Midwest Book Review
 Organization logo | |
| Formation | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | Book reviews |
| Headquarters | Oregon, Wisconsin |
Region served | California,Wisconsin,upperMidwest |
Official language | English |
| James A. Cox | |
| Website | www |
 |
Midwest Book Review,established in 1976, produces nine book-review publications per month.
Organization
[edit]Midwest Book Review was established in 1976.[1]Theeditor-in-chiefof the organization is James A. Cox.[2][3]The review puts out nine publications on a monthly basis, with a focus on community and academic library organizations, booksellers, and the general reading public.[4]The organization maintains a website at midwestbookreview.[5]
Publications produced by the organization include:The Bookwatch,[6]California Bookwatch,The Children's Bookwatch,[7]Internet Bookwatch,[8]Library Bookwatch,[9]MBR Bookwatch,The Midwest Bookwatch,[10]The Reviewer's Bookwatch,[11]Small Press Bookwatch,[12]andThe Wisconsin Bookwatch.[13]The Children's Bookwatchis a newsletter made as a resource forlibrarians.[14]Some reviews fromReviewer's Bookwatchare provided in greater depth at the organization's website.[15]Midwest Book Reviewis made up of volunteers,[4]and frequently seeks additional individuals to serve as book reviewers for the organization.[16]The organization is located inOregon, Wisconsin.[17]It has a motivation of increasingliteracy,public utilization of libraries, and fosteringsmall press,to which it gives priority.[4][18]Of the 1,500 books submitted toMidwest Book Reviewfor consideration per month, the organization chooses to review approximately 450 of them.[19][20]
A visitor to the websiteAmazonemailed Cox in 2006 and asked about the organization's practice of giving all reviews posted to the site a five-star recommendation.[21]Cox replied explaining that he disagreed with the star-rating system in general, and noted, "If a book isn't good enough to pass our initial screening then it doesn't get reviewed in the first place."[21]In 2007, an author asked Cox about the organization's position with regard to Amazon ratings.[22]Cox explained, "for a book to make it all the way through the Midwest Book Review process.... it merited the highest recommendation available under the Amazon rating system. Inferior books, flawed books, substandard books are assumed to have been weeded out and never made it to the 'finish line' of publication in one of our book review magazines."[22]
In a 2001 interview withThe Denver Post,Cox stated thatMidwest Book Reviewconsiders submissions fromprint on demand(POD) publications.[23]"When 1st Books, iUniverse and other POD titles cross my desk, I make sure to look at them, not out of regard for these publishers – but out of regard for the authors," said Cox.[23]Cox does not believe that book reviewers should be fee-based, and said, "Any reviewer that wants money from you for any purpose whatsoever is operating a scam, engaging in unethical behavior that is in violation of the publishing industry etiquette norm."[24]In 2008,Midwest Book Reviewhad gained reviewers as a result of cutbacks in print media publications.[25]Cox noted, "The drastic cutbacks in newspaper and magazine space for reviews has redounded to the benefit of theMidwest Book Reviewand other online review sites. These displaced reviewers have turned to us as an outlet for their reviews previously published in print sources. Over the past few years we have gained at least ten reviewers this way. "[25]After stating that charging fees is a scam, Cox began charging a reading fee in 2011. However, those fees are sent directly from the author to their assigned reviewer. Mr. Cox, nor does any of his MBR employees/volunteers, collect any fees for themselves. Initially fees were only charged for e-books, but since then has expanded to include any "ebooks, pre-publication manuscripts, galleys, uncorrected proofs, ARCs, and pdf files".[26]
Impact and reputation
[edit]Every review produced byMidwest Book Reviewis indexed to the review index maintained byGale Research.[27]Book Review Indexindexes reviews for theMidwest Book ReviewpublicationsBookwatchandChildren's Bookwatch.[28]Online Computer Library Centerdescribed the website of theMidwest Book Reviewas "a resource to locate book reviews, resources and advice for writers and publishers".[29]Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbookpublished by theAmerican Library AssociationrecommendsMidwest Book Reviewas a resource for information for writers.[16]
Midwest Book Reviewis listed as a resource, in Doris Booth'sWriter's Handbook of FAQs.[4]According toThe Complete Guide to Self Publishingby Tom Ross and Marilyn Heimberg Ross, the reviews of the organization "are welcomed and respected".[30]InBook Design and Production,author Pete Masterson listed the organization as a resource.[31]He noted that the website forMidwest Book Reviewhas "lots of useful information" for authors.[31]Mayra Calvani ofBlogcriticsnoted that the organization is "popular among small publishers, self-published authors, and academic presses".[25]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Connelly, Valerie (2007).Calling All Authors.Nightengale Press. p. 156.ISBN978-1-933449-43-2.
- ^Moses, Alexandra R. (March 4, 2002). "Joe Joe Rawlings: a new literary hero for children".Associated Press.p. Section: Entertainment News.
- ^Cantu, Hector (June 25, 2003). "Parents might be surprised by dark side of new 'Harry Potter'".The Dallas Morning News.A. H. Belo Corporation.
- ^abcdBooth, Doris (2004).Writer's Handbook of FAQs, Second Edition.Authorlink. p. 98.ISBN1-928704-34-4.
- ^Mason, Dick (July 5, 2008). "Storytelling comes naturally to fantasy writer".The Observer.La Grande, Oregon:Western Communications, Inc.
- ^OCLC321345897
- ^OCLC13100762
- ^OCLC80547565
- ^OCLC65356742
- ^OCLC13212440
- ^OCLC54958751
- ^OCLC80547560
- ^OCLC65356746
- ^Woodall, Martha (June 11, 2001). "Who said improving vocabulary had to be scary?".The Philadelphia Inquirer.p. E01; Section: Philadelphia Business.
- ^St. Petersburg Times staff (February 25, 2004). "Hometown Citrus".St. Petersburg Times.Florida.p. 4.
- ^abSmallwood, Carol (2009).Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbook.American Library AssociationEditors. pp. 25–26.ISBN978-0-8389-0996-6.
- ^"Local Book News".Sarasota Herald Tribune.Sarasota, Florida:The New York Times Company.May 23, 1999. p. 5F.
- ^Pryor, Alton (2002).Publish It Yourself.Stagecoach Publishing. p. 111.ISBN978-0-9660053-5-6.
- ^Sansevieri, Penny C. (2002).Get Published Today! No More Rejections.Pennsylvania:Infinity Publishing. p. 133.ISBN0-7414-1111-3.
- ^Poynter, Dan (2004).The Self-Publishing Manual.Para Publishing. p.182.ISBN1-56860-115-8.
- ^abCox, Jim (June 2006)."Jim Cox Report: June 2006".Jim Cox Report.Midwest Book Review.Retrieved2010-01-21.
- ^abCox, Jim (June 2007)."Jim Cox Report: June 2007".Jim Cox Report.Midwest Book Review.Retrieved2010-01-21.
- ^abHalls, Kelly Milner (December 9, 2001). "'Print-on-demand' publishers reject 'vanity' label ".The Denver Post.p. DD-02; Section: BKS.
- ^Weber, Steve (2007).Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, Book Publicity through Social Networking.Weber Books. p. 52.ISBN978-0-9772406-1-6.
- ^abcCalvani, Mayra (June 1, 2008)."Interview with James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, The Midwest Book Review".Blogcritics.Newstex. p. Blogcritics.org Books.Retrieved2009-12-14.
- ^"MBR: Author/Publisher Information".midwestbookreview.Retrieved2016-02-02.
- ^Rose, M. J. (1999).The Secrets of Our Success.Deep South Publishing. p. 78.ISBN0-7394-1018-0.
- ^Ferguson, Dana (2005).Book Review Index:2005 Cumulation.Detroit,Michigan:Thomson Gale. pp. xii, xiii.ISBN0-7876-7841-4.ISSN0524-0581.
- ^OCLC439279392
- ^Ross, Tom; Marilyn Heimberg Ross (2002).The Complete Guide to Self Publishing.Writers Digest Books. p. 322.ISBN1-58297-091-2.
- ^abMasterson, Pete (2005).Book Design and Production.Aeonix Publishing Group. p. 296.ISBN0-9669819-0-1.
Further reading
[edit]- Calvani, Mayra (June 1, 2008)."Interview with James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, The Midwest Book Review".Blogcritics.Newstex. p. Blogcritics.org Books.