, onions, or poultry…) and generally being super supportive during a tough year.
–Poetry publishers in general who care about writers, especially those who don’t charge fees; literary magazines that still pay for poetry (thank you, Crab Orchard Review, Hollins Critic, Indiana Review, and etc… it makes poets feel so thankful to get those little checks!) and readers who let writers know they’ve connected with your work. Thank you to all the hard-working volunteers out there in the literary world, adjuncts, editors, reading series leaders…
–Yes, I have some anxieties: about work (finding it,) money (same,) where my life/career is going, the ongoing health excitement that forced me to curb my travel plans for readings this fall…but I am am looking to the future with hope, with gratitude, and faith.

Upcoming: Christmas book shopping lists, my great book downsizing project (painful!) and embarking on yet another poetry book manuscript (madness??)

How To Get Your Book Reviewed

I have been reviewing books, independently, for a long time now. Occasionally (not often) I even get paid for it. So I thought perhaps I have some tips to share for people who are wondering what the best strategies are for getting their books reviewed.

First, I’ll start by telling you a little about how my reviewing life works.

Some book reviews are assigned, and I don’t get any say in what I review in that case. This is usually the case for reviews I get paid for. Sometimes, a place I review for will offer me a list of books they have on hand to see if I’m interested in reviewing any of them. And sometimes I will pitch a review idea to a journal, magazine, or blog.

I usually don’t review books by close friends, students or mentors anywhere but on my blog because of conflict of interest. I think that might be an industry standard, but the rules can bend occasionally.

If I’m actively reviewing, I usually get upwards of 40-50 books a year sent to me to review, and that’s on top of what I buy myself or am assigned. Some years I’ve received over 100. On average, in a good year, I review one or two books a month. So, to do the math: most books I’m sent do not get a review. And I’m pretty conscientious, I think, for a reviewer; I’m not out there re-selling your review copies on ebay; alas, though, I have heard of this practice. I genuinely try to read everything I’m sent, and try at least one pitch for each book. (Most pitches, like most poems, are rejected, FYI.) If I don’t like a book, I usually pass it on to another reviewer, or decline to review it (there’s enough negativity out there already – why give space – and mental energy – to a book I don’t like?)

Getting a review out, even of a book I really like, is much harder now than it was five years ago. There are fewer places publishing reviews, fewer places giving as much space as they used to, fewer places paying for reviews. So the reality is, you probably need to work a little harder as a writer to get your book some attention. If you have a publisher that is sending out review copies for you, that’s fantastic! It could be an unlimited number. That would be great! But probably not. Hence, a few tips:

Target your review copies. Maybe you’ll end up reviewed at the New York Times Review of Books, or Poetry Magazine. It’s possible. But you’ll probably get more return on your investment if you target either literary journals that have liked your work in the past or reviewers who have mentioned liking either you work or work you think is similar to what you are doing. For instance, if you’re writing feminist superhero poetry, I’m probably a great reviewer for you to target. But how would you know that unless you read some of my work? Sometimes reading the actual poetry of the person doing the reviews is a great way to get insight into the reviewer’s aesthetic.
Write a personal note. I get tons of review copies with no note. I usually can’t remember whether I requested a copy because the time between the request and actually getting a copy of the book could be months. So, make sure you put a little slip of paper in there that says: “Hi there! Remember when you said you’d be interested in my series of triolets on the Old West at the Old West Poetry Conference? Well, now it’s out, and I’d sure appreciate your take on the book!” Or something like that. By the way, this was the number one tip that reviewers posted when I asked this question on Facebook. You’d be surprised how few people (or publishers) put in a personal note.
Follow up. I know it’s embarrassing, like putting yourself up for a rejection, but honestly? I think if more people followed up with just an e-mail after sending me their books, I would probably be more likely to give their book a serious read. And not just following up, but…
Follow up with a few suggestions of which literary journals might be interested in a review! This is a key step that few people take. This puts all the work in the lap of the reviewer, and did I mention reviewers are usually working in their spare time for no pay? So, anything you can do to make placing your review easier, you should do. Do a little reconnaissance – write to a few editors to see if they might be open to a review. Then, mention those editors and the names of their journals to your targeted reviewer. Voila! Literary matchmaking!
Make it as easy as possible for reviewers to “get” your book. Include a press kit. Write a quick summary in your personal note. Reviewer Julie Brooks Barbour posted on my Facebook query: “Jeannine, I review books based on the narrative structure, of what threads the book together. If the narrative is unclear to me, I probably won’t review it.” This again comes down to targeting your reviewers and doing more than just sending a copy of your book with nothing else.
After your follow up…Don’t expect anything, don’t hold grudges, and be sure to try a reviewer again with your next book because…things happen. I might love someone’s first book, but not connect with someone’s second. I might be unable to successfully pitch a review of your book to anyone. I might get overloaded and burned out and take a short break from reviewing. I would say the success rate from a good targeted book mailing might be 20 percent. If you hold a grudge against a reviewer for not reviewing one of your books, or a journal for not running a review, that means you’ve lost a potential review or review venue for your next venture, and that would be a shame. (Because you’re writing more than one book, right? You’re in for the long haul…)

And last, but not least…

Write a few reviews yourself! I am likely to google everyone I review, because hey, I like to do a little research on the folks I’m writing about, and if I see that an author has been reviewing books, I’m probably going to feel like they deserve a review themselves. If I’m putting a lot of volunteer labor into reviewing, and I’m a writer myself who could be writing poems or doing paid work, then I probably want to review authors who are also doing some work putting positive energy back into the literary universe. God bless all the editors working for free in their spare time, reviewers who pour their souls into trying to create some kind of intelligent discourse about books, even if it’s just on Amazon or Goodreads, publishers who put their own income into marketing the books they produce. This comes down to Karma, Karma, Karma.

Do you reviewers out there have any more tips I’ve forgotten?

Your New Thanksgiving Traditions When You’re Far From Family…and Coming Up: Tips to Get Your Book Reviewed!

The Thanksgiving holiday is coming up, and with all my (and Glenn’s) gigantic extended family back in the midwest, it is up to us to come up with our own new traditions. This is especially true these days now that I am allergic to wheat, poultry, and other staples of American Thanksgiving-y cookery. I am planning a menu of roasted baby potatoes, a plate of sauteed asparagus, delicata squash stuffed with cranberries and roasted grapes, covered in maple syrup, maybe an experiment with osso bucco, and maybe a fancy maple-laced creme brulee for dessert (and if I get really ambitious, maybe sugared cranberries on top too.) Grape-juice-cranberry hot cider to drink. (Hopefully my stomach will be cooperative by Thursday…this flu has kept it in a constant state of non-hungry-nausea.) The key to celebrating is to make every place we live feel like a real home, even when we’re far away from family.

If I can keep Glenn and I from doing work the whole day of Thanksgiving, I’ll be thankful! Glenn’s been working really hard at his job lately, and I’m feeling behind on my review work, but I think it’s important to take time off once in a while. Maybe watch some beloved holiday movies? There was always a movie marathon at my house growing up at Thanksgiving…the Star Wars trilogy, Lord of the Rings, one year, a Mystery Science 3000 marathon…so that’s one tradition I’m going to try to continue. Maybe a Miyazaki marathon….

So what traditions are going to continue, and which are you going to ditch? How do you make Thanksgiving your own?

Also, coming up: as a book reviewer, I’m often asked questions about how to get one’s book reviewed. This is especially true now that book review column space has disappeared from many newspapers, and blogs have become the more dominant space for independent book reviews. So I’ll be writing a post about the things that get my attention and what motivates me to review a certain book!

Thursday Notes: A New Review, a Friend’s Debut, and More!

Thank you to Barn Owl Review and reviewer Julie Brooks Barbour for this new review of She Returns to the Floating World! Here’s the link to the review:
http://www.barnowlreview.com/reviews/gailey.html

And don’t forget to vote before the 20th in the Goodreads Choice Awards for Poetry for my little book if you get a chance! I’m hoping to make it to the finals! (And vote for Sandra Beasley in the food category for “Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl!)

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Poetry

Vote now for your favorite books!

I was also so pleased to get in the mail Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas‘ new book, Epistemology of an Odd Girl. (Isn’t that a great title?) This book from March Street Press bursts with scenes from everyday life, but also great poems like “In the Spirit of the Apocalypse” and “The True Story of Rapunzel.” This from “Candy Addict:” “Don’t they all suffer withdrawals?”/ (Yes, but not all care for mint cigarettes./ Sometimes we use Cyberkinetics.)”

Still fighting the flu, but feel a bit more mentally capable the last couple of days, so I was able to get some work done (and even a little writing!) Weather forecast for snow (snow!! in the Northwest!) tomorrow….

Vote Vote Vote! Like a baby Stoat! Goodreads Poetry Book of the Year Semifinals!

Dear readers, this is the time when I beg for your vote!
Because of your write-in votes, She Returns to the Floating World is now in the Goodreads semifinal round for Best Book of Poetry of the Year!
I would very much appreciate it if you would go to this link and vote in the semi-final round for my book! The five finalists are chosen on November 20th!
http://www.goodreads.com/award/choice/2011#56614-Best-Poetry
I have some stiff competition (particularly from friends and mentors Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Dorianne Laux.) It’s a good year for poetry books. If selected, I promise not to raise poetry taxes!