Book Reviews

Interestingly, this book arrived with the stamp of the International Print on Demand award, given out by Podler reviews. It’s a good example of putting a book award to good use. The Podler award is not the biggest award for self-published books (read SPR’s post on self-published book awards) but no one who picks up this edition of Chion will know the difference – they’ll only see that is was stamped with an award. The book has one of the better book covers you’ll see on a self-published book. The interior is well-designed as well.

And the book […]

Take-Charge Living arrived via amarketingexpert.com, a publicity firm that represents self-published books, as well as other authors – signifying that this book is a more serious entry than your average self-published book. The book has a fair amount to recommend it, but it has some problems as well.

The bad: first off, though the book is represented by a PR firm, the character is decidedly unprofessional. It has that blurred effect that is common to some self-published printing. This is surprising, as the book is part of iUniverse’s Star program – which requires that the book is an “Editor’s […]

I should preface this review by saying that I am not the audience for this novel. I’ve never read an entire romance novel. I’ve picked books up to see what the writing was like and was fairly amazed at how pornographic the writing can be – so that’s what people are reading. The point of reviews on the Self-Publishing Review is not necessarily to judge how a book fits into the overall scheme of published books – but how successfully it achieves what it sets out to do. And To My Senses achieves what it intends to very well.

To […]

Guest Reviewed by The Podler.

A digital oracle meant to predict the movements of the stock market, a man obsessed with finding why his brother had been killed in China in the 1980s, and a computer wizard cross paths when the system malfunctions and starts spitting out predictions of terrorist attacks. Such are the the basic ingredients of Chris Nordberg’s gripping if somewhat uneven thriller, The Hidden Layer.

The story begins in the summer of 1980 in China with the death of Robert Asher and another British teenager Emma Taylor. The unexplained death of his brother becomes the […]

For anyone who thinks that self-published novels are a jumble of poor language and half-thought ideas should take a look at this novel.  It’s professionally-written, professionally designed.  The cover is sharp, and proof that you don’t need an expensive illustration to have a pro-quality cover.  Jesse Gordon knows his way around a design program because all of his books and promotional materials are well done.  He’s also got some amusing Youtube spots for the book.

The novel itself is just as professionally written.  The problem with this novel is not necessarily in the quality of the prose, but the […]

There’s something about discovering a great self-published novel that’s different than discovering a novel that’s traditionally published, no matter how small the press. On the hand, you’re happy to have found something good, on the other hand you think, “Why did this have to be self-published?” For anyone who thinks that if a book is great it will find a publisher is just wrong and Kristen Tsetsi’s Homefront is the perfect example.

It may be understandable why the novel didn’t find takers – though the novel’s about the biggest thing imaginable, war, there’s no great overwhelming dramatic arc – no […]

Futureproof is a self-publishing success story.  Begun as a Lulu book, it is set to be released by Harper Perennial this month.  For anyone looking to promote a self-published novel, N. Frank Daniels is proof that aggressive marketing of a self-published novel can reap rewards – and getting a book out into the world can lead to good things.  Frank Daniels was able to sell thousands of copies of a Lulu book and then land a publishing deal with a mainstream publisher.

The novel began as this:

In January 2009, it will be released as this:

His marketing tactics were […]

If there’s an everyman, then Michael Sennet is every celebrity. Michael Sennet is a movie star. He should be happy, but he’s bored. What does he do after he’s achieved the best of everything: the best women, the best cars, the best homes, the best drugs? He doesn’t have an answer. Meanwhile, the Vanity Plate Killer is roaming the streets of Los Angeles looking for new victims and dreaming of fame of his own. When Michael Sennet uses the M.O. of the Vanity Plate Killer, they find something that eclipses any starring role.

“North of Sunset would make a […]