Ethics in Reviewing

Monday News and Deals: Publishers Glum About Digital Future

Monday News and Deals: Publishers Glum About Digital Future

There are two big tech publishing conferences that take place in the spring.  One is Digital Book World and the second is Tools of Change. (The latter is one that I’ve gone to for 3 years).  Different companies collect data and present that data at these conferences.  One such survey conducted by Forrester Research Inc. [...]

Tuesday Midday Review Links: Kindle is everywhere but Canada (WTF?)

Copyright Licensing is a non profit copyright collective that represents publishers and authors. Yesterday (or was it Monday), CL began to digitize more than 300 of its most famous books and will be seeking the rights from publishers and authors to digitize others. These books will be made available to libraries, booksellers and educational sector. [...]

FTC Guide re Endorsement Update

I spoke with Richard Cleland this morning. I shared with him my concerns. I think that the enforcement of the rules are still in the developmental stage. Cleland reiterated what he told other blogs that this is the educational period. I don’t see the FTC regulations being revised, but apparently there is some room for [...]

The FTC and the Unreasonable Case of Disclosure

The FTC and the Unreasonable Case of Disclosure

see more Lolcats and funny pictures I had a different post planned for today. Really. It was from Louisa Edwards and Tessa Dare on the topic of the unlikeable heroine. But yesterday news broke that the new revised Guide from the FTC on endorsements was going to go into effect on December 1, 2009. Let [...]

Readers and Reviewers Online Don’ts

Earlier this week, we posted an author online don’t list and to be balanced, Maili suggested we do a reader/reviewer online don’t list. Brilliant idea, I said. *** Taste is subjective. When someone criticizes or slates one of your favorite books, they  aren’t criticizing you or your taste, they are making their opinion heard. Don’t ever [...]

Ethical Reviewing: Transparency, Consistency, and Community

Ethical Reviewing: Transparency, Consistency, and Community

more animals We’ve blogged about ethics and reviewing in previous articles. We’ve discussed bias. We’ve talked about the intricate relationship between the author and the reader. All of these things work together to form the fundamental basis of my philosophy of reviewing here at Dear Author. I believe that no one person is without bias. [...]

Would I Lie To You?

Would I Lie To You?

more animals Do you remember the movie "Election," with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick? In the first scene Mr. McAllister asks his high school class about the difference between ethics and morals. Ironically, of course, the one student who eagerly attempts to answer the question is also the one who proceeds to make mincemeat of [...]

Professional Review Question

Professional Review Question

I am the first to admit I am not a professional reviewer. I didn’t go to school or take a class on it. I’m definitely an outsider to the publishing industry. What I know about it comes from reading blogs and talking to editors and authors so I generally try to not question publicity matters. [...]

Coming Out of the Closet

Coming Out of the Closet

The question of whether there is a divide between authors and reader/blogger/reviewers has been discussed and debated here and elsewhere. To me it seems clear that it does, at least in some quarters. Some reader/blogger/reviewers, including some of my fellow bloggers here on Dear Author, have called out some authors for behaving badly. And some [...]

NBCC Posts Its Ethics in Reviewing Survey

National Book Critics Circle posted a summarization of the results of its Ethics in Book Reviewing survey. It’s okay to ignore self published authors and you shouldn’t review a book without reading the whole thing. There’s lots of other stuff, like whether it is more appropriate to eat m&m’s or hershey kisses while reviewing and [...]