LJ has just made data collection easier by publishing information via five electronic newsletters to which you can subscribe. Each newsletter covers a category of the industry that reflect today's reading trends. While two are specifically geared toward librarians, three provide loads of news for writers:
• BookSmack: reviews street lit, genre fiction, graphic novels, audio, DVDs
• LJ Alert: a list of all soon-to-be-released books up for review, organized by genre
• Criticas Connection: highlights from the Criticas website, which reviews fiction and nonfiction books for Hispanics in the U.S., including book releases, author interviews and a best-sellers list
Remember that the Library Journal also offers you the opportunity to gain writing experience — thus increasing the depth and quality of your writing credentials — by inviting you to submit book reviews.
As the website states:
Reviewing for LJ is a demanding and time-consuming activity, but one that can yield a good deal of professional satisfaction.
As always, check out the writing guidelines before you submit. And although LJ does require you to fill out a questionnaire and reviewer's contract and submit two sample reviews (using LJ's style) and a resume, the effort can be worth your while and go a long way in attesting to your writing ability.
Happy holidays and happy writing!
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