I'm interviewed over at Creative Writing Now about reviewing books. I don't know what was into me, but I felt rather playful and sarcastic the day I answered the questions. RE: below — I don't even have a cat!
I even talked about the literary establishment's preference for Jonathan Franzen — I mean, for male authors in general.
Here's an excerpt:
Q: Could you offer some advice to new book reviewers on publishing their reviews?
A: Once you get to a certain critical level — I mean the ability to write blistering/laudatory prose, and the rhetorical skills to maneuver around the complexities of a book — people will publish you (especially online sites). It’s not hard to get people to accept free prose. The world always needs more reviewers. Now to get paid for it — that’s a different topic. I would tell you good luck but a better phrase might be stop-imagining-you-live-in-the-pre-internet-age-you-naïve-dreamer-since-you-will-never-make-enough-to-buy-kitty-litter.
You make enough to buy kitty litter? You’re the rich man in the room.