Dangers inherent in reading groups.
I have been publishing fiction for the last 5 years and, when I discovered Goodreads reading groups and giveaways, I thought it was a terrific way to get feedback on my writing. So it has in many ways. However, I noticed one particular danger: groups turning into a “mutual admiration society”.
This danger was brought into focus for me by one group member complaining:
“I've already received two of my reviews, both terrible, stating that they found the book too violent and graphic….This disheartens me as we are all in the same boat as authors. I thought I could at least find comradery in that regard….I'm reviewing for a fellow author. Regardless of my desire to read their book, I know of their ordeal. I know they put their heart into it and are just trying to get eyes on it.”
This is a dilemma for authors who are assigned books to read and review (not their own choice). If we are not honest with each other, then our feedback is worthless both to the author and to the potential readers.
I hate the rating system because it doesn’t reflect our own opinion accurately – a detailed review should suffice. It also intimidates the reviewer who does not want to hurt a fellow author’s feelings, so we either nudge the rating up or risk giving the author a black eye.
Recently I published a political thriller/sci-fi novel and warned my readers in the blurb: it might ruffle your feathers if your political views are opposed to mine. The reviews I received mirrors exactly what I had expected: the full range from 1-2 star (5) to 4-5 star (9) ratings. The two 1-star reviews trashed absolutely everything about the novel that could be trashed, without a word commenting on the actual story itself.
It never occurred to me to complain about these reviews because, for me, every feedback is valuable, positive or negative. However, I have noticed several reviews of other novels in which the rating was always higher than the actual text review suggested. This is what I meant by the danger of turning into a mutual admiration society. If we are not honest with each other, the whole exercise is pointless.
This danger was brought into focus for me by one group member complaining:
“I've already received two of my reviews, both terrible, stating that they found the book too violent and graphic….This disheartens me as we are all in the same boat as authors. I thought I could at least find comradery in that regard….I'm reviewing for a fellow author. Regardless of my desire to read their book, I know of their ordeal. I know they put their heart into it and are just trying to get eyes on it.”
This is a dilemma for authors who are assigned books to read and review (not their own choice). If we are not honest with each other, then our feedback is worthless both to the author and to the potential readers.
I hate the rating system because it doesn’t reflect our own opinion accurately – a detailed review should suffice. It also intimidates the reviewer who does not want to hurt a fellow author’s feelings, so we either nudge the rating up or risk giving the author a black eye.
Recently I published a political thriller/sci-fi novel and warned my readers in the blurb: it might ruffle your feathers if your political views are opposed to mine. The reviews I received mirrors exactly what I had expected: the full range from 1-2 star (5) to 4-5 star (9) ratings. The two 1-star reviews trashed absolutely everything about the novel that could be trashed, without a word commenting on the actual story itself.
It never occurred to me to complain about these reviews because, for me, every feedback is valuable, positive or negative. However, I have noticed several reviews of other novels in which the rating was always higher than the actual text review suggested. This is what I meant by the danger of turning into a mutual admiration society. If we are not honest with each other, the whole exercise is pointless.
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Again, this is not an exercise. There are far better ways for any author to get feedback from others than through a public review. Just because you quoted another reviewer does not make it any less of an attack. It is NOT a legitimate question. It is a way to disparage what I do. There are countless authors that write books in the same manner as myself. There are books written on writing books like mine. If you want an answer to why someone would write a book different to what you like, maybe you are asking the wrong questions.
I won't be responding again as I don't need the high blood pressure. You absolutely are NOT sorry you hurt my feelings because I truly believe you still don't understand my point. Have a good day.
The above exchange highlights the problem to which Francis refers. While we are told in reading groups to be honest in our appraisal, we also have - both overtly and implicitly - an obligation to give a constructive review. Even when our honest reaction is wholly negative, we must find something positive to say. And we - most of us, most of the time - try very hard to meet that expectation.Casey, above, has taken that courtesy to mean: You must support all fellow authors, treat all literary efforts with respect and never express dislike of a work you've been assigned to read. He even takes "I wonder" regarding the author's motivation as "an attack" and keeps complaining long after the 'offending' question has been revoked.
In fact, such a question is perfectly legitimate. Don't we all need some compelling reason to undertake such a difficult exercise as writing a novel? Don't we all open our own world-views, attitudes, convictions, hopes and fears up to public scrutiny every time we publish a story? Don't we imbue our characters with some aspect of our own personality? Why this kind of story? Why in this format? Why these settings, events, time period? Why this conclusion? Why this message?
Whatever a critic says about a book, he says about the author. We can take any amount of praise. No reviewer is ever reprimanded for personal adulation. After all, the book being praised contains our 'heart and soul'.
However, the same standard does not apply to bad books.
There - I've committed the capital crime: admitting the existence of bad books. That is the honest opinion you can never express in mutual support groups.
Please understand that your review has no value to me. You are not my audience. I would never sell you a book. It has no value to the readers because they ARE my audience.
No one joins an author review group to get more bad reviews. They don't join just because they want to know what other authors think of their work. They join because they hope to up their review count in a hospitable environment. That's the entire point. However, and please understand me this time - I don't care about the stars you gave it. I care that you would knock me down in the review and deligitimize what I do. I don't expect this from another author.