Day 12: Book Blog Content: The Review

For Christian Fiction Blog subscribers: I will be sending 9 posts your way today. Be advised.

Day 12: Book Blog Content- The Book Review

We took a catch-up break at 30 Days to Build a Better Book Blog. Thanks to the bloggers who've been patient. Today I hope you don't become overwhelmed with these posts. I'm simply getting us to Day 21 as we should be and showing how easy and fast blogging can be. I created all these posts in one hour. I'll tell you how tomorrow.

Onto the content...

We've built our blogs or have an idea of the blogs we will create. Now it is time that we look at the different types of content we should have on our book blogs.

1. The Book Review

I was a bit iffy about spotlighting the Book Review post first, because I don't want you to think that the only purpose of your blog is to provide reviews. No. But we will start here, because this is the easiest content concept to grasp.

As you know I am a book reviewer for national publications. I am also an Amazon reviewer and provide reviews her on Christian Fiction Blog. Reviews are very simple. Click here to read an article I written for Novel Journeys on reviews.

A book review blog post should be short(under 250 words) and provide 2 things:

1. a book summary in your own words.
   
2. a rating with buttressed points for the rating.
   

It is important that you read the entire novel to build your book summary. Oftentimes the summaries that come in the press release are not exact, specifically if you're working with arcs. Your ratings should be based on a point system that you create. I use a five point system, giving a point for: plot, character, theme, style, voice, setting.

Below is an example of a book review. Romantic Times.

African-American Inspirational

Somebody's Sinning in My Bed

By Pat G'Orge Walker

3 tambourine players, MILD


G'Orge Walker's fans might not like her switch from comedy to mainstream women's fiction, because her sassy and distinctive voice doesn't shine through as well as her previous novels. Her new style is more reminiscent to Victor McGlothin and Lutishia Lovely's church dramas, than Reshonda Tate Billingsley or Victoria Christopher Murray's. What she has accomplished is the ability to turn a church drama into a wild and inspirational frolic.
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First Lady Chyna Young regrets her marital indiscretions when her husband Pastor Grayson Young dies in a night club fire. With the help of her sister, Janelle, she tries to keep her marriage failure under cover. All that changes when her first husband, Cordelle returns. Is more drama or real love in her future? (Dafina, 320pp, $17.95)

Dee Y. Stewart, Romantic Times Reviewer (reprint)