What if it's a stinker?

Several months ago I picked up a tantalizing title on www.weberbooks.com. It promised to deliver everything I wanted: an engaging, true, first-person drama bolstered by plenty of humor. The publisher had hired professional talent to create an offbeat, quirky cover that drew me in. My expectations were high. I couldn’t wait to start reading.

The opening chapter showcased everything listed above … and more; halfway through the second chapter I shut the book in disgust. The manuscript had never been edited or the editor was DUI. The paragraph that stopped me in my tracks had five separate editorial problems—the writer had even spelled the name of his place of worship incorrectly. It was a minefield of confusing sentences, misspellings, dropped words, and typos, which distracted from the read. Too bad. I had hoped to lose myself in another world for an hour, a mini-vacation from my daily grind. A good book does that. But with every error I was jerked back to the fact that this was no otherworld; it was a piece of writing. The writer, who should be invisible and silent, was always with me.

So I posted a 2-star Amazon review detailing my experience. Quickly I received an e-mail from the author telling me I had no business posting a bad review. I should, he said, have contacted him first before posting.

Really? Let’s discuss the ethics of posting a review. Do you write negative reviews? I do—and I will. If I read a good book, I write a review reflecting my delight and explain what is good. If I read a lousy book, I do the same. You don’t write a positive review to please the author any more than you write a negative one to do harm. Once a book is released to the marketplace it’s not about the author. It’s about the read. You write a review to share with others your experience with a book, good or bad. Once a book is released, the readers own it. Let them decide.

When I feel compelled to write a negative review, truthfully, I do pause. I’m not interested in cutting an author off at the knees. If a book is bad from the start—a stinker, no hope whatsoever of achieving greatness—most often I do not post a review. The book will die without another clod of dirt tossed by me. But if a book has merit―the writer has talent but lacks polish―I note this in the review, and I always try to say something constructive as a guidepost for his or her next book.