Poll
Myself and the other mods have been surprised at the enthusiasm members have shown for the 'one time only' genre specific review rounds that have been set up for the 100th group celebration.
Which leads to the question, should the group move to genre specific rounds?
The downsides are that some genre rounds, especially more 'niche' ones might be difficult to fill, and after a few groups, organising non-reciprocal reviews, if the same people join over and over again, could be problematic.
Upsides would be that authors could be confident that their reviewers understand their genre.
As always, groups are set up when we have mods willing and available. Some mods only mod one group at a time, so instead of a 'general' group being set up every couple of weeks, you could wait months for another group in your specific genre.
The number/types of rounds we can run depends on the number of mods, their availability and their willingness to mod a particular group.
Which leads to the question, should the group move to genre specific rounds?
The downsides are that some genre rounds, especially more 'niche' ones might be difficult to fill, and after a few groups, organising non-reciprocal reviews, if the same people join over and over again, could be problematic.
Upsides would be that authors could be confident that their reviewers understand their genre.
As always, groups are set up when we have mods willing and available. Some mods only mod one group at a time, so instead of a 'general' group being set up every couple of weeks, you could wait months for another group in your specific genre.
The number/types of rounds we can run depends on the number of mods, their availability and their willingness to mod a particular group.
Both.
Only genre specific rounds
No, keep it as it is, with general, clean and 18+ categories.
Both genre specific and general
(write-in)
Both
(write-in)
Genre specific would produce better reviews for the author, but my novel is a YA and I am concerned that the group might not include enough YA authors to make genre-specific reviews practical.
Both .. please.
(write-in)
Both please
(write-in)
Sands of Time A Collection of thought provoking Stories
(write-in)
I think genre-specific rounds can be great for authors writing in well-defined categories like romance or fantasy. But for those of us creating niche books (like puzzle books, activity books, or educational workbooks), it might become harder to participate if only genre rounds are available. Maybe a mix of general and genre-specific rounds would work best? That way, no one gets left out, and niche authors still have a chance to be part of the community.
(write-in)
Silent Guy and its around ebooks on reviews and comments you like theme for to me
Poll added by: Emma
Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Mike
(new)
Mar 17, 2016 06:20AM
I would like us to have both, but the point about needing more mods is a key one.
reply
|
flag
As to shortage of moderators: all the categories don't have to be running simultaneously; they could be staggered through the year, a few at a time. This would give reviewers more choice in the categories they enter, and greater variety of subject matter.My only problem with the present categories is putting children's and young adults' together. It's not at all the same kind of reading matter! The one I'm currently reading is a full-length novel, as sophisticated as any in its adult genre. I might even go so far as to suggest that YA be included in the regular categories - Mystery, SF, Romance, etc., - and then labelled YA or J upon transmission to a reader. Is that feasible at all?
YA was added into the children's category to help fill it up, I'm not sure if we will be running a children's category on its own, there probably isn't a call for it.
I think Vera is right that they are very different things. Given a choice between having a children's round and a YA round, I'd go for YA - I think there would be more demand. In fact I am very sympathetic to the YA genre because there was so little available when I was young; I think the growth of this genre is a good thing.
It would be necessary to define YA - there are different views as to the ages it caters for.
You wave your hand in the air Francis. We've just had a new mod sign up today so now we have 11, although we have had 4 new mods sign up in the last few weeks (Waves as Kristian, Neil Warren and Graham).essentially once I have set up and individual round, a mod takes over. they then log when the reviews have been done, keep the round on track by prompting the participants if they are late with a review and answering any queries.
Each review group lasts 12 weeks, and many mods only mod one round at a time.
Mod mods means more groups can be offered, and its less pressure on individual mods, including myself. I set up the groups, but I also mod quite a few personally (five at the moment). With more mods, I don't have to step up quite so often.
I do think we need both. I write in all genres and just tried to join the recent 18+, which is a standard group, and I had already reviewed 6 books that had already been submitted. The book would be better suited for the out of this world, but that was not an option at the time when the recent 18+ opened up
I don't know how mods keep track - spreadsheets? But if a genre becomes "saturated" such that there are no fresh non-reciprocal reviewers available, perhaps it could be suspended for a while. Is there any time limit on Amazon's rule against reciprocal reviews? Does the prohibition ever expire between two authors? If so, that might help - genre rounds could resume after a certain amount of time... I don't know enough about the mod's challenges to offer more
A time limit has been discussed, and shot down in flames by the majority.People tend to join groups in short bursts, so the members joining do change over time. The group has been going nearly 5 years, and we have'n ground to a halt yet.
It's easy for me to vote for genres n the abstract - but there has to be a limit to slicing and dicing. Maybe limit the concept to a certain level of genres in Amazon? There must be dozens if you go all the way down to the lowest categry levels! That is - if the moderators are willing to take on the challenge. I apprecaite what you do, so I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining about the Review Group.
At the moment, we have 5 different sections, in this world, out of this world, clean, 18+ and general. Plus a novella category.
