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Odds & Ends On The Web: November 3rd Edition

11/3/2012

13 Comments

 
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This week the east coast of the U.S. got hit by the dreaded Frakenstorm and two of us were huddling for cover, so this may be a short wrap-up.  We sincerely hope that all of our readers made it through the storm safe and sound and we’d like to send out our hope for those of you who are still without power.  We hope the power gets turned on for you this week so you can have warm water and refrigeration and light and most of all an internet connection so you can visit The Readventurer and give us more hits. Kidding, kidding.

To start things off, I’d like to throw out a list of really fun, happy-making things.  With Frankenstorm behind us and this seemingly never-ending election ahead of us, I think we could all use it.

Book Probe Reviews had an interview with Melina Marchetta this week.

Kathleen Duey tweeted the following (squee!):

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And re-posted this from her archives – about her use of “bad” language in her YA books.  It’s an older post, but a great one.

Here's an update from a story we linked to last week about a “lack” of portal fantasy on the market right now:  Sherwood Smith review’s Andrea K. Host’s portal fantasy, Stray.

Geeky Gadgets profiled “the invisible book end.”  How does it work?  And more importantly, will it damage my precious babies?!!

Jennifer Stevenson discusses the possible differences between porn and erotica over at the Book View Café

And finally, the following awesome quote from Nick Hornby’s Shakespeare Wrote For Money made a few rounds this week:

“They’ve been very disorienting, these last few weeks. I see now that dismissing YA books because you’re not a young adult is a bit like refusing to watch thrillers on the grounds that you’re not a policeman or a dangerous criminal, and as a consequence I’ve discovered a previously ignored room at the back of the bookstore that’s filled with masterpieces I’ve never heard of.”

And now that we’re all smiling, here are a few more newsy stories:

Fast Company profiled the “literary incubator” company Paper Lantern Lit founded by former YA editor Lexa Hillyer and YA author Lauren Oliver.  Apparently they are setting themselves apart from book packagers by actively seeking talented authors to write their preconceived, pre-plotted, pre-outlined stories.  And this is different from book packaging…how, exactly? 

Author Steve Webble posted about his experience with having one of his reviews deleted by Amazon this week – a review he posted for a friend’s book.  Upon questioning Amazon, they responded by citing a portion of their review policy: “We do not allow reviews on behalf of a person or company with a financial interest in the product or a directly competing product.”  We can’t say that we’d be sorry to see less author/author, overly positive, quid pro quo type reviews out there but how far will Amazon actually take this?  Will all reviews written by authors be deleted?  Will all authors be considered to be producers of a “directly competing product”?  From the comments, it appears that a few other authors have had all of their reviews deleted as well.

And I think that's enough newsy stories for this week.  Have a great weekend everyone, and be safe!  Stop by and tell me about all the news I missed out on while my power was out!

13 Comments
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
11/3/2012 11:00:52 am

To be honest, I am more concerned about another practice of Amazon's, not this deleting these backscratching reviews by self-published authors (don't they have the whole boards and groups where they get together to organize these mutual reviewing?). I've heard of Amazon deleting reviews of popular books (I am only closely familiar with this type of reviews) written by ordinary reviewers. I remember one reviewer contacting Amazon and asking about why her negative review was deleted and getting some lame explanation that they do so to prevent competitors from downrating those books. Or something.

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Catie (The Readventurer) link
11/3/2012 11:22:38 am

Weird! I have never heard of that. Amazon has some strange practices, it seems.

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Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
11/3/2012 11:18:45 am

Do people still go to Amazon for book reviews?!

$80 for a book end that just makes your books look like they're falling over? No thanks. That's like FOUR Aussie books.

Glad you survived the FRANKENSTORM.

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Kate C.
11/3/2012 12:40:52 pm

As of yet, Amazon hasn't deleted my reviews and they are linked to my author acct. I have reviewed a lot of books on Amazon, but to be honest, I've reviewed more on goodreads. It won't really bother me if they remove my reviews. I feel bad for the authors I reviewed if they do.

The thing is, I don't feel bad about reviewing indies. More reviews give them more notice, even if the reviews aren't super flattering. I review indies and traditional books. What I super resent is the idea (via Amazon?) that I can't be a reader and a writer. Maybe I'm wrong about that. I don't know. I've considered not reviewing anything, but in the end, I think I should have the right to review books I pay for.

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VeganYANerds link
11/3/2012 06:01:48 pm

Ha, I'm with Maggie - who reads Amazon reviews? I just assume they're all fakes.

And hmmm to that new book packaging company, I don't understand the point!

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Rachel link
11/4/2012 01:59:49 am

Glad to hear you ladies survived the "Frankenstorm" I feel bad for everyone out there. I hope those that don't have power get it back soon, I know it's cold over there now.

Amazon is a strange site. I do post reviews over there too, but never get much feedback. I think everyone is right here, who really reads reviews there anyhow?

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Maja
11/4/2012 01:49:17 am

I love the invisible bookend (although those books seem horribly unorganized)! And I'm so tired of packaged books, literary incubators, whatever you (they want to call it). The last one I stumbled upon was Darkness Before Dawn by JA London (I think), and it was simply horrible, and so obviously not a result of someone's creative outburst.
Writing with the sole purpose of making money isn't exactly new: Balzac was incredibly productive (50 000 pages or so altogether,I think) partly because he was paid to be. A large number of his novels were commissioned by bored French noblemen and noblewomen, but they were still good! I find the idea of treating books like business projects disgusting.

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Maja
11/4/2012 01:54:14 am

Sorry, sorry, 20000 pages cca. Or so they say.

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Sarah link
11/4/2012 03:31:30 am

I really, really want to know the details as to how PLL justifies positioning themselves as more than a book packager--they're very cagey about it all. Do they let the authors keep the rights to their pen names? Do they pay them more than, say, Alloy? Do they support their other writing endeavors? Because every time I read a profile of Paper Lantern Lit, it's always very admiring (and I think they've got a smart business going), but there are never any details about what differentiates them from any other book packager.

I can see some advantages for people getting involved in a writing for hire situation because 1) you will likely get paid and 2) you can learn a lot through that process. But, I want to know why PLL is considered a special snowflake in the world of book packaging.

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Sarah link
11/4/2012 03:34:03 am

A quick Google tells me that they own whatever name you use with PLL, so a pen name is essential, but they do allow their writers to be public about their pen name. So, I'm still not seeing the difference.

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Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
11/4/2012 04:01:17 am

Maybe the difference is that they even allow their authors to act as authors, not being hidden like, let's say, real people behind Pittacus Lore? Although I see this as a trend, not something unique to PLL. It is quite wide spread that authors take all the credit for packaged books, and that the fact that some books are packaged is kind of hush-hush. For ex, Lauren Kate or Dan Wells go around never mentioning that their supposed books were outlined by someone else. For me, that's the ickiest part of the whole practice. Not that the authors choose that road. I can understand why some would benefit from it.

Sarah link
11/4/2012 04:03:22 am

Yeah, that's what I presume... that there's more of an "authorly" approach. Because other than that, I don't see any difference.

Heidi link
11/4/2012 04:53:29 am

I'm glad that both you ladies (Tatiana, Catie) seem to have come through the storm okay! Also VERY excited about that Kathleen Duey tweet. I should be picking up book 2 from the library this week. =)

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