Customer Reviews

Publishers Weekly

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For those in publishing, this is a terrific resource for keeping track of who's doing what. The book reviews often lead me to books I wouldn't have found any other way and their articles are pretty interesting if you want to publish or be published. However, that said, the price is nuts for an individual and I would strongly suggest reading it at your library. If they don't carry it, you can request that they do.

Publishers Weekly is a staple of the publishing business. Editors, publishers, agents, writers, reviewers, and booksellers pony up the exorbitant subscription fees so they can be the first to know about upcoming releases, changes in personnel, and hot deals. Each week the magazine features an author, sometimes famous, sometimes up-and-coming. They run features on audio books, religious releases, children's books, and many others throughout the course of the year. The weekly forecast section runs short reviews of books (in all genres) that will be released over the next three months, giving readers a glimpse of the future. The PW bestseller lists are reliable indicators of what is selling in bookstores all over the United States.

Publishers Weekly is probably the only magazine that sells its cover to advertisers, giving you an idea of the type of trade journal it is. I do not recommend it for anyone who is not associated with publishing. But for those who are, this is a professional expense you won't regret spending.

I have been a subscriber for years and have grudgingly paid more and more every year for my subscription. Still I have always loved PW and look forward to my weekly edition...although I do not always receive my magazine in a timely manner. Whether because I live on the West Coast or if it's just the mail, I don't know. Sometimes it arrives way into the following week, sometimes closer to the beginning of the week. I still find the magazine valuable, but have to say the following:

For a magazine directed at the publishing trade I find it ludicrous that there are so many typos in the reviews as well as the text. WHO IS DOING THE PROOF READING HERE? There is a new format that has updated the look, but I miss the best seller lists being in the back of the magazine. Now they're somewhat in the middle and one definitely can't just easily flip to them. Also, the Q&A's with authors are so stupidly placed in issues which don't contain the review of the author's book who is being interviewed. Instead, there is a reference date to the issue said book was reviewed in. It's frustrating to read the Q&A and then not be able to see the review of the author's book in the same issue. I guess the publisher thinks people keep the magazine at least 4 weeks or issues just lie around the house or office and pile up. I like the "Deals" columm and "Hollywood Reader" column, but my very favorite section is the Author Profile. I am curious tho about the age of some of the writers in this publication... I'd also like to know how the magazine and the editors decide what book should get a starred review. Sometimes I'm astounded as to what gets starred. The website, which you get full access to when you register as a subscriber to the magazine, is easy to use. Even before I receive my issue in the mail, I can see the latest issue on line.

...however I have recently let my subscription lapse. I am NOT in the book publishing business, I am just an avid reader. The synopsis and reviews contained within, often led me to books that I might otherwise have missed--that's why I indulged in the price of this weekly magazine. I also loved the fact that it's a WEEKLY mag. All the other book publishing info contained within was completely un-useful to me. Unfortunately over the years, it has become just too pricey for me. Reluctantly I have not renewed my subscription. It will be missed (except for the cost).

Sad to have purchased this item. Not worth the subscription price. I used to use it to advertise editorial services, but they no longer have that feature. Not useful in my business and when the issues come I just throw them out.

I have yet to see a PW review of anything that was not vetted by the PC Police, not to mention utterly stupid. When they want to pan a book, they apparently have a list of criticisms they pick from at random, such as "non sequitur" or "murky argument" or "reductionist". They pick them by throwing darts at the list and writing down whatever phrases the darts hit, in ways that prove that they don't actually have any understanding of what the terms mean. It's especially annoying because even when it's a book I like, I can easily see criticisms that someone with a different worldview could make that would be valid, but they don't make them; that would require work.

The reviews are so shoddy and wildly inaccurate that I thought about asking Amazon.com to stop using them for the product info pages, but then it occurred to me that any book PW pans is guaranteed to be good, so they are useful in a backwards way. Anytime PW praises a book, I don't bother with it, but if they attack it, I know it's going to be great.