November 9, 2022
By Paul Goat Allen
Straight from the files of Stating the Obvious comes the next BlueInk blog about the monumental importance of a novel’s conclusion. It’s a no-brainer, right? Your novel needs a memorable ending in order to have any chance at commercial success.
But then why do so many novels have weak conclusions?
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May 12, 2020
I’ve been a book reviewer for more than 25 years and I’ve reviewed countless titles across all genre categories—from apocalyptic fiction to zombie erotica. Although a sizable percentage of novels that I’ve reviewed have been flawed in some way—imperfect attempts to tell an entertaining and enlightening story—I do what I […]
April 2, 2018
Last year, more than 450,000 books were self-published. Imagine a reader standing in front of a bookshelf with that many titles. Now imagine the impossible: how will they choose one title over another?
That’s where reviews come in.
As former books editor of the Rocky Mountain News […]
April 2, 2018
Let’s be honest. All book reviews are not created equal. Sure, you can ask all your friends to write reviews of your book and post them on Amazon, but in an online world sensitized to “fake news,” readers have learned to take consumer reviews with a grain (or […]
April 2, 2018
You’ve finished your book and now you’re wondering: How on earth will I sell it? This is a daunting question, to be sure, one that involves carefully considering who your readers are and where you will find them.
Whatever the tactic, one of the first steps in reaching […]
October 2, 2017
By BlueInk Staff
Let’s be honest. All book reviews are not created equal. Sure, you can ask all your friends to write reviews of your book and post them on Amazon, but in an online world sensitized to “fake news,” readers have learned to take consumer reviews with a grain (or grain elevator!) of salt. […]
November 17, 2015
By Graham Dickson
Sites of booksellers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble feature countless consumer reviews — some legitimately written by objective third parties; others written by family and friends, and even by mills that pump out phony positive reviews for $5 a pop. Recently, Amazon has begun to take action against the authors of […]
September 4, 2015
You’ve finished your book and now you’re wondering: How on earth will I sell it? This is a daunting question, to be sure, one that involves carefully considering who your readers are and where you will find them. Whatever the tactic, one of the first steps in reaching readers is to obtain book reviews.
[…]
June 30, 2014
By BlueInk Staff
“Oh, the Mistakes We’ve Seen!” is part of a series of BlueInk Review blogs offering advice and insight into self-published writers’ most common errors, as seen in the nearly 3,000 reviews of self-published books that we have provided since our inception in 2011. Below, we have compiled excerpts from our more unfortunate […]
March 11, 2014
By BlueInk Review Staff
Here at BlueInk Review, we have been blessed with many great books and, uh, some that probably would have benefited from the attention of a very patient editor. As a result, we send out reviews that are complimentary and some that are, well, not so much. It’s probably not surprising that, […]
