Sunday, September 1, 2013

Book Reviews—The Good, Bad and the Ugly

As are all authors, or I should say most, I'm always anxious to have reviews roll in from some of the professional review sites, and I'm also pleased when I get one from a reader on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or other book seller's store. A Four or a Five Star review and I'm elated. Anything below that and I am bummed. Recently I asked myself—is my thinking skewed?

 

Well, yes, I think it is. First off, everyone has different opinions and each person comes away with something different from what they read. Some focus on plot, others on characters. A few make note of every editing error, but most people read for pure enjoyment. With that said, I shouldn't expect all reviews to be 4's and 5's. It's a good thing too, because I have gotten 3's and a couple of 2's. I must admit though the 2 hurt like the devil, but I got over the slap to my ego. As writers we must suck it up and go on. Take what we can from the review and go from there. After all, the review may have some legitimate criticism. Contrary to our belief, we are not perfect.

On another note, how about posting reviews. Do you believe in giving your friends a 5 just because they're you're friend? I don't. If I can't give them at least a 3 or 4, I don't leave a review. Tell them in a kind and constructive manner why you ranked them as you did. 

And I certainly don't want people giving me a 5 star review based on friendship. Give me what you think the story deserves and tell me why—in a nice way.

There are certain aspects of a story that are important to each of us. Please don't introduce a character to me and then forget about him/or her. I need to know what happened to them. Now when I say introduce, I mean you've given me a description in a setting with their name and connected them in some way to the plot. The same with plot elements. If you've made me think the killer is a mountain lion because the hero saw one feasting on a body on the side of the road. Make sure I know why it wasn't the murderer. For example, autopsy results show the person's throat was cut with a knife, not with an animal's sharp teeth.

Regardless of what we think, no author deserves to be slammed, mocked or embarrassed by a book review. Professionals do not denegrate and attack their fellow associates. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

These are just a few of my pet peeves and I know some of you—readers and writers— have your own. Please share them with us so we can all learn through your experience.

Linda
www.lindalaroque.com


20 comments:

  1. Great post, Linda! I've never gotten a five from professional reviewers, but am very proud of the 4 and a halfs. I've gotten everything from 5's to 1's--and those really hurt, but it's the reader's opinion after all. I don't like every book I read, but any that I think deserve a 1, are the one's I don't read all the way through. I don't think it's fair to give those a review at all.

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    1. I'm with you, Susan. If I don't like the well enough to read it entirely, I wouldn't dream of writing a review. And I do see some like that on Amazon, but that review them anyway which isn't fair.

      Thanks for your comment!

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  2. The only time I took umbrage with a reader's scores was when they admitted they just purchased the book, hadn't read it yet, but felt it 'sounded' like the story line might have been lifted from someone else. I wouldn't have minded the accusation so much if they had taken the time to read the book FIRST before reviewing it. However, they gave it 3 stars which isn't bad for an unread book. Linda, it takes all kinds and they're all out there surfing the net and, hopefully, buying our books. And I have never given 5 stars out of friendship, either. And if someone's done that with my books...thank you, darlin'.

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    1. Wow, Heather, they sure had gall. I've heard some people are rating books on Good Reads before the read the book. Their rating indicates to them how badly they want to read the story. But, it's hurting the writer's rating.

      Good for you! In the past I did but don't anymore. I don't think it's fair to either one of us.

      Thanks for your comment.

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  3. I have heard that readers who get a book "free" feel obligated to pick it apart. I write both sensual and inspirational westerns and took a lot of hits from reviewers for having love scenes in my last release. oh well, plenty of fours and fives, too. Good thoughts here, Linda. xo

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    1. What a strange way of thinking. I guess some people think because they're getting it free, it can't be any good. I'm not sure I'll do the KDP Select program again. My sales have been lower since the free give-a-way than before.

      I'm sorry about the reviewers, Tanya. That's tough when you write for both lines. Readers should be more careful when purchasing and keep them straight.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Sometimes a bad review can help sales. One morning when I was checking my sales for the previous day, I noticed that 168 books had been sold that day. I knew something had to be wrong so I went to Amazon and scrolled down to the reviews. Sure enough, someone was advising everyone to hurry up and get the book while it was on sale because it was "so bad, it was entertaining"!!! However, not only was the book "on sale", it was for sale every day for that price!!!

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    1. Well, for once it's encouraging for good things to come from a bad review. Glad you had a great amount of sales that day. I've heard of a bad review generating sales before. The author sent a nasty reply to the reviewer and made a lot of other authors mad. There was a lot of mud slinging for awhile. It wasn't pretty.

      Thanks for your comment.

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  6. Linda, I'm with you. If I can't say something nice about a book, I don't leave a review. I also click on the "not useful" button when I do see negative comments. Nastiness doesn't help anyone.

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    1. Clicking on the "not useful" button is an excellent idea, Ashantay. You are so right!

      Thanks for stopping by and for your comment.

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    2. Many of us struggle with reviews and our feelings about them. They are so subjective, it's like a crap shoot. Personally I don't care about them any more. Some of them can be very helpful when the reviewer sites the problems they encountered. I don't think snarky reviews formulated for negative entertainment is ever helpful or necessary.

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  7. I have never given a false positive review and vice versa. In most instances, I don't pay attention to the lower rankings, unless that's all the author has. It's sad that some people haven't learned true etiquette. I'm not proposing readers lie, I'm suggesting they give thought to their words before they type. I'm a true believer in karma, spite only boomerangs.

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    1. I think that's the biggest problem, Susan. Some people don't think about the words they put down. I'm like you, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the poor reviews. I may read some out of curiosity but it doesn't sway me when buying a book.

      Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. One reviewer happened to hate rape and so , based on that, gave one of my books a terrible review. Hey, it was a historical and rape happened then, just as it does now. Fortunately other reviewers realized that and gave me reviews based on the plot--mostly good or great ones. I've never given any bookk a bad review based on my prejudices and I don't believe anyone should. She could have said something like, "I hate to read rape scenes, so I'm warning you this book has some," then rated the book on the plot, but, no, she raved and ranted about rape. Yes, rape is never good, but it does happen. Jane

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    1. I agree, we should never allow our likes/dislikes to affect a book review. I think many of the prejudices about rape scenes comes from the fact that many Romance Publishers will not accept books with rape scenes. Still, the person should not have dwelled on the issue.

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

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  9. The kinds of reviews that bother me, whether about my books or someone elses) is when the review says, I don't usually like YA/romance/mysteries/horror/whatever, but I read this book anyway and then gives the book a negative review saying he/she doesn't like YA/romance/mysteries/horror/whatever!

    If I like a book enough to finish it, I give it at least 3 stars. If I don't like it enough to finish it, I don't review it. I don't bash books or authors. For example, I don't bash a book just because it is for younger readers than I might have thought. I will point out what age I think it is for and add that it is also for people who enjoy returning to that period of life for the time it takes to read the book.

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    1. Excellent point, Ann. Even if a book is free and it's not a genre I want to read, I pass. A review shouldn't have our likes and dislikes in it, but be about the construction of the book—the plot, the characters, etc.

      That's a good rule on the 3 stars. I'm not going to trash someone's book just because I didn't like it. Look at all the movie reviews. They give some of the best movies bad reviews. We all look for something different.

      Thanks for your comment!

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  10. Hi Linda,

    When I was first published, I read a fellow author's book that was released by the same publisher my book was. The book sounded great from the blurb and was something I wanted to read. It wasn't a case of "Hey, I'll review your book if you review mine" which I see all the time on one of the loops I belong to. I don't ever do those types of review swaps. While I gave the book 4 stars, I did point out some of the things that pulled me out of the story and the misuse of apostrophes (a huge pet peeve of mine even outside of writing). Needless to say, my review wasn't well received by the author or her group of friends on the loop I'm on. I reviewed the book over a year ago and am still paying for that review. (On a side note, I'm not the only author reviewed the book and gave the book 4 stars due grammar and editing issues.) Now, I rarely review books that I can't give 5 stars to. Lesson learned I guess.

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    1. Katherine, I have to admit that early in my writing career I did just that—I'll review your book if you'll read mine. Fortunately it was one time, but I've been ashamed ever since. Live and learn from our mistakes, I guess.

      That is so hard when you see all those grammatical errors, but you're not doing the author or the publisher any favors by ignoring them.

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