DB Carries Elantris

[EUOL]

HoM:

Okay, sounds good.  I'm not sure how soon I could get meridian a review copy, but why don't you either mention me to your contacts there or send me their info.  Now that the book is in DB, I've got some momentum in the LDS community.

[House of Mustard]

I have sent an email off to her.  I'll let you know what I hear.

[House of Mustard]

I sent an email, and got a reply.  The only reviewer that doesn't focus on LDS books reviews kids books -- hence, none of the staff is available to review your book.  However, Meridian is always eager for submissions, so if anyone wants to write a review, there's a good chance Meridian will take it.  (Obviously, it would need to be a honest, accurate review -- not a blatant marketing ploy.)

[Firemeboy]

If you read Elantris, all your wildest dreams will come true.

[Chimera]

I might try writing a review. I've been thinking about doing book reviews, since I read so much and love to discuss what I have read. After I summarized Elantris (aka my boyfriend's book  ) for some dinner guests last night, my mom complemented me for doing a good job. And for one of my creative writing classes we had to review a bunch of books we read, and the teacher said I did a good job and should consider trying to do a book review for a magazine. Anyways, what I am saying is that I have been thinking of trying to do a book review for a while, but I didn't really know the market. So maybe I will do this. And then I could have EUOL look at it to see if it meets his standards before I sent it off.

No, I'm not partial. Not partial at all.  

[stacer]

Problem is, you have an obvious bias. Not exactly trustworthy reviewer material. Not that it isn't still a good book. If I read a review by Shannon Hale's husband, I'd be thinking, "Yeah, but he's her husband, he has to like it." (By the way, did you see her new book has been out about a month now? I need to pick it up. She and I have been chatting by email about various things and she told me Kirkus gave it a starred review.)

Not revealing your bias as a reviewer puts you at a disadvantage later if someone does discover that, if you're thinking of continuing in that vein. I'd actually suggest submitting children's book reviews to them instead. Though, honestly, their book reviews are not the standard by which I'd measure book reviews. Look at Kirkus and Horn Book and School Library Journal and especially VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates). But Meridian is a start, and Mormons listen to them for recommendations, high quality journalism or not.

[Spriggan]

I would say any of the regulars here have an obvious bias.

[stacer]

Yep. (Which is why I didn't offer to review it, not to mention time constraints.) You should get some staff member from TLE to submit a review to Meridian or something.

[Entsuropi]

About the least biased would be the non-utah folks.

[42]

If I read a review by Shannon Hale's husband, I'd be thinking, "Yeah, but he's her husband, he has to like it."

Actually, that is a logical fallacy. There are a lot of assumptions being made about the marital relationship in that statement. Logicallly, the spouse still has a choice to write a bad review. And it is possible that the writer could be entirely accepting of that.

But yes, most people would make the same assumptions, wether fair or not.

Course, a lot of critics are good friends with the writers they review. Writers are not stupid, they are going to do more than just write good material to get good reviews. Not to mention that the both writers and book critics tend to hang out in a lot of the same circles.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

it's not as bad as you make it out. Most people ARE predisposed to say nice things about their spouse's works. They may not "truly" like it, but because of how they feel about their spouse (and the way they at least subconsciously recognize that other person's respect for their taste, since they DID get married, after all), they are far more likely to put a positive spin on it or exaggerate it. Or are you arguing that personal relationships are not a real source of bias?

[stacer]

Me, or 42? I'm saying they are. But the closer the relationship, the more perceived bias. So even if it isn't actually biased (which I'm assuming Chimera wouldn't be), there's a perceived bias if the audience finds out.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

my comment was in response to 42. It may not ALWAYS be fair, but the public perception of bias is not without basis in a real problem.

[42]

I'm not so much making an argument as an observation. Yes I know that there some basis for the bias among the public. However, the bias fails to account for many factors that remain unknown.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

my position is that by trying to make the bias sound negligble that way you're not being accurate. It's not just "some basis" it's a pretty solid basis, and it's more of then the case than not.