Marilyn Vix’s new novel will be available on Netgalley for the month of March only!

So, as part of my second month of launching my new novel, I’ve uploaded Everything for Love (Time Rogues Book 1) onto Netgalley for reviews. If your not familiar with Netgalley, it’s a website that hosts ARC and Review Copies of books from publishers to give to blog reviewers and book lovers. A lot of people on the site are Goodreads.com regulars as well as book bloggers. My new novel will only be available on Netgalley for the month of March.

Link to Everything For Love (Time Rogues Book 1) on Netgalley:

https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book/108948

So, those of my followers that follow my blog or newsletter, here’s your chance to get a Review Copy and review Everything For Love if you would like to.

Marilyn Vix On Reviews: From The Author Perspective

I think the tradition of giving out ARC/Review copies goes back decades in the publishing industry, and the digital age has just made it a lot easier for people to get a hold of them. I remember being a Vine Reviewer back in the days when Amazon first started the program, but I just couldn’t keep up with reading fast enough. I did manage to read about 4-5 books, and then just got far behind. But it’s fun to do, and it’s cool to spice up your blog with reviews. I’ve always thought reviewing books are important, and think it’s cool that now anyone can leave a review about a book and have it mean something to fellow readers.

I also know how much it means to writers. It’s funny how people might forget how much authors read themselves. Having an ereader has really picked up my reading speed, and I know I’ve doubled my amount of reading over the years. The Goodreads Reading Challenge helps me keep track of how much more I’m reading. I do read my genre, because EVERY writer should read what they write. Really. It’s the only way to get better. But I also read memoirs now, especially 80s memoirs. If it wasn’t for ebooks, I don’t think I’d be reading as much, because driving to a book store is so much of a hassle. It’s very easy to click and buy a book from your ereader, even in the bathtub.

Then, I try to review on every book I read, even if it has a lot of reviews. I know that a lot of writers read their reviews for feedback, and it is like an applause to a writer to receive a good review. You don’t really know how well people will like your book until they write a review. I mean, back in the day, book critics were the main voice. But now you can hear from the regular reader, the common person out there on whether they like your book.

Of course, there is a drawback. There are troll reviewers, people that tend to be a bit nasty in their review to stand out among the crowd. But I guess there have always been reviewers like that. Many well known movies and books have received bad reviews, but still did well. Nobody remembers the reviews, just the book. It could be that later generations understood the artistic parts of the book better than when it was released. So many artists are ahead of their time, like Van Gogh. A movie or book isn’t appreciated sometimes until decades later.

I’m thinking of “It’s A Wonderful Life” with James Stewart since I just finished reading his biography. That movie was considered a dude, a flop, when it came out. And now it’s considered an American tradition at Christmas. So, you just never know. Reviews are helpful for readers and can help or hinder a book. But what matters is being able to review at all. I do like the fact that I can write my two cents about a book, and help other readers. But as I’m writing it, I can imagine the writer reading it as well. So, I will usually give some positive feedback, points of improvement, where the writer can gain some insight to help with further books. As a writer, that’s why I read my reviews.

Sorry, didn’t mean to go on a diatribe. But at least having a blog, it gives me an outlet for my POV on reviews as a reader and writer. It’s considered bad form to comment on reviews. But at least here, on my own blog, I can let others know what it’s like to be a writer in relation to book reviews in the digital age. It’s a brave new world, and it’s exciting to be a part of it.

Hope you have a fabulous March. May your reading be enjoyable! I’ll be right along reading with you.

-Marilyn