Reviews: A Beast with Two Faces?

It's been one of those weeks. You know them well, as I'm sure we all share the ups and downs of trying to please, to touch hearts and souls, to share our inner visions, to entertain, to simply ... express who and what we are to a largely uncaring and highly critical literary landscape.

You've heard the expression: everybody's a critic. Whoever coined that phrase probably never envisioned the sheer numbers of people sporting opinions about virtually everything in the known universe. And for this discussion: books in particular. Hone it down further and I'm talking about Ye Olde Comments on the Zon and B&N.

The subject of reviews has gained notoriety lately: authors paying for reviews or engaging in 'sock puppet' activities, denigrating fellow authors in order to bump ratings (and sales) and other unsavory tactics.

This morning I discovered, via a Face Book thread, a website soliciting people to read and submit pre-packaged reviews for a small remuneration:   New Book Launch .  Jerrod Balzer's Blog detailed a friend's investigation into the alleged scam.

It's ... unsettling. Unseemly. Unprofessional. And downright annoying.

I don't know anyone actually who does care what a critic says. --Lou Reed 

Lou might be right, but the sad truth is that if an author wants to sell books, then said author has to be noticed in our brave new world of ePublishing. And to get noticed you need metrics: likes, tags, stars, ratings, rankings, reviews—all summoned into ever-changing mysterious mathematical algorithms that seem weighted in favor of X and to the detriment of Y. There is evidence to that effect; it is, unfortunately, circumstantial and hard to pin down.

I won't quit until I get run over by a truck, a producer or a critic.--Jack Lemmon 

Run over by a truck: the "Ouch" Effect. A recent review on a newly released title more or less upended my whole day, had me questioning why I bother to write at all, and generally had me in a tailspin. It was a 2-star with some pointed complaints about POV, there was too much going on, it was too short, etc. Then the reviewer suggested I join a writer's group and learn how to do it but ... in spite of everything that was wrong with me as a writer and this particular piece in particular, I 'showed promise'. 

Ouch.

To be cantankerous: the POV choices were deliberate and served a definite purpose, it was a short story, and the reviewer clearly was not my 'demographic'. And this work was not my first prom dance.

I also confirmed this reviewer then returned the book. A 99 cent eBook.

Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been put up to a critic.—Jean Sibelius 

Sigh, the sad thing is ... Amazon does pay attention, punishing 1-3 star books with a 'Not Recommended' designation: otherwise known as the harbinger of death for an indie author. A single snarky bad review can be enough to send an author's title into oblivion via the highway of invisibility. The media are awash with criticisms about Amazon's review policies. One example is this article from The New York Times . A reviewer need not have actually purchased the book, although there is a flag that identifies those who have made a valid purchase. To their credit they require a 20-word minimum comment.

B&N does not. On their site a reviewer can do a 'hit 'n run', leaving a star-rating but no text. The do need to be registered but not required to purchase the book being rated.

I went down the rabbit hole, wallowed a bit in self-pity and emerged once more. 

“I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free.” 
― Georgia O'Keeffe