Picture drawn by Maggie Stiefvater, 2009. Header made by S.F. Robertson, 2010.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Meandering Monday- Bad Reviews, GoodReads, and Authors

Blogger note: A lot of this started out as a comment on Maggie Stiefvater's post about bloggers. It'd be best to read that first then come back here (or not, whichever, lol).

So there's been a lot of stuff going around the blogosphere about negative/snarky reviews on Goodreads and elsewhere and also bad author behavior. I'm kinda going to be touching on those things but I'll be mainly focusing on my thoughts regarding reviews and how people post them.

I really liked Maggie's review vs. post (or, as someone called it in the comments, "reaction posts") point and it may be something I need to keep in mind for the future. I got involved with the GoodReads stuff twice (defending the books and authors in question) and it was just a bit stupid to waste time on that when I could've been reading a wonderful book instead. I did also leave a comment on a blog that had been involved in a separate incident that I'd heard about, funnily enough, via GoodReads. I need to know when to just read it (or not even get that far) and then X out and forget all about it and go back to whatever awesome book I'm reading or great friend I'm chatting with in Gmail or Twitter.

My problem with it was that both times, the users in question had a lot of followers on GoodReads and (I guess wrongly) I felt that what they were writing should have been less snarky and a bit more professional. I feel like if you're making a habit of writing a review for every book you read, wherever it is, you should be held to a slightly higher standard than the average joe who writes a "review" every six months. I don't care for snark pieces when it comes to anything (books, music, movies) so it bothers me to see somebody with 600 followers or whatever write something so low-brow. Again, it shouldn't bother me (I'm not even the author!) but it does.

Also, I'm not a fan of writing a full-fledged review of a book you didn't finish- it just loses its credibility for me as a useful review; in the interest of full disclosure, I did write two sentences on Goodreads though about Melody Burning because I didn't finish it, but I'm not going to waste time writing 3/4 paragraphs on it. I'm on to the next book. But I didn't post it here on the blog, nor do I even consider it a real review. I may be alone in this though since it's kind of telling people there's a "right" way to write a review, which I do have strong opinions about (and have even from before I was a blogger).

I think the other thing too, for me, is that I viewed GoodReads as a booklover's haven as opposed to Amazon which is open to everything. I had been told about it by my blogger friends and so thought it was like a collection of great book bloggers' reviews, both positive and negative. That image shattered pretty quickly, but I kinda held on to the hope that it wouldn't be infiltrated by snarky ne'er-do-wells.

What may be at the root of how I feel has to do with having to work so hard to be noticed and respected by publishers. I am not kissing ass by not being snarky or writing mainly positive reviews; these are my genuine thoughts. While I am not necessarily a professional (I put LOLs and multiple exclamation points among other things in my reviews), I do my best to make my reviews and my blog as professional as I can make it. I want to be taken seriously, especially when the publisher is kind enough to send me advance review copies. I mean, we have a blogger convention that's going into its third year, being run by smart, hardworking bloggers and also has authors and publishing professionals taking part in panels and discussions. Seeing snarky reviews, especially of a book yet to come out (which means a publisher sent you a copy), just cheapens the blogosphere and hurts our credibility. Maybe it's just me, but if a publisher sends you an advance copy for review, you should at least have the decency to keep snark out of your review. There is the Golden Rule- "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."- but it should be revised to say "If you don't have anything nice to say, at least say it tactfully."

I pride myself on being a good reviewer and writing anything negative I have to say in a polite, constructive manner. Constructive criticism doesn't stop at the editing stage, like some people seem to think; if the comment is general enough- bad characterization, stilted dialogue, etc.-, authors can take that into consideration when writing their next book if they want. No, you can't change the book you just read but you could potentially help the author get better as time goes on. I do know some authors who look for that in blogger reviews; if something is repeated enough times, they do their best to get better at it with their next book, which I think is a good attitude to have.

In regards to authors getting involved, I don't think it's the way to go. It's kinda like when people get up in arms about something "offensive", all you're doing is bringing MORE attention to it. If you don't want anyone to read or watch it, DON'T SAY ANYTHING (I will tell you that if I'm ever an author, this will be hard for me, lol). Because once you say something, people are drawn to it and then want to see what all the fuss is about. Except in this case, for some people, it may turn them off from reading any of your books and that's losing more potential customers. Personally, I let the book stand on its own away from the author; I do the same with music and movies. If what you write/sing/act is good, then I'm all for it. You can do whatever you want in your personal life. That is not my business.

Please chime in with your thoughts and questions, no matter what they are- good discussion is always needed (plus, there's the new comment system from Blogger so I can reply to individual posts!). I do have comment moderation up (for every post, not just this one), but every comment will be posted.

17 comments:

  1. Well, I personally don't write a ton of negative reviews because if I hate a book, I'm not finishing it. So unless it's a book where the ending was what ruined the book, I don't have many 1 or 2 star reviews. I do sometimes laugh at the snarky reviews, even though I personally wouldn't write one. But I don't think the authors getting involved on Twitter, etc helps any, it just creates more drama.

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    1. Thanks for being the first comment- you were quick! And luckily for me, I love most everything so having to put down a book doesn't happen often. I think there's just been a small handful since starting this blog, which seems to be the opposite of most bloggers, lol.

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    2. Yeah, I have a lot more reviews for books that I thought were just okay, or not that amazing, than I do really negative reviews.

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  2. Sorry for the long post


    I agree about not being a fan of full fledged reviews (or even counting it on good reads with a star rating) of books not finished since it does lose credibility plus how do you know for example that so and so was that shallow from reading 100 pages? You know?

    Again I fully agree your not alone I actually have a segment on my blog (see here http://ghostofthestill.blogspot.com/2011/10/50-pages-or-bust-archive.html ) that I call “50 pages or bust” which is my thoughts on a book that I know I won't finish I go into why I started the book (for example it got a stunning review form a author I love) why I stopped and normally I'll add the good points of the book and just why it didn't work for me this is like a mini summery of my thoughts on the book could I even get to 50 pages yes or no and then finally I put what I think I would have ended up rating it if I went on called “based on this it is” notice I don't say “My review” or “My rating” because I don't if I read a book and 50 pages in I'm not feeling it? I don't count it on goodreads as read nor do I count these 50 pages as actual reviews (which is why they have their own section instead of being lumped in with the real reviews) so no you are not alone in that I do consider my 50 pages as a mini review though which isn't the same as a real review obviusly its mini it lacks a lot of what a real review can hold.

    I agree on this whole post and here is my views on it: http://creativefantasies.blogspot.com/2012/01/author-vs-readerreviewergood-reads-but.html as well as this is more my view on being objective since it seems to fit the topic (ie having no emotional response in a review at all) I think there has to be a balance in it there is no way to be 100% objective with a book there is no way to put what you feel aside especially if you love love love a book you can't just sit back and thing rationally with no emotion in it at all.

For my reviews such as Divergent, Forever, Nevermore, The scorpio races books I truly LOVE books that are my favorites and on the 5 star list I get hyper fangirl and emotional over them. When I start a review with a book that has touched me so I take a step back from it and with that hyper energy dierect it in an objective manner for example when I was explaining the story of Divergent I didn't go all fangirl squee but I didn't go all robot eaither as seen here" This is that type of story that when you put it down every cell in your body aches for you to have it in your hands reading it again. The writing is easy and smooth like other YA book before it and that is a good thing the world building is amazing and the way it is presented brings about questions for how we live now." 

Thats objective but has emotion in it it gives you bare bone facts but also how I felt about the book with out saying I felt it. While I keep my emotions in check I try to detach my fangirly ness from it till I get to my "My review" section where I say I I ramble and squee and go comeplty emotion control with how I feel about a book

I could never read a review that is just of the pros and cons with out a little human emotion behind it I take myself out of the review since I said way back when I started the review should be about the book NOT me raving over it for a full page (though I give myself the space too when I lay down the final star grade for it like 5 out of 5 heres why I gave it such)

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    1. No worries about the long reply! It's great! Thanks for commenting and giving those links- I'll be sure to take a look at them!

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  3. Wait -- so you are saying don't write snarky reviews? Frankly, I disagree. I think everyone has their own review style that works for them and for some reviewers snarky works. And as far as DNF reviews go, I think one should be allowed to write why they did not finish a book -- plenty of well respected bloggers write DNF reviews - including The Book Smugglers and The Story Siren. It's perfectly valid to say I did not finish a book because of X,Y, Z. I thought Wendy's review of The Selection was valid, just as Allison's review of Don't Stop Now was valid. And I did see that you commented on that one and I am wondering if that is included in this rant because it wasn't even snarky.

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    1. Yeah, I am saying that, at least in the instance of reviewers/bloggers who are receiving advance copies from publishers. I just don't feel that snark belongs in a review like that; it achieves nothing.

      I realize that there have been bloggers, including ones I love like Kristi, who write DNF reviews occasionally. It doesn't make me think of them in a lesser manner or anything (that would be silly), especially if it's done properly, but it's just something I have to move over and forget about. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I don't think of DNF reviews as a proper review, I think they're more okay when it's not full of snark or a rant. Kristi's was classy, whereas I was not a fan of The Book Smuggler's "review" of Sisters Red way back when.

      I didn't like Wendy's review of The Selection (or most other things). Allison's review of Don't Stop Now was fine; I didn't agree with it, but her review was done well. It is not included in the snarky rant; I just mentioned it above so that people knew what I've been involved in during all these kerfuffles. I even talked to Julie Halpern about it since I'm a huge fan of hers and told her that I was shocked at what she had done with that review because it didn't sound like the Julie I knew. I understood that it was a bad review and called the fake kidnapping "unrealistic" even though it was based on a real thing that happened to Julie in her teens, but it wasn't worth all the vitriol she had posted on her blog afterward.

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    2. So, a DNF review is okay when your friends do them but not people you aren't friends with? I'm sorry I am just a little confused because your post seemed to imply that all DNF reviews are unnecessary. Further, are you saying that the Book Smugglers aren't classy, because by calling Kristi's DNF as classy in opposition to the Smugglers whose review you did not like? I'm just really confused because that review of Sister's Red didn't get personal and talked about valid things like rape culture and why that did not sit well with them. They read it through a feminist lens which is what some people do in academic circles.

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    3. It has nothing to do with friends. I have read several other DNF reviews from bloggers that I'm not friends with and they wrote theirs in a polite fashion. You just happened to mention Kristi and the Book Smugglers, so I used those two and that's just how it worked out.

      Personally, I did like the Smugglers before that Sisters Red review, but after that, I'm just not a fan. The Sisters Red "review" was a rant full of false accusations not a feminist literary critique, in my opinion.

      I don't classify DNF posts as reviews nor do I take them into consideration when thinking about a book. For ME, they are unnecessary because I want a review that tells me about the whole book, not about the first 100 pages.

      All this is is just my opinion, talking about the things that I do not like or value in a review. While I wish it were the rules, it's just not and I know that. Not everybody is going to agree with me either, and I knew that going into this post.

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  4. I think of Goodreads as just this giant place where people go to talk about books, with varying degrees of formality. Everyone has a different approach to it, and has to develop their own set of policies and ethics. And most of the authors I know try not to intrude on readers' conversations with one another.

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    1. Exactly. That's how I need to think about it now, but it just made me sad to come to that realization. I thought book lovers were better than having to resort to snark and meanness to get their thoughts across, you know?

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  5. I do not have a bookblog, but I do use Goodreads. I don't have a whole lot of friends on Goodreads, but I have started following reviewers who seem to like the same books I do - or not liking the same books I don't like.

    I actually think a DNF review is very telling. And it could also end up being a nicer review after 100 pages than it could have ended up being after finishing the whole book. If someone who has the same taste in books as me writes a DNF review, after 100 pages (as a lot of reviewers seem to do) telling me and other readers why they stopped reading, this is just as helpful to me as a review after finishing a book.

    And sometimes, snark can actually save a book for me. If the reviewer uses snark well, it might get me curious enough to read the book even if it might not be the genre I usually read. I guess it really does go both ways.

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    1. I'm glad that works for you! I think for me, I'm going to read something either way, whether I see a glowing, meh or negative review for it. A glowing review may make me bump it up in my TBR but that's about it. I do like reading reviews though, whether positive or negative (at least if written politely) of the full book, just to see what other people thought of it.

      But in the end, I know what I like and so I get those books. In the past 4.5 years of blogging, I've only had to put down like 2 or 3 books at varying stages of completion. That's a REALLY small number compared to how many books I finish and review.

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  6. DNF reviews are useful to me if they mention something about the book that would make it a dealbreaker, that I absolutely would not read no matter what. There are just some things I do not want to read about. Like the love interest in a romance novel being a rapist. Yuck.

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  7. I have personally been so conflicted over how to write a few negative reviews that should be scheduled soon. I'm usually such an upbeat, happy person and I hate saying negative things. Trying to find a voice to say something negative, but not rudely, is so difficult. I don't intend to ever hurt someone's feelings.

    My real life job is being a wedding photographer. It's my art and it's how I see things. If someone didn't like what I did, I'd have a hard time not taking it personally. It's like I'm sharing a little bit of my heart with the world. I can see, from an artist's standpoint, how things can be painful to read for an author. However, I don't feel that they should get quite so vocal defending themselves. One story can resonate with so many different people in so many different ways. One review shouldn't cause a tidal wave across the internet.

    Great discussion post! :)

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  8. You are a true professional.

    I learned (after getting bitchslapped) that Goodreads is a place for readers, NOT authors. They can say whatever the heck they want about my books. But I'm not going to be around to see. Which is unfortunate, because I used to take critical reviews into consideration when writing my next book. But I found lately that the number of negative reviews on Goodreads that are hurtful to my ego far outweigh the ones that are helpful to my writing technique.

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  9. I'm late to the conversation, but I wanted to say that, like Cyn, I'm impressed (again) with your professionalism.

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