I’m thrilled to report that I’ve received my first book reviews on the Amazon.com site. I am especially honored by the individuals who have submitted reviews to date. Rebecka Vigus is an author and an educator, so her perspective is important (remember that my goal is to pen enjoyable educational-fiction). Mel Perelman is one of the most intelligent and honorable men I know (I would have said that even if he didn’t give me a nice review). I’m just honored that he took the time to read the book. Michael Fladlien is a high school economics teacher who also hosts a blog(www.mikeroeconomics.blogspot.com) and has developed a downloadable app that will help students prepare for AP economics exams.
I was also honored to receive a letter from Chuck Oberlie, the Mayor of Michigan City, IN, who wrote, “I am surprised the book is not on the suggested reading list of all the high school and college economic professors….You found a creative way to explain the multiple interests and forces at work in economics and made them personal.”
You can find the Amazon reviews by clicking on this link.
I am flattered and humbled by the feedback thus far. I want to thank Jeff Kelly, who made the book available on the WeAre MC web page. I encourage people to continue to provide feedback. Even if you don’t like my writing style, hopefully you will support what we are trying to accomplish.
Kirkus Review
For those of you that don’t know, Kirkus Reviews was a book review magazine, started in 1933, known for having very harsh reviewers, rarely giving a positive review to anything. They also have a reputation as one of the most trusted and authoritative voices in book discovery.
Kirkus’ Indie program was started in 2005 when the editors wanted to expand their coverage to include the fastest growing segment in the book industry — self-publishing. For a price, authors can guarantee selection for review, but the books would be held to the same high standard as books published by traditional houses. Today, Kirkus reviews more than 7,000 books published by traditional houses and more than 3,000 self-published books every year.
There are many independent author comments on the web stating Kirkus reviewers have a negative bias against independent authors, and thus are inclined to give negative reviews. Similarly, some believe that since independent authors must pay Kirkus for a review, the review might not be as objective as an unpaid review. Since there are strong opinions on both sides of the argument, and since Kirkus gives the author the option to not have their negative reviews published, I think it’s most likely unbiased.
As a result, I recently gulped hard and paid for an independent review of Peter Jangle and the New Madrid Discovery. Although worried that my Peter Jangle novels don’t fit nicely into any specific genre (I call it Edutainment), and the reviewer might not understand what I was trying to accomplish, I was pleasantly surprised with what I view as a very favorable review. This link to the review is affirmation that I should continue to pursue my passion for writing and teaching.
Get Published: Take your book from manuscript to the masses with self-publishing and print-on-demand from CreateSpace.
