Interviewed by J.B. Scott |
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JB |
Hi
Cindy!
Thank
you for joining us at the "E-Literate" interview room. It is a
privilege and pleasure to have you as our guest. Now just to
familiarize our readers with who is Cindy Penn…you have been writing
for over twenty years, including essays, poetry, fiction,
nonfiction, and reviews. Your day job is that of technical writer.
You are the Web Wizard behind Wordweaving, having designed
and built the wonderful site. As senior editor, you offer a great
volunteer service to the e-realm with your infamous review site. So,
share with us a little more about yourself and how you find the time
to review 50-60 manuscripts each month. |
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CP |
Thank
you for inviting me, JB. I should explain that at the moment I'm a
happily unemployed technical writer, and when I'm working at that
job I only review 15-20 books a month. WordWeaving has benefited
from the downward turn in the economy : ) You'll never find me
without a book in my hands, at the grocery, in restaurants, even my
daily walk (I pick quite neighbourhoods where I don't have to watch
where I am going!).
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JB |
How did you get
started in the role of reviewer?
What was your very first review? And was that
when you realized reviewing was something you wanted to do?
How did you go about writing that very first
review?
Do you have a recipe of what makes a "perfect"
review? In
your opinion, are there any "must not do" when writing a
review?
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CP
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I got started as a
reviewer quite by accident. In December 1999 author/promoter Jan
McDaniel sent me a book entitled BEFORE YOU BUY THAT PUPPY. With a
background in English, I figured I could write something. Read a
bunch of reviews at Amazon, surfed the web, and thought, "I can do
that!" I promptly wrote a few more reviews of things I was reading
for pleasure to gain a bit more experience. Since WordWeaving was short on
content back then, reviews seemed like an obvious answer. Then I
went online and offered my services at the AllAboutMurder
list. Only took a month to be swamped!
The perfect review has a two or three paragraph
synopsis that doesn't give away too much, and then a concluding
paragraph giving a gut reaction. Negative or positive doesn't matter
as long as the reaction is genuine, supported by facts, and doesn't
attack the author. That stated; I vary the formula a lot!
THOU
SHALT NOT ATTACK THE AUTHOR, no matter how much you hate the
book. So far I've only sent one book back to the publisher,
declining to review it because I found it offensive, rude, and
demeaning. Since it was unsolicited, nonfiction, meant to help
physicians make more money, and cost $72, I figure I was entitled.
It was the only book I've read that I would have attacked the author
in frustration no matter what I wrote.
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JB |
Wordweaving.com is an
impressive site and an invaluable resource for authors and
publishers alike. Share with us now what inspired the creation of
the site?
How
did the infamous spider web logo come about?
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CP |
In April 1999,
author Jan McDaniel placed an ad in the now defunct Inkspot,
offering a position of support to someone willing to start an ezine
for writers. She envisioned something that included columns,
features and articles. I was working as a technical writer, but we
were in a holding pattern while development decided what they were
doing. I would show up for work (for months) with nothing to do. So
I answered Jan's ad. Started WordWeaving at Homesite, because it was
free, had a WYSIWYG editor, and I didn't know HTML.
Over the summer I learned HTML, which helped
with my day job, and took a class in web design. Guess you could see
the professor and I didn't see eye-to-eye. He hated the spiders!
Said the site looks like an occult site, is hard to navigate, and
was unprofessional. Gave me my first B in graduate studies. HRMPH.
Academics. I should have learned my lesson the first time I was in
grad school. So I dropped out of grad school and listened the daily
emails that praised the look and feel of the site, and said how easy
it is to navigate WordWeaving.
I
chose the spider because all writers are weavers of the written word
on the world wide web. Nothing could be more appropriate.
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JB |
How did you plan and
organize your day with so many review requests entering your
cybershelf?
Are you overwhelmed at times with the sheer
volume of requests from authors and publishers?
Is the demand exceeding the supply of reviewers
at Wordweaving? Do
you believe the number of review requests have increased over the
last twelve months? If so, why?
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CP |
The books on my
desk and filling my email could easily fill the rest of this year
and half of next! I track review requests differently, based on the
method of publication. Galleys for traditional publishers get
priority because their "window" is so small. If a Harlequin doesn't
sell during the thirty-day window it is on the shelf, chances are it
won't sell at all. And since authors frequently absorb the cost of
sending me their galleys, I try to be courteous about the turn
around time. The same goes any book mailed in. The turn around is
fairly quick, based on when the book is scheduled for publication,
or the review needed for advance PR.
E-Author David LaGraff recently stated, "The
main reason to buy an e-book is to get your hands on something
unconventional." That statement summarizes why I love eBooks. And
since they don't go out of print, it is to the author's benefit to
have reviews coming out periodically, rather than all at one time. A
buyer must see your book three times to purchase it. So if it takes
WordWeaving eight months to review the eBook, chances are increased
for purchases when they've seen the book elsewhere as well. I'm way
behind on eBooks, but catching up since I'm reviewing has become my
day job as well as my night one.
Reviewers don't seem to stay with me long. I
have a theory about that. Reviewers are swamped with direct requests
within a couple of months of writing their first reviews. That's why
some sites don't allow contact between authors and reviewers. So I'm
shooting myself in the foot, so to speak, because new reviewers are
quickly swamped and can no longer accept work from WordWeaving.
Also, many reviewers want traditional paperbacks, not electronic
submissions. I can't afford to mail stuff out.
My vision of WordWeaving is to allow reviewers
to maintain ownership of their reviews, to meet authors, etc. So I'm
never going to keep reviewers long. Oh well. As a result, I can't
guarantee every book accepted will be reviewed due to time
constraints. I do guarantee that we'll try.
Yes,
review requests have greatly increased, and if I look at my desk or
in my inbox, I'm very overwhelmed. But I also like being needed, and
providing something necessary to the industry. Unlike many
reviewers, I'm not an author wannabe. I love what I do, and see
myself reviewing forever.
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JB |
Now Wordweaving.com
is not a mere review site, it also offers interviews, columns and
articles. Share with us now your most memorable:
A/ Interview
B/ Article
C/ Column
D/ Review
And why they were memorable
You
also have received some fabulous awards for your site. With so many
other websites out there, share with us your suggestions in how you
go about getting your website noticed.
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CP |
A/ Charlotte
Compo-Boyette because of the way the characters follow her into the
shower. Susan Mallery because of her understanding of how soldiers
are affected by their work; a story that touched my heart because of
my brother. JennaKay Francis introduced me to fantasy. Pat Rasey,
who received inspiration from a television show and hooked me on
eBooks. Children's book author/illustrator Terri Sanders, who just
received an award from us, also is among my favorites.
B/ "Assaulted Online" by Angela Giles
Klocke. I live in fear of hateful email, and my skin crawled with
Angela's account of a vicious reader. It's my nightmare come
true.
C/ Anything by columnist Vicki Hinze is
wonderful. Vicki made a vow two years ago to give back some of the
bounty with which she's been blessed. Thus, Aids4Writers was born.
Last year she gave WordWeaving blanket permission to reprint her
columns with the same generous spirit.
D/ I don't expect authors to respond when
I send a copy of their review. But every time an author says thank
you, the review becomes special. I carry all praise I receive in my
heart, and the emails stay in my "author correspondence" box
forever. Since I don't get paid in money, that's my reward for a job
well done.
E/
Quality. Typos are distracting (and yes, you're bound to find them
at WordWeaving too), dead links drive users crazy, and so does poor
navigation. A search feature is absolutely necessary for something
big as WordWeaving. I can't stand to go look at another site and I
can't find the information I need, even when I know it's there. The
best publicity is word of mouth--translate to list discussions in
the cyberworld. Always put a link to your site in your byline. If
you are an author, ad the name of your book, publisher, and date of
publication.
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JB |
As a reviewer, what
has been the most profound comment an author has made to your review
of their work?
It is said that you love to read. Do you have a
genre preference? Share
with us your favorite author
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CP |
Every author who
thanks me and who makes the comment that I zeroed in on what they
wanted to say validates what I do. I always get a kick out of
authors having bad days, who unexpectedly get a good review in their
email. "You made my day," comments make mine as well.
A recent list discussion of whether authors
should say thank you for reviews made me aware of the distance
between many reviewers and authors. Because I also publish my own
reviews at Midwest
Book Reviews and Amazon.com, I am very accessible
and hear from most authors. And when they say, "you got it" then I
know I'm doing my job. Occasionally I don't get it, and if I don't,
both the author and I need to know why.
I read everything. I keep the suspense for day
reading and romance for nights I can't sleep. I read eBooks at night
on the reader and beside the pool. I read everything that comes my
way with great pleasure, and like switching genres. I especially
enjoy the non-traditional, which is what eBooks so appealing.
My
favorite author is contingent on who I happen to be reading at the
time. Several come to mind as spectacular, such as Charlotte
Boyette-Compo, Pat Rasey and Monette Michaels for eBooks. Among
romance authors, I recently fell in love with MAGIC IN A JELLY JAR
by Sally Tyler Hayes (I meant to give her an award but had a
personal crisis that got in the way of work on the site that month).
I love Julie Kenner's THE CAT'S FANCY and purchased six copies as
gifts. Susan Mallery can really touch my heart. Just finished a
great detective novel by Brian Lawrence. If you ask me next week,
I'll have a new list of favorites!
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JB |
You receive many
manuscripts and being a senior editor, you know first hand the
importance of editing. Share with us now your experiences as
editor.
What
are your comments for those few brick and mortar publishers that
suggest e-published works are not edited properly?
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CP |
Grrr....pet peeve.
Had a book cross my desk once that infuriated me. I ran the count in
Word, and found 719 exclamation points in a 129 page manuscript.
It's little things like missing punctuation, or punctuation in the
wrong place that completely throws the reader out of the story. I
won't even begin to gripe about the deep edits that get missed.
For self-published authors, I can tell who
self-edited and who found a pro to help. And that's what separates
the professionals from the amateurs. I won't give higher than
"recommend" no matter how good the story, if the proofing errors
make the text unprofessional. I will mention the flaw of editing in
a review after I make sure that the book has been through a final
edit.
That
said, I also see as many mistakes from "brick and mortar publishers"
as some e-Publishers. In fact, as the e-Publishers increasingly try
to improve their reputations, I'm seeing the quality that
distinguish the professionals from the amateurs. A year ago, I was
one of the folks declaiming poor editing among e-Publishers. In
general, I no longer see those problems because they either went out
of business or got better editors.
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JB |
Looking
at where you are today, are you where you thought you would be
twelve months ago? Where do you see yourself this time next
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CP |
Whew!
It's been a long twelve months, and I've written another 200
reviews. I wanted to do this full-time, and today I am. Not sure how
long I can afford to work at WordWeaving full time for no pay, but
I'm going to try to make it last! A year from now? I'll have written
500 more reviews. Move over number one spot at Amazon, here I come!
LOL
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JB |
What are your
thoughts on the e-publishing industry?
How
do you see the future of e-publishing in the text two years?
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CP |
The e-publishing
industry has seen a real shake up with the drop in the economy. I've
seen many of my favorite sites change hands or go out of business
since January 2001. Even some review sites have closed their doors
because this is a time intensive business with little monetary
reward for e-Publishers or e-authors. In time, that will change. Two
years from now, e-Publishing will have gone from book publishing's
step-child to just another way to publish. It has to. We can't
afford to kill all our trees forever.
I've
noticed that my own attitudes toward e-Books are changing. In the
beginning, I was more forgiving of poor editing, for example. As the
very professional sites surviving the economic downtrend have raised
the standards, my own standards have been raised. I now expect an
e-Book to have the same excellence that a paperback does in order to
receive rave reviews. |
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JB |
POD
seems to be the new kid on the block within the e-realm - share with
us your thoughts on this new format. |
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CP |
POD
is great for dinosaurs like myself that love the look and feel of a
paperback in hand. Of course it increases sales for the e-industry.
But as my teen son reminds me, his generation is electronic. If they
can spend hours playing on the computer or in front of the TV with
video games, then they can read a book the same way. Twenty years
from now, my son tells me, it'll be like Star Trek, and print books
will just be something very special on the shelf. We'll read new
releases on our readers. I agree. |
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JB |
Now you are no
stranger in writing a review. What advice can you offer authors that
have the task of getting their manuscript(s) reviewed?
What role do you believe a reviewer has in the
literary process? Now
there is a great deal of highly talented authors on the WWW, but on
the rare occasion you receive a manuscript that will receive a
low-rating, how do you tackle that task?
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CP |
The hard part
first: low ratings. I cringe every time I have to do one. I've
really struggled with decisions on how to handle low ratings. And
contrary to rumor, WordWeaving does give low ratings. Worst case: I
recently reviewed a book that I couldn't recommended, no how, no
way. Some reviewers refuse to publish those kinds of reviews, but
that violates my vision for WordWeaving. To me, low ratings indicate
a level honesty and risk on the part of the reviewer (unless they
have a reputation for author bashing). Please note that my statement
is not a judgement of other reviewers, simply an indication of my
own beliefs. Since it was a genre romance, and I reviewed all the
releases in that line that month, I had to run the review, and treat
it the same as any other, including submit it to Midwest and
Amazon.
So I wrote the synopsis, and then used three
very detailed points to complete the following statement, "Sadly, I
cannot recommend [book title] because..." It was one of the hardest
things I've ever done, because I know the author's heart and soul
went into that book. She's published over 50 books in the romance
genre. But I'm a reviewer, and honor bound to not gloss the truth. I
did not, however, in any way, attack the author.
And
that's the role reviewers fill: We get the word out about good
books. We inspire interest in a very competitive world. We are
ethically bound as reviewers to offer since praise or criticism
based on the text. We must do so respectfully, with no criticism of
the author as a person. And we are honor bound to treat all authors
alike, from the most famous to the most obscure, with courtesy and
respect even if they attack us. Do we make a difference? Some days I
wonder...
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JB |
Now, this is where
you let your hair down, and offer anything further…yes a free plug
is more than okay…
Cindy, I would like to take this opportunity of
thanking you for agreeing to do this interview and I wish you well
for all your future endeavors.
Regards JB
Scott
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CP |
First, I have some
advice for authors seeking publicity. I'm surprised at how few take
the opportunity to get their name known through sites like
WordWeaving. Many sites are looking for free content, or reviewers,
and will offer a resource box at the bottom where you provide a
brief bio and links to your own books. If you submit your article or
review to a place like Free to Publish in Yours, plenty of folks
will publish your work with that nice link to your book. A reader
sees your name a few times, and they will check it out.
Second, thanks to authors and readers who have
made WordWeaving such a success (thanks Jan for the early
inspiration; Jeramy for web space and running the server; Hope and
Dell for the editing; my love to KD McIntosh's memory). I'm an
insomniac, and often work in the early morning hours, and it's these
folks that keep me going. And of course, this is an invitation to
visit! Thanks
for having me! | |
