Michael J. McManus's Blog

Recently, I was honored by both book clubs at the country club in which I am a member. The men’s club read my “Framed, but Not Forgotten” and the ladies read “Separate Truth”. Even though I am a member, it was not an automatic outcome that they would have positive things to say about each of the books. However, the feedback that I received was mostly positive. There are always comments about misspellings and type-o’s when people talk about “indie” books. Although the ladies did not take advantage my availability, the men asked me to join them for their review of my writing.

I was previously not a member of the book club, so I had no idea how they conducted their meetings. It started with each of them giving a short opinion of the book, including critical remarks and whether they enjoyed or did not enjoy it. Most of the mini-reviews were positive. Only one person criticized the storyline, prefacing his comments by the admission that he was not a fan of who-done-its. By his reckoning he wanted to see a different ending. He was overruled by the others, who felt the story was entertaining, the twists in the plot were unexpected and the outcome was a satisfying surprise. After they each spoke for a minute or two, they asked me questions about my inspiration for the story, how I came up with the characters and why I selected first person as the point of view. They also asked if the main character, Philip Crisp, would appear in any other of my books in the future, which I took as a positive. The meeting lasted for about an hour, and I came away from it with a good feeling.

I appreciate that both clubs took the time to read my books and give me feedback. Without reviews, a writer operates very much inside a vacuum.