Authors and Negative Reviews (article/rant)
Warning: this post may be filled with some comments driven by emotion. It’s probably not structured well or makes a lot of sense at times. I’m really just ranting today.
Yesterday, I sent out a small tweet that seemed to get a good response. Thanks guys. Glad for that. I meant every word too. But in the end, it still left me thinking a lot about the growing number of people being attacked at Goodreads for their reviews by authors and other readers. Personally, this is something that completely infuriates me.
In case you missed my tweet, it said:
Dear Reviewers:
I will never be an “author gone bad”. Hate me. Bash me. Idc. I still love you all anyway. Reviewers rock.
And if you don’t believe me, feel free to go to my timeline and have a look for yourself. @addiction2books
Anyways, back to the point. What brought this on? Well, in case you’ve been under a rock the past year, you’ve probably noticed a backlash of reviewers and bloggers getting attacked by some angry authors for writing negative reviews. What’s the problem with this? I’ll tell you. It’s unprofessional and tacky. These are their opinions and if they don’t like the book, that’s their prerogative. The only time an author should be upset is if a reader is blatantly attacking them on a personal level (I.e. calling an author stupid, fat, bitch) but even then, it’s called ignoring this type of behavior. To get in a hissy because someone didn’t like your book though? Grow up. You put it out there with that chance. Not everyone is going to like it. People are going to diss your characters or the way you built the fantasy world, etc. Authors do not have the right to go attacking their readers due to negative reviews because their feelings were hurt. Get over it and move on. Enjoy the positive reviews. Be thankful for the fans you have.
But Pixie, you’re an author! Don’t you see their point at all and why they get hurt by these negative reviews?
Sure. Negative reviews do hurt. Know what I do though? Laugh it off. I do not write to please everyone. I write because writing is what I love to do. Me. This is what I want to do, and I’m not going to let negative reviews bother me one bit. I completely understand everyone has different opinions. Heaven forbid that people are unique in this world! And you know what? I love seeing those reviewers express their opinions. It’s why I became a book blogger myself last year, because I wanted to share my own opinions of my love of books with other people in the awesome community of readers (and writers).
Before I continue on any longer tired, overdrawn commentary, I’ll close this.
Reviewers, keep being you. Don’t let some of the bad eggs spoil anything.
Authors who are screaming about how unfair negative reviews are: can I get you a binky?
And that’s my two-cents.
Enjoy the little things. Keep writing and reading, lovelies.
Love always,
Pixie
Yesterday, I sent out a small tweet that seemed to get a good response. Thanks guys. Glad for that. I meant every word too. But in the end, it still left me thinking a lot about the growing number of people being attacked at Goodreads for their reviews by authors and other readers. Personally, this is something that completely infuriates me.
In case you missed my tweet, it said:
Dear Reviewers:
I will never be an “author gone bad”. Hate me. Bash me. Idc. I still love you all anyway. Reviewers rock.
And if you don’t believe me, feel free to go to my timeline and have a look for yourself. @addiction2books
Anyways, back to the point. What brought this on? Well, in case you’ve been under a rock the past year, you’ve probably noticed a backlash of reviewers and bloggers getting attacked by some angry authors for writing negative reviews. What’s the problem with this? I’ll tell you. It’s unprofessional and tacky. These are their opinions and if they don’t like the book, that’s their prerogative. The only time an author should be upset is if a reader is blatantly attacking them on a personal level (I.e. calling an author stupid, fat, bitch) but even then, it’s called ignoring this type of behavior. To get in a hissy because someone didn’t like your book though? Grow up. You put it out there with that chance. Not everyone is going to like it. People are going to diss your characters or the way you built the fantasy world, etc. Authors do not have the right to go attacking their readers due to negative reviews because their feelings were hurt. Get over it and move on. Enjoy the positive reviews. Be thankful for the fans you have.
But Pixie, you’re an author! Don’t you see their point at all and why they get hurt by these negative reviews?
Sure. Negative reviews do hurt. Know what I do though? Laugh it off. I do not write to please everyone. I write because writing is what I love to do. Me. This is what I want to do, and I’m not going to let negative reviews bother me one bit. I completely understand everyone has different opinions. Heaven forbid that people are unique in this world! And you know what? I love seeing those reviewers express their opinions. It’s why I became a book blogger myself last year, because I wanted to share my own opinions of my love of books with other people in the awesome community of readers (and writers).
Before I continue on any longer tired, overdrawn commentary, I’ll close this.
Reviewers, keep being you. Don’t let some of the bad eggs spoil anything.
Authors who are screaming about how unfair negative reviews are: can I get you a binky?
And that’s my two-cents.
Enjoy the little things. Keep writing and reading, lovelies.
Love always,
Pixie
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