A writing workshop is only as good as the feedback its writers receive. And Book Country aims to be the best, most useful online community for genre writers and readers like you. In order to meet that goal, though, I’d like take a moment and share with you some tips about how to write reviews and use our star rating system.

Writing reviews and giving feedback isn’t always easy—the key is to be honest but kind, critical but constructive. You want to be positive about a work’s strengths and potential but not tight-lipped about its weaknesses.

My approach to reviewing is always first to recognize the points which I found most appealing and compelling. I’ve found starting with the positives makes a writer more open and receptive to the negatives I may have encountered.

Then I ask myself about the work’s weakness: What areas did I find a little flat or lacking in some way? What would have improved my experience with the piece? What did I not understand? What techniques did the writer use that didn’t quite work? Thinking about the piece as a whole rather than going line-by-line (which isn’t as helpful in the draft stage as it is in later stages) is the best way to figure out what areas need work. Then I’m able to think more closely about the specifics, about the why’s and express those in a thoughtful and helpful way. As I mentioned, it’s not as important to drill down to the sentence-level, to point out errors, etc. Obviously, if there are issues that are overwhelming and disturbing the experience of reading, it’s extremely significant to let the writer know, but minimal tidbits here and there where an “i” isn’t dotted or a “t” isn’t crossed, don’t necessarily need to be pointed out. There are bigger, more overarching issues in every draft.

I also always ask myself about the book in terms of the market. Does it fit into its chosen genre? Is it familiar or fresh in its concept within that genre? Is the writing appropriate for the audience? These are important questions because publishing is an industry where items do in fact fall into categories and those categories determine the audience, which in turn determines how a book is marketed, promoted, and sold. Categorizing a book improperly can lead to its downfall, even if it’s a well-written and entertaining book. That’s why here at Book Country we feel the Genre Map and our granular categorization process is so important—not only will it help readers to find what they want to read, but it will also help writers to place their books in the correct places. So, as you write your review, always bear this in mind. The writer may be less successful than he or she otherwise would if a book is in the wrong place.

Once you’ve written your review (and it’s one with helpful comments and/or suggestions, not just gushing about how great it is!), it’s time to give it a star rating. The first thing I want to say is that a low rating doesn’t necessarily mean a book is “bad”; it means the book needs work. Everything on Book Country is a “Work In Progress” and every book, even ones by bestselling authors, has room for improvement.

The way I look at the star ratings is not only as a scale from good to bad, but on a scale of rough draft to final draft. So, keep both of those things in mind when giving your ratings. For example, you may have loved the voice and really enjoyed reading but still found a lot of areas that need attention—so maybe instead of giving those instinctual five stars, you should consider those “other” pieces, the ones that make it a draft, and rate accordingly.

Well, that’s about it from me on a general overview of reviewing and rating! I’m off to a pool match where I will likely get my butt kicked, but hey, at least I have you all to come back to, with your optimism and support, when my head is hanging.

Happy reading!

Your trusty editorial coordinator,

Danielle