No Routines This Week – and That’s Okay!

 

Photo credit: uwekern via Pixabay

 

I try to stick to the same writing routine every week: Work on my books, do things for the press (which includes reading submissions), work on the newsletter, work on my book reviews, and spend time writing something, as well as revising and editing whatever currently needs revising and editing. In between all this, I’m also responding to emails and doing anything needed for self-publishing that can’t wait for the weekend.

 

But this particular week was different. While I was able to work on a couple of books this week (only two, alas!), I mostly focused on the things that I HAD to get done this week. If there’s something I need to have done by a particular date, then I put as much focus on this thing as I can. Since I work on many different things every day, in addition to the books, I don’t spend my whole day working on just that thing. I DO spend more of my time working on it, but not all of my time.

 

And that’s what happened this week. I have an article due next week, plus the newsletter to send out, so I spent some time working on the article and wrapping up gathering things to include in the newsletter. But I also had to finish a book review by the 20^th, since that is the last day to post a review on my book review blog so that I can include it in the SPARREW Newsletter (this is true for every month except for October and December, when I try to post a review of a holiday-themed book on those holidays). The 20^th of every month is the cut-off date for gathering material to include in the newsletter, and that includes reviews that are posted on my book review blog (with an exception for those two other dates).  

 

The problem is that I got so caught up on the same routine I had in place for the week that it was hard to accept a week that was a little bit different. (My weekends are free days. No schedules and no routines.) Change is always hard for me. I know that change is good and that it’s okay if one week is different from the last, but it can be difficult for me to just go with it. I need plenty of time to adjust to the idea of change and prepare myself for it. I like my routines and I like the way I have everything organized so that I can accomplish my goals.

 

But sometimes, there are other goals that I need to accomplish too – such as meeting a deadline and sending out my newsletter. And while I try to give myself as much time as possible to work on both of those things, the week of that deadline or sending the newsletter out is when I REALLY need to focus on it and make sure both of those things are taken care of. I hyperfixate on them to the point where I forget about everything else that I normally do – such as revising a short story for an anthology deadline.

 

Which meant that, this week, I was really focused on getting that book review done. And I’ll be doing the same thing next week to make sure I get that article done and ready to submit in time, along with publishing the newsletter online.

 

My hyperfixation on getting things done sort of clashes with my need to stick to my routine, though. As much as I kept telling myself that this is only temporary and I can go back to my regular routine soon, it was hard to accept. I kept looking at those two pages of the week in my planner and feeling like I could have done more.

 

Oh, sure I could have – if I never slept. But even writers have to sleep.

 

Yes, I’ll get back to my regular schedule after my deadlines are met. The month is almost over and that means making sure I meet that article deadline AND get the SPARREW Newsletter out. And once those things are taken care of, I’ll go right back to my writing routines. I just need to remind myself that it’s okay if there are times – weeks, even – when I am not following those routines, because there’s something else that is more important at that time.

What to do when you hate the book you are reviewing

 

Image by Jannik Texler from Pixabay

Nobody likes a bad book review, especially the author of the book! But then again, not everybody will love every single book they choose to read. This is also true for the book reviewer – but sometimes, they can’t decide they’re not going to review the book after all. That’s when you need to adjust your book reviewing strategy.

 

Most authors and publishers who send out books to review understand that there is a chance the reviewer will not like the book. Nobody who offered me a review copy ever tore down my door screaming bloody murder because I opted not to review their book after all. What I don’t tell them is that I didn’t like the book, couldn’t finish reading it, or that I hated it. Instead, I say that I’d rather not review the book after all. And, usually, I never hear from them again. Which is fine with me.

 

But if you’re in a position where you MUST review the book even if you hated it, here are some things you can do to get that review written:

 

Write about what you DID like.

I recently stopped reading a collection of short stories I received a free review copy of (I only got this book because I was on somebody’s list of reviewers). I stopped reading it after I noticed I kept passing over a lot of stories that I did not enjoy reading. However, some of the stories in this book were pretty good, so that is something to highlight in a review.

 

Keep your review short.

I have seen very short reviews online. We’re talking reviews that are only one or two sentences. These reviews are usually accompanied by star ratings. Guess what? You don’t HAVE to justify or defend your star rating! If you give a book a two- or three-star rating and add a couple of sentences like “Interesting concept. I think it has potential.” Then be on your way, that is just fine. You did your review.

 

Change how you write your review.

I have noticed some reviewers basically summarize what a book is about. If you must leave a review but you didn’t like the book, try doing this instead.

 

There are a number of ways to handle writing a review for a book that you didn’t like. The above suggestions are just a few strategies you can use.

 

It’s a blessing to book reviewers to have the chance to decline a review or to opt not to review a book that was sent to them, but not all book reviewers are allowed this option. Should you find yourself in such a situation and you don't like the book, figure out a way to write the review that is both fair for you as well as the author of the book.