The Universe Builders

I think we all wonder exactly what the judges are thinking when they look over your book.  They sent me not only their rating scales, but the actual ratings and the narrative submitted by the judge.

2nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published eBook Awards

Entry Title The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Putty
Author: Steve LeBel
Judge Number: 92
Entry Category: Middle-Grade/Young Adult books

Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “needs improvement” and 5 meaning “outstanding”. This scale is strictly to provide a point of reference, it is not a cumulative score and does not reflect overall ranking. Ratings are not tallied, and are not reflective of placement in the competition judging.  Our system only recognizes numerals during this portion of logging evaluations. As a result, a “0” is used in place of “N/A” when the particular portion of the evaluation simply does not apply to the particular entry, based on the entry genre. For example, a book of poetry or a how to manual would not necessarily have a “Plot and Story Appeal” and may therefore receive a “0”. A rating of a “0” does NOT indicate a low rating.

*If you wish to reference this review on your website, we ask that you cite it as such: “Judge, 2nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published eBook Awards.” You may cite portions of your review, if you wish, but please make sure that the passage you select is appropriate, and reflective of the review as a whole.

Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 5
Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 5
Production Quality and Cover Design: 5
Plot and Story Appeal: 5
Character Appeal and Development: 5
Voice and Writing Style: 5

Judge’s Commentary*:
The cover image is spectacular, with great colors and a sense of magic. Well done.

The author does a beautiful job throughout of describing the nature elements in Bernie’s world, letting the reader see the lushness of it when it’s in its glory, and also the devastation of it thanks to Billy’s sabotage. We get textures, colors, scents – it’s wonderfully done, and brings great realism to the reader’s experience.  It’s great to have the interaction with the slither so that the reader sees that this is not ordinary nature, but one inhabited by mystical and unique little creatures. Well done.

Excellent correlation to the YA reader’s world with the challenges and pressures of schooling, judgment, tests, etc. We sense that pressure of performance and measuring up to a super-achiever who came before us, in this instance Bernie’s father. He has a lot to live up to, and the author does a great job of bringing that to life throughout the story.

Giving Suzie a sparkling aura is another stamp of magic in this story, and creates a layering of her characteristics.

Excellent elements of science, physics, astronomy, appealing to the like-minded reader and adding an organic and authentic appeal to the story.

Watch out for repeats. For instance, it says twice ‘strange things happened near him’ two times in one paragraph. Reader isn’t sure if repeat is intentional, or a missed edit.

We follow his goals and motivations well, and we’re angered at Billy’s jealousy and sabotage, hoping for him to get his karmic kickback, which satisfyingly happens. We experience dread, but we believe in Bernie, and the twist of him creating a duplicate world that Billy has sabotaged is a great surprise and delight. We’re cheering for Bernie throughout, and we’re happy to see his genius recognized and rewarded, while still accepting the reality of what happens when a universe/planet experiences disasters and ruin. Very gritty and raw, and a smart inclusion to rev up the reader’s experience.

Excellent and unique – author hasn’t copied the model of any other popular YA book franchise, which is very welcome to the reader. It’s layered and sensory, dialogue is terrific, pacing is spot-on. Excellent read.

***

Note:  Are you wondering how my book did in the Writer’s Digest Book Contest?  Click here to find out.

I just received this editorial review from Writer’s Digest.  It was written by one of the contest judges.  What a great review!

The Universe Builders: Bernie and the Putty is one of those books you remember long after you finish reading it. Steve LeBel has that rare ability to create very real characters AND paints a stunningly realistic world that they inhabit. I could smell the earth in Bernie’s forest, could feel the texture of the trees, and with such a deep connection to Bernie’s creation I felt true dread that it would be ruined and anger at the reasons why.

Bernie is an embraceable character, a young god with very human concerns and motivations, great inner strength and intelligence that YA readers will surely connect with, and the people who satellite around him are equally real and nuanced. The book reminded me of Harry Potter in that way, focused on the hero but populated by his band of friends and nemesis who each jump off the page with their realism and values.

YA readers will recognize the tactics of the bully that torments Bernie, a very painful situation for many kids who have something very special about them that a mean person wishes to reduce. And while we see the bully landing some attacks, we’re very pleased to watch Bernie grow in his handling of it. He outwits the bully, wisely, and surrounds himself with good people. It’s important for a youngster to see how a bully can be handled, and in this story they get a very good lesson in overcoming unfairness as well as overcoming obstacles to goals. Bernie is a model for overcoming, both outside forces and his own insecurities and doubts, and it’s a clever and witty adventure following him through the adventures and lessons of this book.

Highly recommended. One of the most unique and well-written YA books I’ve ever read.

 ***

Needless to say, I’m thrilled by this great review.

In addition to the Editorial Review above, they also sent me the original comments made by the first judge who read the book, revealing the rating system and the judge’s narrative.  I found it very insightful.  If you would like to see it, click here.

Have you ever looked at the number of reviews books receive by their readers?  For some of the super-star books, you may find hundreds of reviews.  Most, however, have less than a handful.

Understandably, most people don’t leave reviews.  To be honest, until I started writing, neither did I.  It wasn’t until I realized how important a review is to help a potential reader make a good decision about which book to buy that I started doing them.

All of this is to explain why I’m so pleased to report The Universe Builders has received its ONE HUNDREDTH 5-star review.  It was our 131st review on Amazon, which has been keeping our average up at 4.7 stars out of 5.0.

Bernie and I thank you so very much.

Amazon has several ways to describe how a book is doing.

Sales, of course, is a big one.  But, honestly, it’s hard to complete with the big publishing companies that can push out thousands of books all over the country every time they hit the ‘publish button’.

There is an interesting category on Amazon reserved for the books that have received Top Ratings by their readers.

And I found my book listed there.  And it’s doing VERY well!

Amazon has listed my book, The Universe Builders, in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Then Amazon has several sub-categories for each.  I found my book listed in three of them.  Now the exact ranking may change a little from day-to-day, but this is where my book ranked on January 12, 2015:

SCIENCE FICTION – SPACE OPERA  —  #17

Just to put this into perspective, if The Universe Builders is #17, what are some of the other books in the Amazon Top 100 List for Science Fiction – Space Opera list?  I was amazed by the books I found there:

• The Dragon Riders of Pern (Anne Mc Caffrey) is #5.
• The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) is #8.
• Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) is #39.
• Star Wars (Timothy Zahn) is #43.
• A Princess of Mars (Edgar Rice Burroughs) is #54.
• The Chronicles of Pern (Ann McCaffrey) is #86.
• Childhood’s End (Arthur C. Clarke) is #100.

Hmm…

SCIENCE FICTION – METAPHYSICAL  —  #3

Wow.

FANTASY – METAPHYSICAL  —  #10

Wow, again!

THE COMPETITION

How could my book be listed this high?  How many books am I competing with?  Amazon shows the number of books in each category:

HOW DOES AMAZON DETERMINE THE RANKING?

Amazon bases their Top Rated rankings on something very simple:  customer ratings.  They compile the ratings of all the books in each category and then rank them against each other.  (To be technical, Amazon won’t include a book unless it has a certain number of ratings.)

So how can my book can be ranked above so many others?

There is one answer:  It is because of YOU!  All the readers who took time to post your reviews on Amazon have given me an amazing 4.7 star average (out of 5.0 star maximum).

That is the reason I am ranking so VERY well.

For this, I thank you, my readers, VERY much!

Sincerely,

Steve LeBel