My book is going to be reviewed in two academic journals, Hispania and Letras femeninas. This is very pleasing news. Nobody wants to be the author of a book that was not noticed and got no reviews.
It’s weird that the author is never informed that her book will be reviewed, so she gets to search through Google to find out about the forthcoming reviews.
Two reviews for the first book are good, although, who knows, I might even be getting more.
“It’s weird that the author is never informed that her book will be reviewed …”
Actually, no, it isn’t weird at all — it’s more or less standard operating procedure, so to speak.
That’s because the reviewers typically don’t want to be tainted by having access to the author, especially the author’s direct replies to direct criticism. That sort of thing is more suitable for an interview, which this is not.
Once a book has been completed, it’s in the hands of the readers, and to an extent it becomes something the readers become responsible for, especially when it comes to critiques of the work.
In the movie industry, the same concept is referred to as “being in the can”, as in the round tin that holds the master film copy of the movie, although there are various levels of “being in the can” that can refer to the original unedited work being complete in addition to having the final version that audiences experience.
You’re done with the work and it has to stand on its own merits, as well as on how well it fits present-day circumstances and other things that are typically out of your control.
Your reviewers are your “official audience”, and I suggest that the best reply you can give them is to let them do their jobs and to critique them on that later.
Besides, bad reviews typically don’t deserve direct replies, especially bad reviews that consist of the reviewers’ mental states being inflicted on their readers.
Typically the readers you share with these reviewers will savage bad reviews on your behalf, and any minor irritations can likely be shared some time later in a private setting.
Keep in mind that critics are also judged by their readers, and that similarly many things are out of their control as well …
Relax — you’re in better hands than you should be.
[which is a line from the movie “Congo” that I’ve always loved using] 🙂
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“That’s because the reviewers typically don’t want to be tainted by having access to the author, especially the author’s direct replies to direct criticism. That sort of thing is more suitable for an interview, which this is not.”
“Once a book has been completed, it’s in the hands of the readers, and to an extent it becomes something the readers become responsible for, especially when it comes to critiques of the work.”
“Typically the readers you share with these reviewers will savage bad reviews on your behalf, and any minor irritations can likely be shared some time later in a private setting.”
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Oh, if I had a Reddit army, I’d be lethal. 🙂
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“You are totally right, I should expose the reviewers to the wrath of my blog and Twitter followers if the reviews are not 100% positive.”
Damn right! Some reviewers are real dicks. On a female researcher’s paper:
“On 29 April, Ingleby, a postdoc at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, posted two excerpts of the anonymous review. “It would probably … be beneficial to find one or two male biologists to work with (or at least obtain internal peer review from, but better yet as active co-authors)” to prevent the manuscript from “drifting too far away from empirical evidence into ideologically biased assumptions,” the reviewer wrote in one portion.”
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BTW, the UK general election is on Thursday …
“I don’t want to change the world, I’m not working for a new England …”
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So who do you support? Or is this too personal a question? 🙂
In our US elections, I’m supporting Bernie Sanders. Americans, who’s with me on this? I’m hoping that if Bernie starts strong, he will push Hillary to the left.
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Support a single political party? I thought you knew that I support all political parties, or at least the ones that can manage to get elected …
I’m just worried that I’ll have to buy a completely new set of politicians!
[but at least a Tory-UKIP coalition would let me avoid losing some of my earlier investments] 🙂
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As a Marxist and a Yes to Scotland’s Independence voter, I’ll be casting one for the Scottish National Party :- )
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Someone once said (about non-academic publishing): Bad reviews don’t kill books, no reviews kill books.
In academics, publishing something so wrongheaded that everyone is compelled to point out how wrong you are (by citing your horrible work) is far better than than publishing something acceptable that no one pays any attention to.
Negative incitements FTW!!!!
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Exactly! The reviews might still turn out to be positive, though. Or do you know something I dont? 🙂
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I do analyze a pornographic novel in it, so if Mike Huckabee is elected president, I have a good chance.
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He’s too busy looking for the Canadian national igloo to notice … 🙂
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No. Mike Huckabee won’t elected president. Haven’t you heard that the socialist Muslim from Kenya, President Obama, is going to invade Texas under the pretense of the up-coming military exercises, Jade Helm, and declare martial law as a prelude to subjugation of the rest of god fearing America? 🙂
http://gawker.com/governor-vows-to-defend-texas-against-insane-imaginary-1702015620
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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