Thumbnail of user rachelb112

Rachel B.

Contributor Level

Total Points
90

1 Review by Rachel

  • OnlineBookClub.org

3/22/17

Looking over some of the reviews here it seems that reviewers have a high rating for OBC, while authors have a lesser view. I have never tried to engage with OBC as an author, so I cannot speak to that system or process. I can speak to my personal experience as a reviewer and what that looks like (at least for me).

I am not an indie writer or author of any kind. I am an avid reader and fairly decent essay writer. I joined OBC because it gave me a chance to read new books and provide feedback on them. In the beginning, I couldn't even get paid reviews. Every review I completed was for free. As I established my name as a reliable, quality reviewer, I earned paying opportunities.

Free or paid, the process is the same:
First, I look at a list of opportunities. This list gives basic information about each opportunity including, title, author, genre, and payout. I am able to click on opportunities to learn more about the book, like a plot summary, and any other specifics. Based on my reading preferences, I select a book that I think I would enjoy reading. We are discouraged from selecting books outside of our normal preferences. However, there is no system in place that says that I am "qualified" to review one genre over the other.
Once I have selected and downloaded the book, I am given up to approx. 1 month to read the book and write my review. My written review is submitted to the review team for approval. At least one other editor reads my review and grades it. If it meets their expectations, it is approved and posted. For paid reviews, I am also required to submit a paragraph about my opinion of the ending of the book. I also take this opportunity to leave personal feedback to the author that is more than I can put in the review. Once the author has seen my feedback (not my review), my review is accepted and I receive payment.

In regards to the content of the review, we have a 4 star rating system. We have been directed that a book that lacks editing (i. E. contains grammatical errors, typos, technical errors, etc.) generally should not get 4 stars. Outside of that, the star rating is based on the writing style, plot, character development, etc. As with all rating systems, this is somewhat subjective. We are not allowed to detract points simply because we did not like the story (again why we are encouraged to select books within our genre). I have read and reviewed multiple books within my genre that I did not like, but still gave high reviews to because there was nothing wrong with the book, I just didn't like it.

I do not participate in the Book of the Day promotion, so I can't speak to getting compensation for purchasing and reviewing the selected book each day. I do not get Amazon gift cards for reviews or any other perks. I have always assumed the payout for reviewing a given book was set by the author, but I really have no idea how that process works.

For reviewers: I think OBC is a great place to go to earn a little extra cash and to read some really great (and not so great) books.
For authors: I really don't know what your experience is like, so I can't say if it is the best place to go to have your book reviewed or the worst place to go.

Rachel Has Earned 10 Votes

Rachel B.'s review of OnlineBookClub.org earned a Funny vote

Rachel B.'s review of OnlineBookClub.org earned 9 Very Helpful votes

Rachel hasn’t received any thanks yous.

Rachel doesn’t have any fans yet.

Rachel isn’t following anybody yet.

Empty.

Similar Reviewers on Sitejabber

Thumbnail of user patriciag2934
3/17/24

I was very impressed with the reviewers report and especially interested in my spelling errors....

Thumbnail of user jeaninen11
3/8/24

Unusual as it is, I do believe that she read the WHOLE book. Am glad that she understood.