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It Pays to Read: Book Reviewing Basics
With Amy Brozio-Andrews
Now open enrollment!
A six-week class
taught by an experienced book reviewer designed to teach you how to earn
money doing what you love-- reading. Plus, get a free paying markets list just for book reviewers!
Goals of the class:
1. Students will have the skills and knowledge needed to obtain and complete freelance book reviewing assignments.
2. Students will also be familiar with the criteria for evaluating fiction and nonfiction books.
Duration:
6 weeks
Start Date:
open enrollment
Learner
Prerequisites:
N/A
Limit: 5
students
Cost:
$125
Class
Materials: Will be provided
by instructor by e-mail.
Course Outline:
This is a six-week course. The first five weeks students will receive a lesson and assignment on Mondays. I will be available by e-mail to answer any questions or concerns students may have throughout the week. Assignments should be turned in by e-mail (no attachments) by Friday at 5:00 p.m., EST. Assignments will be returned to students, with feedback, by Monday morning.
The final, sixth week, there will be no formal lesson. However, I will
be offering individual instruction tailored to answer students' remaining questions and offer critiques-- on the lessons, assignments, and book reviewing in general.
At the conclusion of the class, students will receive a free book reviewer's paying markets list.
Syllabus:
Week 1
Lesson: Book review basics: structure, publication, audience
Assignment 1: Find five book reviews online-- from a mix of newspapers, websites, and magazines (you should include at least one of each). Write a brief 500-800 word commentary on the similarities and differences you notice among them: consider length, tone, style, audience, format, etc. Be sure to include the URLs of each of the five reviews you refer to with your assignment.
Assignment 2: Select one fiction and one nonfiction book to review. These may be titles you've already read and are familiar with;
you will be writing book reviews based on these two titles in weeks
three and four of this class. Please e-mail your selections to the instructor.
Goal: Demonstrate understanding of the concepts of overview and evaluation in regard to book reviewing.
Week 2
Lesson: How to get started: securing review copies, how to prepare and write a book review
Assignment: Research five publishers whose books you'd likely interested in reviewing. Write two sample queries-- one requesting a review copy, and another asking to be added to the publisher's list of reviewer contacts.
Goal: Demonstrate understanding of how to obtain review copies.
Week 3
Lesson: Fiction reviewer's checklist: qualities and characteristics for evaluation
Assignment: Write a fiction book review of 500 words.
Goal: Demonstrate understanding of criteria for evaluating fiction books and practice writing book reviews.
Week 4
Lesson: Nonfiction reviewer's checklist: qualities and characteristics for evaluation
Assignment: Write a 500-word review of a nonfiction book.
Goal: Demonstrate understanding of criteria for evaluating nonfiction books and practice writing book reviews.
Week 5
Lesson: Selling your work: market research, pitches and queries, rights and reprints
Assignment: Research three potential markets for the fiction and nonfiction book reviews you wrote for lessons 3 and 4; tell why each of them would be an appropriate market for you to pitch this particular title to. Write queries for two of them.
Goal: Demonstrate understanding of how to do market research, matching books to appropriate publications.
Week 6
No formal lesson; outstanding assignments will be returned to students with feedback. Week is spent answering any outstanding questions about lessons or assignments and offering critiques. Students will receive a free book reviewer's online markets list.
About Amy:
I consider myself fortunate to work with readers every day. Book
reviewing allows me to combine my love of reading and writing with my
professional experience as a readers' advisory librarian. With more than five years' experience and 125+ publishing credits that include Library Journal, Absolute Write, The Imperfect Parent, Melt Magazine, You Grow Girl, January Magazine, and The Absinthe Literary Review, I can show you the basics of book reviewing and shorten your learning curve.
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