Fans of Amish Fiction discussion

I got asked by the people at www.thechristianmanifesto.com if I'd like to review romance/Amish books for their website. They review various (mainly Christian) films, music and books and were looking for someone to review romance novels as most of their reviewers are more into fantasy/edgy fiction. I don't know how they found my blog, but it's all very exciting!

So far I only have one review on the website, a YA novel, but they've started requesting books from publishers on my behalf and are going to post some of my old NetGalley reviews:

http://www.thechristianmanifesto.com/...

And here's my bio!

http://www.thechristianmanifesto.com/...

Anyway, just thought I'd let you know and I'll keep you guys updated on any Amish books I get prepublication that I think you'd like!

Cool!

Thanks Rachel!

Here's my second review, for Doctor in Petticoats by Mary Connealy:

http://www.thechristianmanifesto.com/...

They've not posted anything Amish yet, but they're working through my review backlist. Just waiting to hear back from publishers and see what they're going to send me to read...!

Rachel wrote: "Here's my second review, for Doctor in Petticoats by Mary Connealy:

http://www.thechristianmanifesto.com/...-..."


Hey Rachel, Here is a link for NavPress blogger review program, once in a while they list young adult titles for review, thought this might garner you some reading material for your articles,http://www.navpress.com/BloggerReview...

Just reviewed my first Amish book for The Christian Manifesto, yay!

http://www.thechristianmanifesto.com/...

Rachel wrote: "Just reviewed my first Amish book for The Christian Manifesto, yay!

http://www.thechristianmanifesto.com/..."

Great review!

Another review up this week, non-Amish: http://www.thechristianmanifesto.com/...

But I just finished Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long and told the fiction editor how much I loved it, so they're considering doing some sort of giveaway. Fingers crossed! :)

Rachel wrote: "I got asked by the people at www.thechristianmanifesto.com if I'd like to review romance/Amish books for their website. They review various (mainly Christian) films, music and books and were lookin..."

What's the best way to get review copies of books and/or advance notice of pubs date for upcoming titles? I want to start reviewing books for my website, but am not sure how to connect w/the publishers. Thanks.

Peggy, I'd suggest that the first thing to do - if you haven't already done this - is reviewing books that you've read to show publishers that you're capable of writing reviews. Once your website has a decent amount of reviews to show off your writing skills, then I'd recommend checking out NetGalley.com - a lot of publishers give away free prepublication ebooks in return for free reviews. If you're looking for hard copies of books, there's BookSneeze.com and http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggi... I think you can also sign up to get books from Bethany House, but I'm not sure what the link is to that website.

As a public librarian I have written many reviews, but never for Christian fiction. So I'm sharpening my pencil (figuratively speaking). I signed up at NetGalley but then found out that I need some sort of ereader. Hmmm. Don't have one and am unsure which one to buy. I was thinking of buying a used one.

Any suggestions, anyone?

Thanks, Rachel.

I have a Kindle and quite like it. Downside to it is no graphics really, and it is not in color. But, I have heard you can read this one outdoors, but not others. I know you can read this outdoors for sure, but I am not actually sure about other devices since I have never tried them.

For the most bang for your buck, I would get an iPad. You can put the apps for Kindle and Borders on it, and you'll have the iBookstore already on it. With those, you can download just about anything.

Plus you can do email and watch videos and movies on it, too :)

Adina
The Wounded Heart, book one in the Amish Quilt trilogy, Sept 2011
http://www.adinasenft.com

I mentioned to my daughter once that an e-reader sounded interesting and I might get a Kindle when the prices came down. Well, she surprised me on Mother's Day with a Nook Color. I tried to make her take it back having an idea of how much it cost...way too extravagant a gift (not that I don't think I'm a great mom but that's too expensive). I am going to the store later this week to see how much it cost because I just don't want to think of her spending so much $$...

Peggy wrote: "As a public librarian I have written many reviews, but never for Christian fiction. So I'm sharpening my pencil (figuratively speaking). I signed up at NetGalley but then found out that I need some..."

You could always download the Kindle for PC app from Amazon and read some ebooks on there to see how you like it? I read books on my computer for a few months when I first started reviewing to see if I'd enjoy it, then my parents paid half towards getting me a basic Kindle for my Christmas. Definitely one of the best investments I've made!

As far as I know, the Nook and Kindle are fairly similar, but as I'm from the UK we don't have the Nook as we don't have Barnes and Noble. So I got the basic, non-3G Kindle which was £109 at the time. The 3G is an expensive add-on and only really helps if you want to download a book when you're out and about, when you can really just wait until you're home and log on to your home wifi. Personally, I didn't think it was worth an extra £40, but if you travel it might be handy? The thing I love about the Kindle is that the screen isn't backlit or reflective, so you don't get eyestrain like you do looking at a computer or iPad, and it means you can read outside and the screen looks exactly the same as it does inside. The battery life lasts about a month, even more if you turn the wifi off when you're not using it, and there's a ridiculous amount of storage on it. Also, there are a lot of free Christian books every month on the Kindle, which has definitely made my Kindle worth the money I spent on it.

I hesitated on an e-reader not just because of price but because I spend WAY too much time writing and also grading student papers on my computer. So I downloaded the Kindle application to read books on the computer and haven't done it much...just felt like more eyestrain. But hoping -- if I keep the Nook -- that it will be better and it's certainly a shape that's more convenient than my laptop.

Excellent suggestions, everyone! Thank you.

Barbara wrote: "I hesitated on an e-reader not just because of price but because I spend WAY too much time writing and also grading student papers on my computer. So I downloaded the Kindle application to read boo..."

Barbara, I know what you mean - I was amazed at how easy it was to read on my Kindle compared to the app on my PC!

Peggy, glad we could help :)

I now have a kindle...but before I had that I got the Adobe Digital Reader free for download and was able to get the books on my Mac. Also some come down in PDF format.

Peggy, you don't need a kindle to read netgalley's books. I downloaded the adobe digital reader for free and that works fine. I also downloaded on my laptop the kindle app on amazon.com so i can read ebooks. i prefer print books for reviewing but netgalley only offers ebooks.

for anyone starting to review books, read and review books you already have and post them. that's how i started, then the other companies you apply for will look at your blog with the reviews already posted and sign you up. booksneeze approved me immediately so that was cool, but tyndale and bethany gave me about a month before they approved my review application. netgalley allows you to sign up immediately, but they email the publishers your requests and the publishers decide whether to send you the book release.

running a blog and connecting with other blogs is a process that you learn as you go :) hope this helps :)

Barbour on NetGalley approved me the next day for any of their listed books. :) B&H did too but you hav 55 days to send in your review.

Anyone know where to find my kindle address for my PC Kindle?

Thank You

Amber, sadly you don't get a Kindle email address unless you own an actual Kindle, rather than the PC version.

Figures. LOL Well, I'm getting me one this weekend so that will solve my problem. lol

Thanks

You're getting a Kindle this weekend? How exciting! I used the Kindle for PC for a few months before I got my Kindle and the lack of email address was a bit irritating, but I just downloaded the books to Adobe Reader and read them there.

Yes, I am excited. I like them on my PC as well but I like to read when I go to bed. Plus I have carpal tunnel in both my hands so I'm thinking this might help. It hurts my hands to hold books.

Ok I have a question. I am getting ready to do my 1st book review. Not for netgalley etc...but for myself. I've read lots of reviews from members of this group on their blogs. When you tell what the book is about before your personal review, do you copy that from the back of the book or off a website? Do you have any pointers?

thanks for any & all help.

good question Amber :) I have done both, my own summarizing or if i get stuck i quote the back of the book or the summary on amazon.com. just be sure to let your readers know where you got the summary if it's not your words (i usually put (amazon.com) next to it). i also summarize it myself if I don't think other summaries are incomplete or don't capture the book enough. don't forget to post it on retailer's website also (you pick which ones are most convenient, i like amazon the best)
since it's your review, you get to decide how best to post the information, everyone has a different style and that gives a great variety :)

I usually do my own summary without giving away any spoilers. But as Kara said if you use the back of the book summary or the GoodReads summary make sure to credit the source. Then I describe what I liked or didn't like about the books. I try to talk about if the characters were believable or if I found one of the characters annoying. If it's part of a series I'll generally mention if I'm interested in the next book in the series or not.

And as Kara said, I recommend posting to a retailer site too, and as she does, I prefer Amazon. I also post all my review to GoodReads, so they go a minimum of 3 places: GoodReads, my blog & Amazon. :)

Thank you for your responses and advice. I will probably get my review done Sunday night. We live on a farm and it's so chaotic right now. Plus my hubby is home until Sunday night. I usually get all my stuff done when he's at work. lol