Book Reviews Part 2
I was just thinking about book reviews again. Tonight, my thoughts are coming from the perspective of the writer, the recipient of reviews directed at my books and stories.
Some authors don’t read them. That’s their choice, and I am no one to judge, but I go the opposite direction. I read all of my reviews.
It’s usually an enjoyable experience, seeing people connect with what I’ve written. That is, after all, half of the exchange: people reading the book. Writing the book is great, but seeing people enjoy your writing is better than great. Good reviews are chicken soup for the soul.
Not all reviews are good, though. When I get one of those negative ones, I console myself with the fact that even the genius storytellers get slapped around with a 1- or 2-star review on occasion. In my last blog I gave an example of two books that sing to me like Sarah McLachlan or Enya–and yet people out there hated them.
What? Say it ain’t so!
Of course, diversity is the spice of life. Who wants a world full of robots? Difference in taste is a good thing.
So I roll up my sleeves and pants legs and wade out into the river of reviews and start panning for gold.
Some of them offer nothing constructive or specific, so there is no way to divine any value from it. I’m not devaluing the emotions that might lead a person to write “Hated it” or “Boring” but reviews like that give no true feedback. As both a reader and writer, I normally disregard reviews that don’t offer something specific, something I can sink my teeth into. Why did you hate the book? Did you buy it thinking it was a thriller, but it was romance? Did the characters’ points-of-view jump around erratically? Are there plot holes?
As a writer, I look for common threads. One or two people might be an anomaly, but multiple reviews probably indicate some nuggets of truth. Did 10% of the reviews suggest that Character X was unrealistic? Maybe Character X needs some revision.
A good author finds value in critical reviews and makes themselves better.
Critical is different from “mean.” I generally disregard anything malicious. Years ago, as a newbie to the game, the mean-spirited reviews got under my skin, but now they don’t bother me. After all … what drives someone to write an anger-fueled review? It’s just a book, chill out.
Something I have seen a lot as a reader reading book reviews, and a few times as a writer, is a review where the reader blasts the book over the personality of a character that makes them angry. They curse _______ for being shiftless, or selfish. How could ______ leave his girlfriend after all they’d been through?!?
That one makes me chuckle. If the character was written to be a jerk, and their jerkiness pisses you off that much, then maybe the writer actually did a good job. There are some jerks in the world, after all.
Here’s one for the authors out there. Have you ever gotten a bad review on multiple books from the same reviewer? Did it raise the hair on your neck, and leave you suspicious? Why would someone who doesn’t like your writing buy multiple standalone books and drop harsh reviews on each of them? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t keep reading authors whose books I don’t like.
But that was exactly what happened to me and my Fluke co-author, Dave. We noticed the same person leaving bad reviews on all of our books, and we did some investigating. Turns out that it was an old supervisor of ours, up to no good. How very sad, right?
Hopefully that doesn’t happen to you. Life’s nutty enough without all that drama.
These are some things I never thought about until I had paperback babies of my own out there, available for the world to critique. For all you readers out there, I’m always open to your feedback; the more specific it is, the better. I read everything you have to say and I try to make myself a better writer.
To all you authors out there, I’m always interested in funny review stories and thoughts.
Good night, world. More on reviews next time…
Bart
