Bookshelf.ca
Guidelines for
Contributors
Thanks very much for being a Bookshelf contributor. We hope
that Bookshelf.ca will be a community enterprise, and sharing your voice will
help to make that a reality. This document is a set of guidelines that will help
you to write for the website.
What is Bookshelf.ca?
Bookshelf.ca is the
online extension of the Bookshelf, a nationally-known cultural hub located in
Guelph, Ontario. The Bookshelf is comprised of an interconnected
bookstore, cinema, eBar, cafe, and restaurant, and serves as a beacon for arts
and entertainment in the area. The Bookshelf is revamping its web presence in
2013 and will be introducing an online magazine of arts, entertainment, and the
world of ideas. The magazine will be closely integrated with The Bookshelf's
new online retail capabilities. We are already publishing some reviews and
articles on the present Bookshelf site, but the new site will offer greater
capacity and better design.
Like the physical Bookshelf, Bookshelf.ca will be a
place not only of engaging products and events, but of community and ideas. The
site has a number of closely interrelated perspectives: users can browse the
Bookstore, Cinema, eBar, and Green Room pages to see products and events they
might be interested in, and they can peruse the magazine pages to find informative
reviews, columns, and articles on books, film, music, food, and the visual
arts, as well as general arts and culture news.
You can contribute to Bookshelf.ca in two ways: by writing
book reviews and by writing articles. The following sections give guidelines to
help you write them.
1. Writing Book Reviews
Much of the site content
consists of short book reviews written by Bookshelf staff and volunteer writers.
You can sample these reviews on a number of blogs
that are already up:
Purpose of Reviews
The role of a bookstore is to help visitors find books
that will be enjoyable, stimulating, or helpful to them. Your reviews serve the
same purpose for people visiting Bookshelf.ca. Publishers supply blurbs to promote
their books, but the blurbs are relatively impersonal. By sharing your own
experience and impressions of a book, you add a personal element to the online visitor’s
experience of book browsing, and your review may even begin a conversation between
visitors about a book.
Obtaining a Book to
Review
Publishers regularly send review copies of books to our
store, and we send out regular lists of review copies we’ve received to our
reviewers via email. If there is a book on the list that you are interested in
reviewing, email us back with the title. Be quick, though, as books are awarded
on a first-come, first-served basis. We will then put the book at the front
till for pickup at your convenience.
We can’t mail books to out-of-town reviewers, but our
review copy emails also usually include a list of books we would like reviews
for but do not have review copies of. When a reviewer picks a title from this
second list, we email the book’s
publisher and request that a review copy be sent to the reviewer’s home address
if he or she is out of town, or to the store for pickup if the reviewer lives
in town. Out-of-town reviewers are given priority for books from this list. Because
these books are coming from the publisher, they may take some time to arrive,
and in some cases the publisher may not have a review copy available.
You can also propose a book to review that is not on the
lists. To propose a book, just send an email to contribute[at]bookshelf[dot]ca with the
subject line Review Idea followed by
the title of the book you’d like to review (e.g., Review Idea, The Girl With
the Dragon Tattoo). Sending an email before you write the review allows us to
let you know if someone has already reviewed the book. Tell us if you already have
the book or if we should try to get you a review copy, and, if you need a
review copy, whether you’d like a print book or an e-book.
We welcome reviews of all types of books from novels to
graphic novels, poetry to science journalism, children’s literature to
self-help. While we are looking for reviews of current books, we are also
interested in reviews of books that have been out for some time. Pretty well
any book is open game—just pick a work you think other people should know
about.
You can also let us know what kinds of books you’d prefer
to review (fiction, history, mystery, poetry, and so forth) so we can contact
you to ask if you would like to review a particular book. Again, we will try to
get a review copy for you if you don’t already have the book.
Format
Book reviews are generally 125-250 words long, although in
some cases they may run longer. Remember that the main purpose, though, is to
give readers a brief insight into the book that will allow them to decide
whether it would interest them. Reviews can take a variety of forms; the main
thing is that they should be engaging and interesting to read. In general, most
reviews will include the following elements:
- A brief description of the general plotline or
subject of the book. Give just enough information about these for readers
to be able to judge if the book would be of interest to them. If you think
it would be helpful, you may also give some brief information about the
author. Don’t give away any spoilers, though!
- Describe your experience of reading the book
and your impressions of it—what you found moving, involving, or
interesting, what you learned that you didn’t know, challenges or difficulties
you may have had. You may mention specific characters, episodes, or ideas
in the book, but you may also use this section to generalize more widely
about the nature or significance of the book or its themes.
- You may conclude with a brief summary
evaluation, along with a description of the kind of reader who would enjoy
the book.
Voice
Try to share your experience of the work in a way that
would help somebody else realize what the book might have to offer to them.
That doesn’t mean you need to pass over challenging aspects of the book, but in
general the point is to describe those aspects in a way that would help the
reader get the most out of the book, should they choose to buy it. Write in an
informal, personal way that reflects your own voice. Think about how you would
talk about the book if you were across the table from an interested listener
who is looking for an informed opinion about it.
Not Enjoying Your
Book?
If you are not enjoying a book, don’t feel obliged to
finish it. Just drop the book back off at the store at your convenience and
we’ll try to find another reviewer for it. We’re open to reviews that express
qualifications or qualms about a given book, but ordinarily we don’t publish
reviews that completely trash a book. In some cases, though, we may pair up
reviewers with differing opinions on a book in order to give readers a variety
of views.
Submitting Your Review
Email your reviews to contribute[at]bookshelf[dot]ca in either
Microsoft Word (.DOC or .DOCX) format, or in Rich Text (.RTF) format. If you
prefer, you can also send your review along as a text file. In the subject line
of your email please enter the word Review
and the title of the book you are reviewing (e.g., Review, The Marriage Plot). Your
review will be read and edited. We may send some editing suggestions back to
you for further discussion.
Posted Reviews
Unless you request otherwise, your review will be posted
with a byline giving your name (a free review copy, fame, and the chance to
promote books that you love are, alas, the only compensation we can offer you
for reviews). A byline allows readers to see that the review comes from a
reader and not the publisher, and it helps people who like your reviews to find
others by you. If you prefer, you can use a pseudonym for your reviews. We will
not display or give away your email address or any other information about you.
Depending on what books are being featured on the site at any particular point
or on how many reviews have been submitted, there may be some delay in posting
your review.
2. Writing Articles
Do you have an arts and culture
topic you’re passionate about? If so, consider writing an article for
Bookshelf.ca.
Topics
Bookshelf.ca is interested in informed, engaging articles approximately
500 words long about arts and culture for a general audience. Your subject
can be Canadian or international, and you may focus on a particular work or artist,
or more broadly examine trends, developments, or business practices in a
particular cultural field. While we particularly welcome articles that deal
with current artists and topics, other types of articles will be considered.
Your topic does not have to be restricted to books, although that will
of course be an important focus of the magazine. We are also interested in
articles on film, music, food and food politics, visual arts, and local news. We are also
open to works of literary journalism in these areas, but at present we are not
publishing fiction or poetry.
Proposing an Article
Your first step is to propose
your article. Send an email to contribute[at]bookshelf[dot]ca
with a brief description of your topic and what you are planning to say about
it. In the email’s subject line, enter Article
Idea and a brief phrase or title identifying your topic (e.g., Article
idea, depictions of marriage in recent books). Along with the description of
your topic, include a punchy, attractive title for your piece as well as some relevant
information about yourself, such as why you want to write about the topic and
what might make you suited to write about it. You may even attach your resume or
a brief representative writing sample or two. You can also include the URL of
any site that already features your writing.
While not all ideas may be
accepted for publication, we will read and respond to all proposals. Depending
on the volume of articles we have to review, there may be some delay in our
response. Note that having your proposal accepted does not mean that your
article is automatically accepted, but it does suggest that the odds of its acceptance
are relatively good.
Audience and Voice
Write to an intelligent general
audience that has a broad interest in arts and culture. You may tackle local, odd,
or unfamiliar subjects, but you need to present them with a broad readership in
mind. We like well-written pieces that include a distinctive, engaging
authorial voice. You can refer to yourself in the first person if it suits your
topic, but as a rule your topic rather than you should be the central element
in your piece.
Submitting an Article
Once you’ve completed your
article, email it to contribute[at]bookshelf[dot]ca in either
Microsoft Word (.DOC or .DOCX) format, or in Rich Text (.RTF) format. If you
prefer, you can also send it along as a text file. In the subject line of your
email please type the word Article
and the title of your article (e.g., Article, The End of the World as We Know
It). Your article will be read and, if it is accepted for publication, edited.
We may send some editing suggestions back to you for further discussion.
Posted Articles
Your article will be posted with a byline giving your
name. If you prefer, you can use a pseudonym. We will not display or give away
your email address or any other information about you unless you make other
arrangements with us. Depending on the volume of articles we have, there
may be some delay in posting your article after it is accepted.
Legal Stuff
When you submit your work to Bookshelf.ca, you
grant permission for us to display your work or any portion of it on the
Bookshelf website or in any other Bookshelf materials. The Bookshelf will not
otherwise distribute or sell your work without your permission. The text of
your article remains your property and you can submit your article to other
publications as you wish.
Questions?
If you have any questions about writing for Bookshelf.ca
or if you require any further information, just send an email to contribute[at]bookshelf[dot]ca. We’ll get
back to you promptly.
Thanks again for your contributions. We look forward to
reading them!
