Today I have a question for my readers and my author friends.This has been weighing on me for some time. I feel as though I've been walking a very fine line. Before I was a writer, I was and still am a reader, and I was voracious! Four books a week. For the last seven years I have posted my honest thoughts on Amazon, LibraryThing, Goodreads, and Blogger.
I don't want that to change. I LOVE reading. I LOVE posting my two cents about a book. I LOVE helping authors I feel have wrote a good book and I love sharing that book.
But occasionally, I read a book I don't enjoy so much. I post those too!
Here is my question/dilemma:
I don't do fake reviews. If I read a book in its entirety and I don't like it, I say so. Sometimes I'll realize in advance a book is not for me and I won't finish it. I normally just mark the book DNF then. Really, life is too short and there are too many other good books to read to waste my time. But again, if I read it, I say what I thought.
I have even gone so far as to email friends of mine and say, "I don't like your book. Are you sure you want me to review this? At the moment, I think it's best that I don't finish, because if I finish, I'm not giving it a good review."
It's a tad awkward, sending this email, but I do it.
In the last seven years, I've earned a following on my honest book reviews.
But since I've become a writer, I've noticed a change in attitude. I feel as though both sides are watching me with hawk eyes.
The readers expect honest reviews, and I deliver that. BUT then there are those few that eye my less-than-glowing reviews and say, "Oh yeah? You think you could write this better?"
The curse of being writer and reviewer.
When is okay for an author to write a bad review? Is it always construed as something personal? Is it okay for a romance writer to not like another romance writer's book?
To not write honest reviews would lose the respect of my followers. To write honest reviews often earns me scorn from other authors.
Thoughts?
I agree. I do reviews also and am always honest but try to always bring up any good also. I have just started the first book that I am not sure I can finish. I am seriously considering messaging this person and letting her know that I am not going to review it. But then I think not all reviews can be good and that I should review it.So for now I have set it aside. I am going to keep doing my reviews and review site until i get too much negative feedback on my being an Author. I don't review as an author I review as a reader.
ReplyDeleteI understand your dilemma. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI cheat a little bit because I mostly review movies rather than books, and there's a lot to talk about besides just the quality of the story. I have reviewed books, of course, and have occasionally give a bad review. But I personally would not publish reviews of friends' book. It's likely that they would be positive reviews, but sometimes they wouldn't be, and friends don't expect that. I suppose it depends on your definition of "friend" (versus "acquaintance"), but I would rather give a true friend private support rather than a public review. That way, if a book is less-than-great, perhaps we can have a private discussion about what would make it better rather than publicly airing those grievances. And the result? Better books and happier people. Who wouldn't want that?
ReplyDeleteI cheat a little bit because I mostly review movies rather than books, and there's a lot to talk about besides just the quality of the story. I have reviewed books, of course, and have occasionally give a bad review. But I personally would not publish reviews of friends' book. It's likely that they would be positive reviews, but sometimes they wouldn't be, and friends don't expect that. I suppose it depends on your definition of "friend" (versus "acquaintance"), but I would rather give a true friend private support rather than a public review. That way, if a book is less-than-great, perhaps we can have a private discussion about what would make it better rather than publicly airing those grievances. And the result? Better books and happier people. Who wouldn't want that?
ReplyDeleteYou are right. It would be real awkward if it was a super close friend. I guess I'd call them authors I know. But if they ask for a review...I do tell the truth. I leave it up to them if I make it public or private.
DeleteThis is a great post Tara. I definitely feel your pain. It is definitely hard, especially when you dislike a book published by your employer. Do you write a bad review and make your own company look bad? Same goes with reading something by a friend. Just a tough situation all the way around, lol.
ReplyDeleteBad reviews make better writers though!
Amen to that! I read bad reviews for my own work and note how I can improve. That's why I loathe those "leave a two and be done with it" types. I'm like, "Wait a min! Tell me WHY? How can I make the next one better if you don't tell me why you hated this one?" LOL
DeleteGreat topic. I was a reviewer before an author and I gave it up for the reason I felt bad judging someone elses work now that I knew all that they had put into it. My thought was, "what right do I now have to tell you your book sucks." So I walked away. But that isn't to say other reviewers shouldn't continue if they are published and not. Authors made great reviewers because we understand a lot more...if that makes sense.
ReplyDeletePersonally, if a friend (online or in person) doesn't like my book, I'd prefer a note from them telling me so. If you were to email me and say you didn't like my book and if I wanted you to still review it, I'd probably say no. Non-shining reviews from those you care about usually sting a whole lot more.
Great topic today!
I'm the same, but I normally tell them to go ahead and post it but thank them for the warning, especially when it's a legit reason and I apparently erred. :(
DeleteActual saying around my house: "It's not what you say, but how you say it." As authors, I feel we should be able to give each other constructive criticism. Should that necessarily come in the form of a bad review? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteI only review books that I actually like / love. I also believe in the golden rule for authors. It may look dishonest; anyone looking at my reviews on Amazon would think I only rate books 4 or 5 stars but I just can't see wasting time reading AND reviewing something that isn't worth it. In those cases, I've contacted authors privately to say, "Hey, this needs work and here's why I think so. Do you really want me to tell the world or keep it quiet?" Luckily, I can still count the number of times that awkward conversation happened on one hand. It's a slippery slope, but authors should review each other or decline to review without any hard feelings. After all, most of us got into this because we love books.
When it comes to your readers, Tara, they trust you to be honest and you should always deliver on that. I'm sure your author friends appreciate your courtesy in contacting them beforehand, even if they're disappointed you didn't like the book. What's worse; to find that out in a private email from you or publicly from your blog post? I know what I'd prefer.
If I read a book I don't like, I keep it to myself. I prefer not to inflict pain on another author and besides, that's only my opinion. It doesn't mean others won't like it. Authors take enough shots in public from others without me adding to the pile-on. But I won't say I like a book when I don't.
ReplyDeleteI try not to write a bad review. In fact, I hated one book I had to review and scrapped the review I wrote of it because it was so negative. (I hope the one that was published instead was not so terrible.) If I don't like a book and I don't HAVE to review it, then I will not. But, as with Night Owl, I can say if I did not finish reading the book and explain why I didn't like it in the review. Again, I try to be nice about it. I know that as authors it can go both ways. I DO love to read, though, and I won't stop sharing opinions of books even though I might end up getting a negative review of my own book in return. It happens.
ReplyDeleteFirst: I admire people who review. I don't review. Anybody who reads my reviews at goodreads knows that. I may say a few things I like but it's scattered and disorganized and off the top of my head. It's subjective. It's how a book struck ME, at THIS moment. Nothing more. This kind of analysis is not my strength and I get no pleasure from attempting it, so I don't.
ReplyDeleteSecond: As a writer, I am a pro. I expect reviewers to be honest. If I don't like a review it will be because I think it's stupid and uninformed, not because it's negative. As someone who received one of your notes, I was appreciative that you sent it. On the other hand, if you'd reviewed the book and said what you didn't like about it, I would have respected that, as well. I'm not an author/friend who will go off in a huff if you don't like my stuff.
To me, the most important thing to remember about any review is that it IS subjective. It's one person's opinion. We all know of books that we loved and others hated. The same goes with movies, with professional reviewers.
The main thing we can learn from reviews is the "why." If, for example, a reviewer says, "I found this heroine unsympathetic and weak. I got tired of her having to be rescued all the time," I guarantee you there will be some readers whose secret fantasy is being rescued, who will run buy that book.
There are authors who are very comfortable reviewing. Sometimes they have strong academic backgrounds, and that may have made them feel more comfortable with analyzing and voicing firm opinions, because they've been doing it for decades. But I also think it's personality. Some do. Some don't.
I hope you don't stop reviewing.
Forgot to say, "I am not going to finish reading this book because I would rather stab myself in the eye with a pointy pencil," and, "If I review this book, it won't be pretty," are two different things. I would be horrified if a friend forced herself to read a book that was pure torture to her, just because she felt she must because I wrote it. I have heard of reviewers who will give an author a chance to say "never mind" if the reviewer is going to give it a bad review. I would probably say, "Go ahead, review it anyway. I can take it." Probably. ;-)
DeleteNo artist goes into their craft- be it painter, writer, or musician, believing 100% of the people are going to love them 100% of the time. It's just not possible.
ReplyDeleteI can't read certain authors (Ken Follett comes to mind), and I turn off the radio if Bruce Springsteen or Guns and Roses come on. I wouldn't hang a Thomas Kincaid on any wall of my house if it were given to me. Does this mean they suck? No. It means they're not my thing.
That said, one and two star reviews sting a bit, even if you expect them. I like that you privately write to someone and give them a heads up that you aren't digging their book, rather than lambasting them with a poor review. That makes you a thoughtful human being, and there's nothing wrong with that.
If it were me, I would then want to know what it was about the book that turned you off and what I could do to fix it. Even bad experiences can be made productive, if you don't let ego get in the way.
There is never a need to be snarky though. Stick to the facts.