Melanie - Founder of Melanie's Muses - You should know who I am lol If not click - All about Melanie!As I am back on the book review circuit (well kind of), I thought I would share a little about how it all came about, and why I feel that honest reviews are SO important for EVERYTHING! One of the things I often get asked is how did I end up doing what I do .... so here is the story. Well for the review side anyway. Back in about 2011 one of my friends reached out to see if I would be interested in reading a book and providing an honest review of it. Although I was a voracious reader, I had never really considered reviewing and something I would be interested in, but the Indie Author Market was in its infancy and authors were offering free eCopies in exchange for honest reviews so I thought why not. I reviewed the book and then the authors reached out to see if I would be interested in reviewing their other series, but I declined. (It wasn't a genre I was interested in and I had other things I wanted to read). And here's the twist - THEY DIDN'T GIVE UP! They liked my first review so much that they kept asking until I eventually gave in, and you know what? I actually loved the book and ended up reading and reviewing the whole series over the next couple of years. Those authors then went on to form CTP - and that is a whole other fabulous story. A couple of years after I started reviewing for authors, cherry picking things that interested me, another friend approached me about starting a blog where Indie Authors could request honest reviews and Nerd Girl was born. (Nerd Girl is still going, but I branched out). NerdGirlVamp, my reviewing name, got herself a reputation for honest reviews. 5 Stars don't come easily from me and so if an author gets it - then they earned it. This opened SO many doors for me, doors that I would never have expected. My honest reviews are what got me an invite to the Amazon Vine program where I now get all sorts of products to review. It got me on to publishing house lists, so that when I am active they will randomly send me books on the off chance I might want to review it. Even now I am bemused by the fact that my reviews are often not favorable, and yet the requests just keep coming. I am definitely a difficult reader to impress, mainly because I have READ so much, and I have OFTEN read better. I require twists to be unpredictable, I need my characters well rounded, and I need originality in genres that quite honestly are beyond over-saturated. Then again, reviews are subjective. When I don't like something I try to constructively explain why it didn't work FOR ME. For those in the subscriber group know that sometimes I offer up books I haven't liked as giveaways, and then they can decide for themselves. And often their opinion is different and THAT'S GREAT! Diverse reviews make the world a better place. Hateful reviews do not. Neither does giving everything 5 stars. So when you see those 5 little stars from me, know that they are earned. I refuse compromise the reputation that I have constructed over the past 13 years, because damn it - I EARNED IT! The Pineapple Code Word For This Article Is Reviews And Now For The Giveaway Melanie's Muses will be giving away a Summer Book Prize with 4 Books in it! (Yes they are books from publishers because sometimes I get duplicates). For your chance to win- FILL OUT THE FORM and tell us: Do book reviews sway your decision to read a book? (Feel free to explain your answer if you would like to). Comments about the article are encouraged - but for now only qualifying entries on the form will go in the bag! What your answer is will not influence whether you go into the hat - Only that you answer the question!
Winner will be announced during the Live show on August 25th and then posted on the page as well on August 26th if the winner isn't at the live.) Full Rules Below! Good luck everyone! Rules Only comments posted on THE FORM will be considered. This is open internationally. If you win and you cannot accept mail due to Covid issues we will hold the prize until such time as you can. Some exceptions may apply based on Post Office Regulations. Melanie's Muses takes no responsibility for rules beyond her control. Void Where Prohibited. Sharing is always appreciated but is not required for entry. Winner Will Be Picked At Random. One Entry Per Person / Household Prize is provided via Melanie's Muses and will be mailed by her. Winner will be announced during the live on August 25th and posted on the Facebook page on Monday August 26th if they aren't at the live. Winner will have 48 hours to claim by messaging their address to - https://www.facebook.com/MelaniesMuses/ Or prize is considered forfeit. Failure to claim will result in a no future giveaway entry being counted for 30 days. We want people to claim their prizes! Don't get on the list! Any questions please contact Melanie on the Facebook page ***Disclaimer - Any Links To Buy and/or Subscribe to Amazon Programs On Amazon on this website are Amazon Affiliate Links Melanie's Muses is part of the Amazon Associate program and earns from qualifying purchases which in turns helps support all the Muser giveaways we do!*** |
About The BlogMelanie's Random Musings About The Entertainment World - From Books to TV and Anything Else That Comes To Mind! Archives
September 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed