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Like it or not, people are going to rally. They are going to protest. And they want their voices heard. It is something that has been going on in our, so-called FREE society, for years.

Protest and Police Injustice and it's affect on Freedom of Speech, Liberty and the right to live life on an even playing field is something that every American lives for. While, at the same time, we don't expect to have to die, unnecessarily for this right, either.

So we're faced with constantly asking ourselves questions like;

Who’s right?

Who’s Wrong…?

And, does anyone really care about making a change?

Unfortunately, there are people who want to take advantage of the chaos to support an alternative agenda.

The country needs to reform our justice system and how police interact with the citizens of the United States. Until this is done and people stop putting the "FAKE" label on things that happen, we are never going to look at this the right way.

Police injustice and racial profiling is real. I grew up watching this same thing happen in my neighborhood. I have it happen to me in Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Nevada and yes, in Goodyear, Arizona. Every instance, it just happened to be my day to get stopped for no reason and have a gun drawn on me for just existing that day. The incidents in Arizona and Alabama, I still have flashbacks to this day about how I was treated by the police.

Again, it's not FAKE, but real.

There needs to be a change in how police are trained and yes, there must be accountability for their actions. And, we, as citizens must learn how to interact with the police to make sure our direct/indirect experiences are encounters that we can walk away from, "ALIVE."

American’s, of all race, have been killing each other, every minute of every hour of every day. It happens so frequently 'till the nation has become numb to the fact that people in America are killing each other at an alarming rate. This is a problem that requires immediate attention. Yet, no one seems to have a solution to end these senseless killings.

Still, Black/Brown Americans, being killed at the hands of a police officer is something the nation is going to have to find a way to get a handle on, also. This, too, has gotten completely out of control.

This change in society’s attitude toward race and policing has been coming for quite some time.

It's here, now!

People throughout America, whether they like it or not, are having to face up to how they really feel about, protest, police injustice, race in America and the "Change we Seek."

How we deal with it is going to determine if we can fix this problem or allow it to destroy us.

Article by: Arvyn Cerézo Jul 7, 2020

With the boom of Goodreads and book blogging in the past few years, everyone became self-proclaimed book critics. But as much fun as it is writing about books, these platforms don’t let writers earn bucks on the side. But here’s the thing: You can use your book blogging skills to try writing a professional book review—trade book review—and make some quick cash. Trade reviews are published in established outlets like Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and The New York Times among others.

Want to know how to write a professional book review and start side hustling? Read on.

I’ve been reviewing for a couple of years now for some book review outlets. Although I only have a few years on my belt, I’ve learned enough to be able to share some basic tips. Here are some of them:

Get to Know the Best Reviewing Practices

There are a lot of book review publications out there, and their reviewing guidelines vary. If accepted as a reviewer for a publication, make sure to ask your editor about the best reviewing practices.

You can also read the publication’s published reviews to get the tone and the writing style to use.

Fine-Tune Your Language

Reviewing for trade publications requires a shift of language tone. Book critics, more or less, are unbiased, firm, and straightforward in writing their reviews.

In a book review blog, however, you can be more friendly and playful with your tone. You are also free to let your feelings out or even spill your guts in the book review.

Take a look at these examples:

Book blog: “I didn’t like this book, so I give it two stars. Not recommended!”

Trade book review: “While the mystery around the main character carries the story forward, the plot meanders a lot. Horror readers will be disappointed.”

As you might notice, the tone of trade book reviews are authoritative and matter-of-fact. You can also do the same by being objective in your approach.

Avoid Showing Uncertainty or Doubt

This is common in book blogging. While there’s nothing really wrong with letting your unfiltered thoughts flow in writing, this is not recommended in trade review writing.

Avoid using words like “I think,” “This might,” “This could” etc. to convey your convictions. Instead, use words that show firm opinions like “will” and “can.”

Here are some examples:

Book blog: “Well, not for me but I think this might interest fantasy readers.”

Trade book review: “Fast-paced and high-stakes, fantasy readers will keep turning pages.”

Don’t Copy Goodreads Descriptions

Don’t paraphrase them either. It will be very obvious, and you might be accused of plagiarism.

If you read the book, then rehash the plot from your mind. You can do so by writing important plot points from A to B and C to D. To avoid errors, fact check what you’re writing by consulting the book.

Be Mindful of What You Say

With book blogging, you can say whatever you want. It’s your opinion as a reader after all. But if you’re a professional book reviewer, you just can’t say a book is shitty without providing evidence.

Did it suck because it’s slow-paced? Are the characters one-dimensional? Is the book full of clichés? State it in your review and provide examples such as sample texts or passages.

Don’t Drop Spoilers

Most traditional review outlets don’t do this either. Why? It’s simply because readers click on your article to see whether they’ll like the book or not.

With book blogging, you can get away with adding a “Spoiler Alert” warning. And then, you can gush out how excited or exasperated you were by what happened to your favorite character.

However, that’s not a good practice in trade book reviews. Just write enough plot summaries that won’t disclose revelations (like a character dying).

Write in Third-Person Point of View

To sound objective, authoritative, and all-knowing in your reviews, write in third-person point of review.

Avoid using the “I” pronoun as much as possible.

Review Books You Only Like

I have some blogger friends who are required to write a review in exchange for the books they didn’t ask for but received. But what if they didn’t like the books at all?

If the book didn’t pique your interest in the first place, don’t review it. You run the risk of giving a negative review to a rather stellar book.

With professional book reviewing, you can pitch to editors only the books you like to read. You are not pressured to review books just because you received them for free.

Don’t Leave a Star Rating

Sure, this might be fun to do on Goodreads and in your book review blog. It can easily indicate your stand for a book.

However, this is not a standard practice in trade review publications. Instead, they have a different version of showing a book’s merit: the “starred reviews.” If part of the publication’s policy, you can leave a star on a book to indicate quality.

These are just some basic tips on how to write a professional book review. While guidelines and practices vary per publication, the tips above are generally applicable in trade review writing.

If you want to further sharpen your reviewing chops, you can also read these guidelines: How to Write a Book Review.

July's Featured Art!

Protest and Police Injustice and the Change We Seek.