#reviewing process

So we've been getting quite a number of questions regarding the reviewing process of your applications. Below will be a breakdown of all that happens after you send in your application.

When we receive an application, it gets saved in Google Docs along with all other applications.

All the admin coordinators check out your application and decide if they like it or not. If we all agree, we message said person and start our interviewing process. 

However, sometimes we do have a certain type that we hire. For example, a while ago we only reviewed male applicants because there was a demand for male admins. "But does that mean that we won't get hired if we're female during that" Of course not! Acacia was hired during the search for male admins. 

If we need admins that know a lot of about sexuality and gender identity then we'll look for that in your applications. Or if we need someone who is incredibly active, then we'll look at that. 

This is not a one person blog. EVERYONE runs this blog. That means that we have to have a unanimous vote or majority rule vote in order to hire anyone. Why? When you're hired, you become a part of our family. And what makes a family work is how well we get along with each other. 

After we've chosen our applicant, we interview them. It is a very informal process. Typically a group of three or four admins will talk to you in a group chat to figure out your personality and how well you'll fit in our group. We also let you see how we behave and what it feels like to be a part of us. You can still change your mind about being an admin if you decide that we're too weird (we are really weird) and we wouldn't be offended. 

Then if the interviewing process goes well, an admin coordinator will Skype with you to do a last check on your identity and double check your answers like age, sex, activity, etc. before giving you our login info. 

That's the basic idea of what happens after you send in your application. If you're not hired, don't think it's because you are not good enough. It just means that we were looking for something different at the moment. Don't lose faith. We keep all applications and you're more than welcomed to resend it with different answers (just state that this is a resend so we won't have two copies).

Now some cheats on how to catch our attention.

Resources. This is huge for us. We like someone who can use outside sources to support what they're saying. It shows that they care enough to do additional research to make sure that they're correct about what they're saying and to gain more information. However, this doesn't mean that you can throw a bunch of links in and we'll be happy. We want interpersonal connection between the admin and the person they're talking to. So use your personal knowledge and experience to enhance the quality of your answer. 

Exhaust your answer. Don't just say "I feel ya bro. It's going to be okay. Everything will work out. I'm here for you" like my four year old cousin can say that. Don't be afraid to let your soft side out. Remember to empathise and sympathise. Tell then why you believe it's going to be okay. Why you think that because it would help them believe too. 

Be honest. If you can't be online a lot, say so. We do not like dishonesty. If you lie to get hired and doesn't show up for three weeks, we're going to have a serious talk. 

That's all. i hope that clears things up for everyone about the reviewing process. 

When some of you read my reviews, you may occasionally wonder why I'll give a book, say, an 8.75 instead of a 9 and,  more importantly, why what may be your favourite book in the world didn't get the 10 it deserved. In the short but spectacular history of The Errant Bookshelf, only one book has ever received a 10: Looking for Alaska by John Green. As such, I call the characteristic(s) a book needs to have to achieve a 10 The Alaska Factor.

Without this factor, the highest a book can achieve here is a 9. A 9 means that the book in question was spot-on in every way: unique characters, excellent pacing, good voice, spectacular plot, etc. A 9 means that I can find very little, if anything, to complain about.

For a 9 to become to coveted 10, it needs to have more than that. A 10 means that I can re-read the book over and over again and never really get bored. A 10 needs to have something new, but not just something old written in a new and clever way: A 10 needs to have some element that I have rarely or never seen. A 10 needs to be able to stand alongside its fellow 10s and hold its own.  A 10 needs to have moved me in some way. A 10 means that, when I think a character is going to die on the next page, I need to put the book down and walk away from it just to prolong that character's life. A 10 needs to be something that we can look back on. A 10 needs to be the kind of thing that people write poetry about.