Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Hi Canary,
Timing, timing... I will use the form on the web site to request a review, but I thought I'd leave a note here to let you know that this is the source. The book is called "The Wrong God."

Are these for-a-fee reviews?

While awaiting your response, I clicked on the link to your blog page. Suggest that as editors you review the content and make the many necessary changes. Also, as business people, I don't understand why you've worked so hard to maintain total anonymity.

Canary, gee I wish I could recommend that some e-book writers take advantage of your editing services. Some e-books I have been sent to review need some proofreading. I can't folow the train of thought with some of the grammatical errors and misspellings. It may that the authors never say their book is an equivalent to an ARC paper copy. Somtimes too I think authors need to go outside of themselves for editing. Your writing is your baby, you don't want any of it cut or ideas expressed differently, so I guess it's hard to say that you need help editing but everyone who publishes, I think should have an editor. (except of course those of us writing on these groups *LOL*)

oops ... sorry, should be "...It may BE that the authors need to go outside of the themselves. sheesh why do I only catch my own errors once I have posted? *LOL*

My goodness Larry, sorry but did you have vinegar in your coffee this morning? I guess I must have mis-read something because it seemed to me Canary was offering to review and edit other's work, not have those on this list review and edit their website.

I just signed up for Canary's website and I really liked the reviews I have read, even though one of them was a negative review of a book I loved. But that's what reviews are all about. I still love the reviews on there. Thanks Canary

Karen B wrote: "oops ... sorry, should be "...It may BE that the authors need to go outside of the themselves. sheesh why do I only catch my own errors once I have posted? *LOL*"

Thereby proving your own point. :-) Yes, everyone needs at least one editor - even after they've been through the critique group route - but the editor needs to be a good one, rather than just anyone trolling for fees.

Karen B wrote: "My goodness Larry, sorry but did you have vinegar in your coffee this morning? I guess I must have mis-read something because it seemed to me Canary was offering to review and edit other's work, n..."

So that makes a pathetic website ok? They were offering their services for a fee, yet don't appear qualified to even prepare their own website.

who said anyone was "trolling"? It's a good website in my opinion. Pathetic? wow. I don't think so. Primarily she seemed to be asking to review books just like a lot of bloggers do. They sound like very qualified editors to me from the description of their education and experience. But then again, we don't know and that is a chance you always take on the web. I do know from reading several of the reviews that the books were read and critiqued pretty thoroughly (not talking about editing here).
At least we agree that some authors need to get an objective outsider to edit their work. I am very frustrated with the self-publishing thing and those who throw something together and try to sell it as an "e-book". I have downloaded probably at least 10 "free" e-books that didn't make sense and I just deleted from my Kindle. I just wasn't expecting that. That's insulting to the readers really. I hope authors will take their work seriously enough to polish it as much as possible. To me, it's like turning in a paper to a professor that is full of coffee stains and erasures, etc. Anyone attending graduate school, even back in the 60's and 70's new they had to give their thesis to a good typist and wouldn't take a chance on doing it themselves. Maybe some writers rely on spell check to do the editing.

correction again new should be knew. Just can't see my mistakes on here. Thank goodness I am not writing a book!

Karen B wrote: "correction again new should be knew. Just can't see my mistakes on here. Thank goodness I am not writing a book!"

That's why one needs a good editor. :-)

With all due respect, please reread it with an attitude of finding errors. To just cite two from memory, there's the dangling participle in their slogan on the masthead and they have the amount and dollar sign in reverse order throughout one of the pages (perhaps the About page, I don't recall).

I'm happy for those who are out there, offering this service, who let us know here, where we're talking about our books. When you google this service, you receive an overwhelming amount of information, and without knowing any of these people, it's hard to decide. I somehow feel a little safer if they're at least interacting with us, here, on Goodreads.

Sounds awesome. I will give it a try.

Lenore, that's an excellent point. We never know with anything online. Somewhere, somehow I took advantage of an identity theft protection. Now I am billed $20 per month for it and have been unable to contact them to drop the service. Trying to get my bank to discontinue honoring the direct debit would cost me more money than the $20.