What less-than-blockbuster mystery author hasn’t
dreamed of his or her ARC being plucked from a teetering pile and chosen for an
attention-getting review?
Can the writer do anything to make that happen? No. So how do top reviewers decide which books to favor?
|
Maureen Corrigan |
Recently the Mystery Writers of America Mid-Atlantic
Chapter, of which I am a member, hosted three guests who told us how they work,
what they love (and hate) in a crime novel, and why certain behavior by writers
and publishers ticks them off.
Maureen Corrigan, a
critic-in-residence and lecturer at Georgetown University, reviews for National
Public Radio’s
Fresh Air. She is
an associate editor of and contributor to
Mystery and Suspense
Writers (Scribner) and won an Edgar Award for criticism. She served
as a juror for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.
Dennis Drabelle,
winner of the National Book Critics Circle’s award for excellence in reviewing,
is an author and the crime fiction editor at
The Washington Post. Internet critic
Bethanne Patrick, known for her Book Maven blog and the
influential Friday Reads on Twitter, was named one of
Flavorwire’s 35
Writers Who Run the Literary Internet. She has written for The Huffington Post,
The Daily Beast,
Oprah magazine, and
Virginia Quarterly Review. Neither Corrigan
nor Patrick reviews mysteries exclusively.
|
Dennis Drabelle |
What kind of competition does a book face when an advance reader copy goes
to one of these people?
Patrick said she receives 50-75 ARCs a week. Corrigan
receives about 200 a week at her home address and 50 at her office.
The Washington Post receives about 150
ARCs every day. Corrigan reviews a handful of mysteries every two or three
months on NPR. The
Post runs a single
crime fiction review each Monday and occasionally devotes a Sunday column to a
mystery roundup.
How are books chosen for review?
First off, self-published books are
automatically excluded. Novels by “big names” rise to the top, but beyond that,
Corrigan, Drabelle, and Patrick all keep an eye out for new and lesser known
authors whose books offer something special.
The publisher’s name may persuade Patrick to give a book a closer look.
“Some imprints,” she said, “are really reliable.” But the book itself has to
win her over with superior writing. “It always comes back to the writing.” Corrigan
said that “something unusual” will pique her interest and “open the door” but
doesn’t guarantee a review. Drabelle is drawn to mysteries with exotic
settings. Aside from his personal preferences, Drabelle started an occasional
cozy mystery roundup column in the
Post because
he felt the paper should expand the range of crime fiction reviewed in its pages.
None of them is influenced by industry publications like
Publishers Weekly or
Kirkus Reviews. They also can’t be
persuaded by a publicist’s pitch. The book itself is what counts.
|
Bethanne Patrick |
What bowls them over and makes them feel a book deserves a review?
“Authority of voice,” Corrigan said. Sometimes she’s drawn in by the plot and
setting, but fully realized characters are essential. Most of all, she likes
books that have the ring of authenticity rather than market-driven gimmicks—“not
vampires living in Downton Abbey with dogs.” Patrick is attracted to a fresh
voice or a fictional world that is “other”—and that doesn’t necessarily mean
exotic. “Even a cozy,” she said, “can take you somewhere different.” Drabelle
admires authors who are skillful at withholding information to build suspense.
How do they approach writing negative reviews?
Fairness is essential, Patrick said. She cited her review of Sara Gruen’s new
book,
At the Water’s Edge, as “almost
totally negative, but fair.” She always backs up her negative comments with
examples from the book.
“It’s never a pleasure to read a bad book,” Corrigan said, and she is
annoyed when a major author publishes “schlock” and starts recycling plots. When
she’s “really had it” with such an author, she doesn’t hold back in expressing
her opinion.
Drabelle concurred, saying that a book review is “a consumer report” and
it’s the reviewer’s job to inform the public when a major writer publishes a
bad book. He believes in saving negativism for lower down in the review because
if the hard shots are fired in the first sentence people may not read on.
Do they get a lot of flack when they review
a book negatively?
Corrigan’s review of a book that had been praised by
The New York Times drew angry letters and made her the target of online
attacks. She was sufficiently concerned to tell Georgetown University security
about what was happening.
Corrigan, Drabelle, and Patrick all said they prefer that authors not
communicate with them about reviews, whether positive or negative. “It’s always
a little strange” to hear from a writer, Drabelle said. “I didn’t do it for the
writer. I did it for readers.” Patrick noted that several authors have told her
they learned something about their writing from her reviews, but she believes
“authors shouldn’t say anything to reviewers.” Corrigan doesn’t want any writer
to think a positive review means he or she has found a champion who will review
all future work favorably. If Corrigan thinks the next book from that writer is
lousy, she’ll say so—or she won’t review it at all.
All three frown on the deceptive practice of publishers and writers taking pull
quotes from a negative review and using them to give the impression the book
was praised. Drabelle said that at the
Post
“we don’t take it lightly when a review is distorted,” and editors have
expressed their displeasure to publishers.
Can any of them explain why some bad
books, with a collection of negative reviews, attract hordes of readers?
No. Patrick mentioned
The Memory Keeper’s
Daughter as one book that was “review-proof” and seemed to come out of
nowhere to take over the bestsellers lists. Those lists, Drabelle said, “are
dominated by terrible books. You’re lucky if one is any good.”
Who are the people they hope to influence?
Readers. Their job is to help readers sift through the avalanche of books
published every year and find something worth reading. They’re aware that they are
speaking to a shrinking audience. “I don’t think writing is in trouble,”
Patrick said. “There are many good writers. Reading is in trouble.” The world
offers too many distractions, and people are reading less and less. Even a
bookseller friend, Patrick added, confessed to watching more TV and reading
less these days.
How much influence do they have in a
world where traditional book reviews are fast disappearing and readers are
turning to Amazon and amateur blogs for book information?
Patrick believes that some book bloggers are as good as or better than the
professional reviewers and “can do great things for a book,” while others
simply post reviews that “steal from the publisher’s synopsis” and offer no
serious assessment. Veteran reviewers, Corrigan pointed out, still offer a
special sensibility honed by years of critical reading. Drabelle sees internet
competition as an incentive for traditional reviewers to “be better than ever.”
Whether you’re a writer or a reader, do you believe traditional reviewers
still matter in today’s world? Do review quotes on a book jacket or in ads
influence sales? Please leave a comment!