From: GraceAnne A. DeCandido <ladyhawk>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 13:56:28 -0400

Tricia Gardella sez, in part: A couple of questions for those reviewing for the more major publications: Do editors always choose the books you review? Are you allowed to suggest books you'd like to review? I've also been wondering about the advantages and disadvantages of passing a book on to someone who likes it?

I have, on rare occasion, asked for a particular book, and gotten it (I begged sweetly, for example, for the Philip Pullman vol 2 from my Kirkus editor, and she complied). Usually I don't seem to find out early enough to ask for things. On the other hand, my editors know, for example, that I love Donna Jo Napoli and am left cold by Gary Paulsen. The second half of your question is also interesting. The advantage of sending a book to a reviewer who is in tune with the author and or the author's subject is that the appropriate resonances are already set up: the reviewer is a primed audience. If there is a disadvantage, it might be that a reviewer might be less stringent with a writer he or she loves (I actually think the reverse is true). What do others think? GraceAnne

GraceAnne A. DeCandido Blue Roses Editorial & Web Consulting, New York City ladyhawk at well.com http://www.well.com/user/ladyhawk/gadhome.html What's Ladyhawk reading now? http://www.well.com/user/ladyhawk/books.html

Wizards do not lie; words are their tool and currency,
 which they dare not devalue.
 Diane Duane from The Book of Night with Moon
Received on Fri 18 Sep 1998 12:56:28 PM CDT