‘REVIEWESE’ DEMYSTIFIED

The Secret Codes Of Book Critics

The hidden meanings of 25 clichés overused by reviewers that may not help you as a writer

A promotion for the “propulsive” novel “The Accomplice” by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson / HarperCollins

Suppose you’d just published your first book and a reviewer called it a “gritty” and “propulsive” thriller that “sends chills down your spine” and “keeps you on the edge of your seat” as it delivers an “emotional roller coaster” ride. Should you be ecstatic?

Maybe not. Those words are among the clichés most often used to describe thrillers or other suspense novels. They may sound good, but they don’t tell people what they most need to know in order to decide whether to read your book: What makes it unique? What sets your book apart from all the other “propulsive” novels that are an “emotional roller coaster” ride?

Do biographies have to be ‘warts-and-all’ tales?

I began keeping lists of the clichés when I edited the book section of a large newspaper and found that every genre had words or phrases critics overused, often called “reviewese.” Biographies were “warts-and-all.” Comedies were “laugh-out-loud funny.” Memoirs of “beloved” pets were “heartwarming.” If you didn’t know better, you might think reviewers spoke in secret codes they had to use in order to get…