The sixth in a series of articles on writing online book reviews. Click here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5. Today’s article features an interview with established online reviewer, Laura Williams.

How long have you been reviewing books for?

Since August 2007 approximately

How and why did you get started writing online book reviews?

I joined one of the book review teams and it took off from there.  Here are a few places to consider checking into:

http://christianfictionblogalliance.com/

http://www.csffblogtour.com/

http://fictioninrathershorttakes.blogspot.com/

http://nonfictioninrathershorttakes.blogspot.com/

http://teenfictioninrathershorttakes.blogspot.com/

http://firstwildcardtours.blogspot.com/

http://frontstreetreviews.com

http://pumpupyourbookpromotion.com

I also wrote reviews (still do for many of these) for Random House, Zondervan, Harper Collins, Bostick Communications, The B&B Media Group, Sylvan Dell Publishing, and a couple others that I’m drawing a blank on (sorry guys!). I’ve also had authors or their publicist to contact me directly to request a book review.

How does your faith impact the types of books you review, and how you review them?

I choose not to read certain genre of books and prefer to read books that are child friendly if I am reviewing a children’s book. I know that sounds odd but there are some books on the market that are geared toward children and they should be for young adults.  I also prefer to read books that of the Christian genre.  I don’t read books that are about blood and gore with sex thrown it.

When reviewing books, I try to be very open in my reviews without hurting the author’s feelings and giving my blog readers an honest review.

On average, how many books do you read and review each week?

This varies I couldn’t even begin to throw out a number.  Some months are more scheduled than others.

What do you feel are the main differences between print and online book reviews?

Both type of reviews are going to be a hit or miss when it comes to how many people see it and read it.  I think the bloggers have a little advantage over the print reviews as each blog has various readers and new visitors who may stop into that particular post to read what you have to say about a book.

What do you feel are the most significant benefits of online book reviews, both for the reviewer and for the author?

I think it benefits the author as well as the reviewer because the author is getting his or her book out there and the reviewer is getting the chance to read a book that they may not have heard about prior to being contacted for a review of same.  It’s a win-win situation.

Who do you tend to review more books for?  Blog tour alliances, or books that are submitted directly to you and your blog through authors/publicists/publishing houses?

Oh goodness, right now it’s probably a close race.  In the beginning though, I definitely did more for blog tour alliances such at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour , Fiction In Rather Short Takes, Non-Fiction in Rather Short Takes, Teen Fiction in Rather Short Takes, and  Fiction in Rather Short Takes WILD CARD Tours.

What advice would you give to an individual who is just getting started reviewing books online?

Be honest in your reviews and be timely.  If you are scheduled for a certain day to post your review, then be sure to adhere to that scheduled date. If you are sent books to review at your convenience, set yourself a date in which you strive to have that review posted.  Personally, I set myself a two week time frame on these types of reviews. It gives me enough time to read the books and post a review on my blog while I’m doing other reviews, etc.

Above all, have fun, be honest, and don’t overschedule yourself. In the end, you’ll have a review that has yourself shining through it and the authors, publicists, etc. will note you as a trustworthy reviewer and you may get more offers for books to review.

Thanks so much for joining us Laura!  To read Laura’s reviews, and take in the other excellent features on her blog (I love the daily contest round-ups) please visit her at Laura Williams Musings.

Please sign up for updates to the blog (in the upper right hand corner) to read the rest of this upcoming series, featuring interviews with established online book reviewers, more opportunities to review books online (both with and without a blog) and advice for new reviewers.