Internet Book Review Needs Reviewers

This is a recruitment poster. The planners creating the Internet Review of Books are making progress -- slowly -- and now they need a lot troops. Like, for instance, you.

We've solved some of the problems involved in starting a new book review site. Despite our having to jump through hoops to get them, the books have begin to dribble in.

But when one comes in, we have to have a reviewer to send it to. We lucked out and got one big-name reviewer the hard way, by tracking him down and talking to him on the telephone (landline). Bob Sanchez and Ruth Douillette, part of the planning group, have written reviews of two of the books we have. A few others are out there with competent reviewers. But it's going to begin to rain books pretty soon, and so far there's a drought of reviewers.

That's where you come in.

For example, just yesterday The Feminist Press told me they would send us a copy of a book about the trials of women working in a corporate atmosphere, and it will give such workers some ideas on how to deal with the subtle, and sometimes blatant, discrimination they suffer. It should be well worth a review, but who'll take on the job? The best choice, of course, is someone who is working in some big office now, but offhand I don't know any. How about you, or one of your friends? It's the same for all sorts of books, and there are hundreds of different subjects.

Since we're shooting to become "mass media," we don't have to have Ph.D.'s to write our reviews--we need sensible people who are capable of explaining to readers what's good and what's bad about a book in a field they know something about. There's some subject that you -- think about it! -- could cover well.

There's nothing arcane about writing book reviews. You learn how by reading a few in the New York Times or the Washington Post. Both of them are online.

And what do you get for this chore? A free book. Publicity for you and whatever you've written lately. And a publication -- it won't be as prestigious as a story in a literary magazine, but more than likely a lot more people will read it. One day we'll pay, but that may be a while.

Care to join us?

Write to me, Carter Jefferson, Editor, The Internet Review of Books.