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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 279
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I haven't been active lately, but as one of the original beta fish of Book Country, I have a few things I'd like to see:
1. Revised Book update- Several of my books have been rewritten and revised based on critiques on Book Country. After a title has gotten so many reviews it seems to stall out. Aside from asking on the boards, is there a way to breath life into an old title?
2. Member blocking- This is the reason I haven't been as active in past months. There are enough members on Book Country to have people not get along, can we get a way to block someone from seeing our posts and books? No, I don't want to contact the admins to discuss and moderate the disagreement, I just want this person to not be able to interact with me anymore. Right now there are ways to be a jerk and still be on the sunny side of Book Country rules. It's like a bully in high school and I'm far from wanting to go back there. Give me a block feature and I'll be happy.
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Joined: 4/4/2013
Posts: 18
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Stars. I know there is a discussion elsewhere about the meaning of stars. This is not that conversation.
Based on feedback from several authors whose works I have reviewed, I believe that no matter what BC might intend by stars, or anything similar, they will always be interpreted as a review in the sense that one gives stars in Amazon, or Goodreads, or....
The problem I have is that well over half of what I read here is far from my interests as a reader, and not to my taste. I would likely give it a 1-star review on Amazon because I don't like it, although it is certainly publication ready, and other people may be giving it 5-stars.
I do, however, think I can evaluate the writing independently of my tastes. Is it grammatical. Are the word choices precise, carrying what appears to be the intent of the author. Is it redundant. Does it lack "Tension that pulls the reader through the story." Are there wierd POV shifts. Am I frequently pulled out of the story by the writing, etc. Essentially, does it commit the crimes cited in "Don't Murder Your Mystery", or any other self-editing book of your choice, or does it avoid those.
Since BC does not allow me to post a critique without choosing stars, and since I find myself unable to give 3-4 stars for something with head-hopping, or other egregious 1st draft issues despite the story's potential, and since I am not interested in continuing to piss off authors by giving 1 or 2 star critiques for works which I deem far from publication ready even if the submission IS to my taste, I find myself unable to post critiques at all.
Here's hoping that stars, or any other form of one dimensional evaluation tool, simply vanish in future versions of BC.
Three
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Joined: 4/24/2013
Posts: 18
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I'm new to Book Country, having joined this week, along with several other writers I know from Facebook and elsewhere. One thing that has been mentioned is the ability to browse all novels in a specific genre rather than those that are just buzzing at the moment. Specifically I would like to have an 'undiscovered' section for books that have few or no reviews. I know from experience on other sites that your first review is a huge excitement and on sites where they do have this functionality I use it all the time to find good stories and hard working authors that deserve feedback.
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Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
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Hi TE!
Welcome. Thanks for the great suggestions! I think you'll like many of the improvements we have planned for this summer's re-launch of the site.
In the meantime, to browse all books in a specific genre, click on the magnifying glass / search button in the left nav, then select the "Books" tab, and choose the genre you want to browse. (Let me know if you need more detailed instructions. I can email you a screenshot.)
To find books that haven't been reviewed yet, select "Books" on the left nav and then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, where you'll see the "Waiting to be Discovered" Books section. Hope this helps!
Let me know if you have any Qs. Feel free to ask them through Twitter if that's easier--I'm the one managing the account.
Cheers!
Nevena
BC Assistant
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Joined: 2/21/2013
Posts: 40
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Several readers/reviewers of my novel, Wall of Dust, have commented that they fee it is more a literary work than a thriller, and I've come to agree with them. The trouble is, Book Country has no "literary" category on its genre map. Will there be such a category in the upcoming revision?
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there isn't one for paranormal fantasy or southern gothic either -- but those are subgenres ... but still fairly popular subgenres.
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Joined: 6/18/2012
Posts: 228
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Thank you all for continuing to come up with great suggestions. I think you'll see many of these ideas incorporated into the relaunch.
I can't wait until we can tell and show you more! I did get to share a new surprise for romance writers today. 
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Brandi, I don't know if this has been addressed, but I just noticed it like a few minutes ago. New follow/connection requests. They're really hard to find. I had a small handful and wouldn't have known they were there had the folks not told me on Facebook ...
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Joined: 6/18/2012
Posts: 228
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It's our goal to make it easier for writers on the site to connect with each other.
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One more thing -- I don't know if the font on my browser got changed or what, but the last week I've noticed the font here at BC is incredibly small. I'm having trouble even in my reading glasses. I know I can hit CTRL + and make it bigger, but ...
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Joined: 2/9/2012
Posts: 427
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Thank you to all who contributed to this thread as we worked on improving Book Country. I'm locking this thread since all new ideas & suggestions should go into the thread specifically created for your reactions to the new beta site.
Hope to see you there!
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