Comments on: Great Small Presses #2: Milkweed Editions

By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom

1minutebookreviewswordpresscom — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:53:46 +0000

Malcolm:
Definitely. That virtue is shared by most, if not all, of the publishers I’m featuring this week. One of the great things about many small presses is that they will actually READ unsolicited work (and, sometimes, give you thoughtful feedback), though it may take months because they’re typically short of money and, therefore, staff. Thanks for pointing this out.
Jan

By: knightofswords

knightofswords — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:21:21 +0000

In addition to your comments, Milkweed Editions deserves high marks for their willingness to consider the work of new authors without the “agented submissions only” requirement.

Malcolm

By: 1minutebookreviewswordpresscom

1minutebookreviewswordpresscom — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:38:23 +0000

Have you tried http://www.publishersweekly.com/, the trade journal for the publishing industry? Click on the page that says “Reviews.”

I just did this and searched for “Ben Elton.” The results give you every mention of him, so they should bring up all the reviews that have phrases like “may remind you of Ben Elton,” “a style similar to Ben Elton’s” or “fans of Ben Elton will enjoy … ”

My only caution is that because PW is a trade journal, the reviews are often less blunt than you might find on blogs. They’re written for the publishing industry, so they tend to be more sympathetic to many books — especially “big” books — than a lot of bloggers would be. (I haven’t looked up Ian McEwan, but I’d bet the PW review is more favorable than mine.) And the site also has a vast amount of publishing news that may not interest you. But PW may review more books than any other well-respected site you can access for free. So it might be your best bet. Hope this helps. If not, I might be able to suggest a few other places …
Jan

By: midnightjester

midnightjester — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:53:53 +0000

Janice, on the topic of finding great books… ones that don’t completely send me one sleep or into a 3-day loathing period for all things publishy, do you know of any site which does for books what liveplasma.com does for movies…

I am desperate for new authors along the lines of Ben Elton, PJ O’Rourke or Carl Hiaasen with a witty writing style but also some substance and the ongoing promise of never facing the prospect of a Greek letter in the title!