Why You Have to Read the Whole Book

 Whether you're aware of it or not, you're sort of reviewing every single book you've ever read, whether in whole or in part. Don't you form an opinion about the writing, the pace, the characters and the plot as you're flipping pages? You may never tell anyone what you thought of the book, but you're still creating a review in your head for yourself -- notes and remembrances that will spring to mind every time you think of that book in the future. If you're an indie author, there's a good chance that the review you create will take a much more literal form. You can easily find yourself with a long TBR (to-be reviewed) list and a lot of responsibiliies and agreements to read other self-published books. 

And believe me, I know that it's tempting to cut corners. But there are some really good reasons why you have to read the whole book if you're going to review it and share that review with others. I know there are good reasons, because I've gone through some pretty bad experiences that taught me pretty well.

All or Nothing

When I first self-published my first book (Justice), I began reading forums for indie authors pretty quickly. I wanted to connect with others like myself and learn from their experiences. I fell into a review swap agreement right away. It was my first trial as an indie author...and my first important lesson. 

• Review responsibilities.

I committed myself, and I did take that commitment seriously. But I didn't know what I was agreeing to in the beginning; meaning I agreed to swap before even looking at the other author's book. Do NOT do this. I found out that I had agreed to read a book about religious subject matter, which I have never and will never do again so do not ask. 

It's not my particular slice of pie, and after about 25 percent I felt strongly that I had a really good grasp of the writer's style and the main characters in the story. Basically, I had enough information to write a review about the book's premise, the author's narrative voice and the mechanics of the writing. I'm certain I'd have done a great job of writing that review, too, and I nearly went ahead and did so.

Something stopped me. I decided to read just a little bit more to find out more about the story, even though I wasn't particularly interested in the story. At 50 percent, something stopped me again. I discovered something extremely offensive in the book, and it was a deal-breaker. I knew right then and there that I could never, would never, promote this book in any way -- not even to uphold my responsibility. And that brings us right to lesson two. 

• Over the line. 

Funny that I should brag about stopping a book at 50 percent in a post that's all about reading until the end, right? I can appreciate the irony as much as you, but there's a point to the story and a method to the madness. There is a line when you're reviewing, and you know where it's at. When a book crosses that line, that's when it's okay to stop but that's also when you've made the decision not to review the work. You can't review it if you don't read all of it, and that's because of what I discovered: you never know when or how an author will surprise you. You might love a book, and when you're 99 percent finished the author writes something that's just over the line. If you decided to write the review at 75 percent completion, you are now supporting 100 percent of the work (unless you're writing the review to denounce the book completely and you make it clear that you didn't even finish, of course, but I find this unkind and I believe many other authors would as well). And even if your review is wholly negative, you're still contributing to its publicity. 

You know how I feel about reviews: there's no such thing as a bad one. The more incendiary and negative a review, the more compelling that book will become to certain people. So read all of it, because whenever you talk about it or write about it you are supporting it in some way. 

• Small taste.

There's another reason why you have to read the whole book: plots unfold slowly. You can't really get a complete grasp of the plot until you read all of it, from beginning to end. This allows you to put every part of the book into its proper perspective. Without that perspective, you are going to walk away with a skewed vision of that book. What you think of the book could end up being wildly different than your friend, who did read the whole thing. You can read just a small portion of a book and walk away from it, and your impressions will be so vastly different from others it's almost like you read a completely different book. 

I was on the other end of a situation like this one. I send out a lot of review requests, because I believe in them, and I was feeling particularly confident one sunny afternoon this summer. Confident enough to toss my book on the table for the 7,500 word challenge. If you're not familiar with it, it's a particular blog where the reviewer reads only the first 7,500 words of every book they review. They make it plain that this is what they are doing to all readers and authors, so I knew what to expect. 

I just wasn't prepared for it, that's all. Turns out, the first 7,500 words of my book take place before my big twist and before the main character's entire life falls apart (which is the entire meat of the entire story and really, the entire series). So I end up getting back a review that I felt wasn't really reflective of my work at all, and maybe I cried a little (I'm human, okay?), and that definitely isn't one of the reviews you'll find re-posted here on the blog (because I spent a long time pretending that particular review didn't exist and today marks the one and only time, to date, that I have ever mentioned it in any forum). I wanted to write to the blogger and beg them to read the entire book, but that wasn't the deal, was it? 

Now, imagine how broken up I'd be about it if the reviewer never told me they weren't going to finish the book.

All or Nothing, Again

If you've ever created anything, you know how it feels. I get myself bent out of shape if someone doesn't take the time to read my entire email, and it stings when I know someone didn't finish my book for some reason or another. If you're going to review it as a whole, you owe it to the author to read it as a whole. The minute you stop reading, you decided not to create that review. And that's okay. Because unless you can look at the whole picture, I as a review reader don't want to see a tiny snapshot.

Review: The Gaze

I was wasting time on Goodreads one day when, somehow or other, I ended up reading the blurb for The Gaze. It was amazing! I was so drawn to the story upon reading it, I sent the author a message right then and there and actually asked him if he would let me review the book. That was at the beginning of the summer. I started the book in June and finished it last night...just a few days before autumn will officially begin. 

The Gaze is beautifully written. Javier Robayo definitely knows how to turn a phrase, so to speak. The dialogue is smooth and true; I can actually hear the characters talking when I'm reading it. The narrative is powerful and strong. Robayo knows which words to choose.

But, he does choose too many. It took me a long time to read The Gaze because The Gaze is just too long. There are a lot of scenes that flash back to the past and a lot of scenes of the main character doing nothing much at all. For a rather hefty chunk of the story, I felt like I had two options: I could read about a woman in agonizing detail as she screws around on Facebook, wanders around her bedroom and wastes time -- or, I could just go back to being that woman. Time was getting sucked out of my life, needlessly, either way. 

There are a lot of scenes of Sam, the main character, on Facebook. There is a lot of detail about the various conversations she's having there. I think a lot of us know what it is to waste time on Facebook, so I felt like some of these scenes were needlessly added.

Mostly,  I just wanted to get back to the main story because it was fairly gripping. Sam is young, troubled and hopelessly entangled in her own past. I really identified with that. At the start of the story, she meets a young man in the restaurant where she works as a waitress. He's also young, and troubled, and he writes a beauiful, heart-wrenching love poem on a paper placemat. It's pathetic, and it speaks to Samantha right away. It leads to an encounter between the two. She takes him home, and seduces him, even though it's clear his heart will never be hers. 

It leads to a downward spiral. Years later, Sam is college educated, and gorgeous, and living in the big city. She works as a book editor, because she's been drawn to fiction ever since that chance encounter. And she's a miserable wreck. Still pining for Tony, she's come out of a very toxic relationship on the wrong end of a vodka bottle and her only family in the world is gone. She has one close friend, an Englishman named Lewis who loves being the life of the party. Despite the career and the looks she's got, Sam is 100 percent screwed up. Frankly, I didn't care for her or for her friend Lewis, either. She's clearly an alcoholic, extremely low-functioning, and during their early interactions he's well aware of her problem and still taking her to raves and clubs. He's an enabler and it's despicable, but Sam has a true problem that stems from deep emotional pain. I didn't hate her because she was an alcoholic. I hated her because she was on Facebook. 

In a move that I'm sure many other women (especially those who have had their cups refilled too many times one night) can relate to, Sam goes searching for Tony on Facebook. And she finds him. She finds the mysterious woman from the placemat, too, Tony's love that he wrote about so beautifully. Her name is Gwen, and she's gorgeous. She's got blonde hair and a perfect smile...and Tony. They're married. They have two beautiful daughters. 

Most self-respecting women at this point would go ahead and drink a little more, call Gwen some names and maybe imagine that she has webbed toes or forty extra pounds in her rear or a back covered with legions (one can only hope). Samantha isn't a self-respecting woman. She ends up befriending Gwen instead, enticing her with hints that she had some connection to Tony in the past, and sets about to destroy the relationship in a hazily subconcious/concious fashion. 

They become best friends, Sam and Gwen (betcha didn't see that coming), and you'll spend the next 25 percent of the book learning what it's like to spend a whole lot of time on Facebook. Eventually things start to happen. A great deal of the past is revealed, perhaps too much, and Sam ends up seeing Tony again. Does she meet Gwen? Does she steal the guy from the blonde wife? Can we find a reason to hate the blonde wife? You'll have to read it yourself. 

Just don't say I didn't warn you about the length, because I did (don't stop following me on Facebook because of this book!). The grammar is good, so you know I love that, and Robayo has mastered the mechanics of writing itself. He doesn't use the wrong words or screw up his punctuation, but there are some proofreading errors and weird formatting issues you'll have to watch out for. 

But if you want a story with a strong narrative about chance meetings and how they shape us, being mired in the past and how that can stop us, and how not letting go can wreck us, you'll probably adore The Gaze, flaws and all. I know I set the bar pretty high, but there's a chance you can beat my three-month reading record and complete the book quicker than I did.

The Gaze on Amazon

The Gaze at Goodreads

Meet Jade

How do I overcome writer's block? What do I love about being an author? Find out in my newest interview! 

I answered some in-depth questions about writing and reading at Confessions of a Book Addict. Visit the blog to read the entire interview, and find out which direction I'm taking with my next project.

Get a Bunch of Free Books

I'm participating in the vacation extravaganza at Blkosiner's book blog! Enter the giveaway to win a copy of the first book in the Deck of Lies series in any electronic format of your choice. 

You'll also get a $5 (USD) gift card to Amazon so you can buy more books (the rest of the Deck of Lies, maybe?). Don't miss your chance to win!

Inside The Tower

"Jade Varden HAS to be one of the best indie writers and yes guys she blew me away again with her second book in the Deck of Lies series!"

"Just brace yourself for a jaw dropping storyline."

BookAThonFreak has posted a new review of The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2), and I want you to read it! It's spoiler-free, so feel free to go check it out. While you're there, watch the official trailer for The Tower at the bottom of the post.

Best Apps for Writers

Writers have always used the best technology possible to create their books. Do you think anyone welcomed the invention of the fountain pen more than the authors of the day, who had drawers filled with empty ink bottles and used-up quills? Do you question at all that writers were the first to try out typewriters, and felt deep longing the first time the electric typewriter became available? No! Technology is even more sophisticated today, and it's even more useful for today's writers. But app-hunting takes up some pretty serious time, and you need your time for writing. So I've hunted out the apps for you to make things a little easier.

Apps for Writers

Even web browsers have apps and add-ons, and there's no reason not to use them. Anything that can help you save time or get things done more efficiently is worth pursuing. 

• Blogging. You never know when you're going to get a great idea for your next blog post. The Blogger app is available on the Android market and through the iStore, so go download it. If you're a WordPress user, download that app for your browser and all your smartphone devices. Browser apps are especially useful because they give you quick, instant access to your posts. If you blog elsewhere, just get the Pages app. It's a handy little word processor that makes it easy to record notes or even create entire compositions. Get it from the iStore for any of your Apple products.
• Notes. But if you're a serious note-taker, you need a serious app for it. Get Chapters from the iStore to keep all your thoughts organized. You can even add password protection for extra-sensitive materials. 
• Words. I'm a big advocate of using appropriate reference materials, and that's why I love the Advanced Dictionary and Thesaurus app. It's available on Android and Apple products. A dictionary-only version is available on Blackberry. If you're using the same words too much in your writing, even a quick glance at the thesaurus can get the creative juices flowing again.
• Social. As every indie author knows, writing is only one part of the job. It's great to keep your notes organized and your words interesting, but you've got to do a lot of promoting work, too. That means you've got to get the Twitter app, the Facebook app, the Goodreads app and apps for every other social media site you use. They're available on just about anything you might have. Sync your smartphone to your author accounts for quick access. If you've got a Facebook author page, get the Facebook Pages app, too.
• eReaders. If you're downloading apps, you can't pass on the Kindle and Nook apps. Get them both so you can get an idea of how readers are looking at your work. You might end up being surprised at what you see. It's always a good idea to put yourself in your reader's shoes (or in their ereaders), so get all the ebook apps on all the devices that you use.

And because my blog is dedicated to self-published and indie authors, all of the apps on my list are free. You've got to save up your money for ebooks, covers, copyrights and all the other stuff that goes into creating novels. Get the free stuff that helps you save time and get more done, and write more novels!

Getting in Deeper with Death...

"Rain is down the rabbit hole again, seeking out the truth in the thicket of lies and secrecy."

"More twists, turns, and secrets exposed. It was a fun ride."

Death (Deck of Lies, #3) has been reviewed at Quirky Girls Read. Visit the blog to read the entire review. 

Use the links above the post to get the first three books in the series, and get caught up on the story before I release book four!

Writing 101: How to Write Objectively

If you're a writer, there are times when you have to learn how to leave your opinions out of what you're writing. Even fiction authors who largely focus on novels might be asked to write an article or blog post, and it's definitely a good idea to do so. Any piece of writing can help you promote yourself as an author and make more people aware of who you are. But if you can't write objectively, you may end up hurting your sales and your image instead. 

Shhhh...

Believe it or not, I'm very good at keeping certain opinions to myself. Sure, I've passionately talked about certain words and I'm very clear about grammar rules and how I feel about them...but you definitely can't tell me if I vote, if I'm religious or how I happen to feel about any issue outside of writing whatsoever. Authors have to learn how to write objectively not just in blog posts and articles, they've got to learn how to do it in social media and forum groups, too. There are lots of reasons you're going to have to write objectively. 

Do you know how? 

Writing Objectively

As an author, it's always a part of your job description to look at things from different perspectives. When you create certain scenarios and scenes in your books, some of them are bound to involve more than one person. You have to write for your main character and the entire supporting cast as well, and each one of them is bringing something different to your literary table. So you might be really great at expressing and imagining opinions, drawing conclusions and forming emotions.  

Having no opinion and no emotions is going to be a whole heck of a lot harder. But I feel strongly about most everything (I'll engage you in a 10-minute argument about closet doors any day of the week), and I've found ways to be objective just the same -- so I know you can, too. 

• Get opinions. Writing objectively isn't always about writing with no opinion whatsoever. More often, it's about showing all sides of a particular argument. You can try mental gymnastics, and use your author's creativity to put yourself in a dozen different pairs of shoes, and you should. But while you're at it you should also do some general research. See who else has written about your topic, and what they've said, and what opinions they've expressed. Reading what others have to say about a thing can really help you write objectively, because it can help you see something from many different sides. 
• Informative, not emotional. You have to learn how to be informative and not emotional when you're writing objectively. You're presenting something to readers, not expressing it. This in particular can be tricky for fiction authors, who are always so focused on painting complete scenes and putting emotion into every paragraph. You've got to turn all of that off. Think of each sentence as some new evidence you're putting out there. 
• Look at your adjectives. Re-read what you've written and find all the adjectives. In lots of objective writing, you don't need too many adjectives. It's not for you to say something is "small." Give me the dimensions, and I, as the reader, will decide that. Are you qualified to say that something is "beautiful?" Maybe I like pea green best of all -- is that your favorite color? Adjectives are really just traps in objective writing, because more often than not you should be presenting and not describing. 
• Don't engage. When it comes to social media, forums and other venues when objective writing isn't really practiced by anyone, you have to discipline yourself not to engage in certain conversations. Unless you are marketing books that are obviously religious or political, and obviously aligned with some faction therein, you will only be alienating readers by loudly shouting your opinion on these matters. When you're wearing your author persona, you are not a complete person. You're an objective, creative writing machine that turns out fantastic prose. Where you stand politically isn't any of my damned business, so don't make it my business. 

There are lots of reasons writers have to learn how to write objectively, and lots more reasons why that's incredibly difficult. Re-read your stuff to make sure you're looking at things from all sides, or no sides. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and you are too -- but you shouldn't necessarily be sharing it everywhere. Let your characters have the opinions, and all the glory, and you just continue to do your thing behind the keyboard. When you're not in author mode, continue being whoever you already are, and keep opinions where they belong.