The end of this year will mark my third full year of blogging. I’ve seen book blogs come and go and drama happen – sometimes on a weekly basis. I’ve tried to remain calm, cool, and collected through it all, but it wasn’t until the Stop the GoodReads Bullies drama hit the fan that I began to get a little bit worried.
I’ve, generally speaking, had some good experiences with authors. I try to include in my negative (i.e. critical reviews) what exactly I disliked about the book. I very rarely review DNF books – but on occasion I do review them and state that I did not finish, and why. What all this has come to is me sitting down with a head filled with thoughts and finally, I’m ready to put them down.
First, on critical reviews – these are necessary. I see friends tweeting, remarking on Facebook, or blogging that they hate writing reviews that slant toward the negative but I can assure you – these types of reviews are vital to the blogging community. It’s been said over and over in too many posts to link to here that people tend to trust blogs that review both positively and negatively. Let me give you an example:
I’m friends with quite a few folks on GoodReads, and I read every review that comes up on my feed. There is one individual who only posts 4 and 5 star reviews (and sometimes the written review does not reflect those star ratings and is filled with criticism). Those reviews confuse me, and as a result I do not trust the person putting them up.
If I see a website filled with reviews that both glow and criticize, there is a very good chance I’ll be coming back to see if that reviewer has read the next book I’m looking at picking up. That’s how this works.
Now – on the author front. I have a difficult time siding with either side fully, because in my mind both sides are in the wrong here. Not all authors will attack reviewers, and not all reviewers attack authors. That said – I have been chastised, berated, yelled at, and cursed at for not reviewing self-published books or reviewing one negatively. Unfortunately, there is not a place anywhere where we reviewers can post our interactions with these authors and warn other reviewers about them – except for on reviews of their books. Yet Stop the GR Bullies has deemed this as “bully” reviewing.
My response to those people at that website (which I am deliberately not linking to) is this: you can call out reviewers on bullying only when you allow those of us who have been targeted by authors to do the same. Like I said, neither side is in the right here. For every instance shown of a reviewer targeting an author, the same can be said for the other side. The simplest solution is: do not read the reviews. Seriously – this all starts with the reviewed attacking the reviewer.
When I started school last Fall I made the decision to no longer accept self-published books. I was relieved, because it took a plate filled with drama off of my table and let me focus, instead, on doing something I loved. I still get chastised for this decision – in fact, last May I received the following:
I find it discouraging that site that is nothing more than a self-published review site would put in bold that they don’t review self-published books. Here is a quick list of authors who self-published books: Mark Twain, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Leo Tolstoy, Edgar Allen Poe, James Joyce, Louis L’Amour, Marcel Proust, George Bernard Shaw, T.S. Eliot, E.E. Cummings, L. Ron Hubbard and Walt Whitman. E-books are going to change publishing forever and you’re going to be sitting on the sidelines with a handful of readers at best because you didn’t make the effort to find something new and interesting to promote.
I had never heard of this author. In spite of that, he decided to target my blog in a way that I took offense to. Using phrases like “nothing more than..” and “you didn’t make the effort” are not ways to make friends – let alone get a stranger to read your book.
Now, look at this query I got from a self-published author (one which I happened to accept):
I noticed your review policy states you do not take submissions from self-published authors, and I totally get why. A lot of us suck, and it seems like the ones who suck the most feel the most entitled to complain when someone says they suck.
Anyway, there’s a chance my novel sucks, but so far the feedback I’ve gotten has been really good. People are talking about how exciting it is to read, that the plot and characters mess with their expectations, and that the novel is full of new ideas. I’m hoping in my case you might consider making an exception. If you don’t like it and put it down before finishing, I promise not to complain. Likewise if your honest review is not favorable.
As the writer of a self-published review site (and surely you can relate as a blogger), I do not owe you anything. You are not offering payment for a review, nor would I accept it in any case. I have accepted, in the last year, two self-published books because the summary intrigued me and I had the assurance of the author that their behavior would be respectful should I choose to review it negatively or put it aside should I decide I cannot finish it. However, those books will not be read until the summer begins and I’ve treated myself to books that I have chosen for myself.I understand your email was probably a outburst due to frustration, but speaking as a blogger who happens to write book reviews (for her own pleasure and amusement), let me assure you that your name will never be put on my list due to the disrespect you have shown me in your email. If you cannot be professional in an email, what makes you think that I would ever have found your book to be?
Although – I tend to think like Richard Castle’s mom does .. a negative review every now and then helps to keep one grounded.
This whole thing has made me realize that I need to put a solid review policy on the blog. For whatever reason I never felt the need to do so until recently.
I stopped reading self published books in 2010 after I got responses from authors that weren’t neccesarily rude, but a little too agressive for my taste. I have always tried to be fair in my negative reviews. In only one case have I ever felt moved to flat out say I hated a book, and the publisher’s response didn’t help much either. I think “negative” reviews are a neccesary byproduct of the process. No one reviewer will ever like very single book they read, and if their blog says otherwise, I tend to avoid them.
Yeah, Ryan – it never hurts to have a solid review policy up.
Well done and I agree. I recently worked at book reviewing site and the editor favored reviewers who only ever gave 5 stars. To me that screams “I have no judgment!” and I don’t trust it at all. I also stay away from self published because they are so often self-edited as well which where the majority of problems arise. And no, they don’t like it if you criticize.
My intention is to write honestly but respectfully about the books I review. If someone can’t handle that then they are better at another site. And I don’t use stars. Read the review that’s all.
Thank you, Catherine – and you have nailed it. Honest and respectful.
Very well said. I’ve pretty much stopped accepting review books altogether- there’s so much material already close at hand waiting for me to read it, whether on my own shelves or at the library. And the few times I did receive review copies, I felt my reviewing style was really cramped by worrying about how the author would perceive what I said. I don’t need that stress for an activity that is basically just about my enjoyment of reading.
A lot of the books I review are my own copies or library copies – but even then there will be the random author here or there that takes offense. I’ve never had an issue with a publisher striking out at me because of a review.
Thank you for your very well-written post.
I have had a review policy in place for a while, and I’ve recently modified it because I was receiving so many requests per month that I had difficulty keeping up with them. I do try my best to give balanced reviews, and (fingers crossed) have not had any problems with authors who self-publish. I will admit that I found one book to be pretty awful, and I couldn’t find any way to write a review that didn’t say that — so I emailed the person who sent me the book (they had sent it on behalf of the author) and let them know the situation. We had a good conversation via email, back and forth, and I wound up just not putting my review on my blog, and passing the book on to another reader, instead. I can see why some bloggers would be a little gun-shy about reviewing self-published books, since the whole GR thing blew up, and it’s too bad — some of the self-published books are really good.
One thing I do – whether I like a book or not, is include links to other bloggers who have reviewed the book. This makes posting a negative review a little easier to do, because I’m doing the reader’s work for them in finding other points of view and it’s something I gladly do.
I do this too, and if I publish a negative review, I make a particular effort to include a link to a reviewer who enjoyed the book.
I also wonder what the writer of emails like that hope to achieve. Do they think berating a blogger into feeling guilty about not reviewing self-pubs will get them to do it? Or is it more likely for them to shy away from self-pubs even more if they’re getting berated for not reading those books? It makes no sense.
I delete self-pub review queries unanswered, I don’t care how wonderfully worded the email is simply because it’s a blatant disregard for my review policy, wherein I state, in BIG BOLD RED LETTERS, that I don’t accept self-pubs. And I’m perfectly okay with that and still sleep at night. Just because I’m “self-pubbed” in that I took it upon myself to publish my own reviews (what a stretch that definition is) doesn’t mean I’m somehow obligated to other self-pubs to review their work. That makes me to irrationally angry that I want to spit. My function is not to serlf self-pubs purely by the existence of my design. Eff that. And berating and chastising certainly won’t win anybody any part favors, that’s for sure.
Excellent article! Thank you for writing this. I think this is a tough position for book bloggers. On one hand, I really like the idea of giving indie authors a fair shot and of the book blogging community making things more democratic.
On the other hand, while I haven’t experienced it myself, I am appalled at the unprofessional, rude behavior of some authors. Of course, this isn’t exclusive to self-published authors, by any means, but dealing with an established publisher does provide a buffer. In my opinion, no professional would ever complain about a negative review or ask a reviewer to change a review. Don’t they realize they’re just shooting themselves in the foot?
I’ve dealt with many terrific self-published authors who are thoroughly professional. It’s a shame that some authors have to make it more difficult for everyone.
I’m a self-published author, and I totally respect your right to reject self-published books. I make rounds of book bloggers myself because that is the only way I, a self-published author, can hope to survive. I do take the time to carefully read review guidelines. And I query the blogger, I hope, respectfully. And if there are things they did not like about my book (as stated in their review), I do not question or argue. They are, after all, entitled to their opinion.
I worry that too many combative authors just make it harder for the majority of us who, I believe, are quite respectful.
Best,
Rasana
I read your review of Jennie Fields’ “The Age of Desire” and wanted to let you know about my own Wharton-related book, “Rosedale in Love.” Here’s the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV78JGcU0MI
It re-tells the story of “The House of Mirth” from Rosedale’s POV, and explores his family, his world, his dreams.
I recently did a reading from it at the international Edith Wharton conference in Florence, and the Edith Wharton Review recommends the novel, calling it “wonderfully creative.”
RIL is an indie book. Why? Because after 19 traditionally-published books with houses as big as Doubleday and as small as Leapfrog, I wanted more control over my career.
I’d love to send you a copy.
Thanks,
Lev Raphael
Please read my review policy. I do not accept pitches in this manner.