When Good Deeds Aren’t Returned in Kind
Oh, yes. That’s right.
Please excuse me, my throat inches … EHEM!
*insert sarcastic throat scratching here*
All right, is it just me or does it seem like this world of “Reviews” has become a cluttered, chaotic mess of bullshit?
Us authors are running around like crack-heads feenin’ for a simple review. It’s like “Oh, come on man, I’ll do anything! Just one hit! Just one review! Anything, I swear!“
So then, seeing as how the public is apparently wholly against leaving reviews, we turn to other authors. Some of us do “review exchanges” others ask, so on and so forth. It’s like a never ending cycle.
When one is lucky enough to happen upon the rare commodity that is the author willing to give a review, something happens…
Be it out of appreciation, or a sense of duty to the writing community, or a need to reciprocate the favor, an author like myself will pick up all of that other author’s works, read it and leave reviews for them. Then we sit and wait.
…. and wait.
…. and wait.
…. and wait.
And the review that we’d been promised never comes.
Huh?!?
Umm … What? Wait, what happened here?
I suppose that situation is one of many. Yet, there is another situation bouncing around the ether.��
So … one does a general reach out asking people if they would be interested in a free copy of one’s book��in exchange for an honest review. Readers do not reply to your request, but low and behold authors respond. “Sure, I’ll give it a shot.” they say, and you jump for joy.
Then begins the waiting game, yet again.
Guess what? The review never comes.
Now maybe this is just a me thing, but if I give my word, I consider my word, my bond. If I say I am going to do something, I will do it. This coming from a person with a very bad memory. Trust me … my mind looks like Swiss Cheese … and yet, I keep my word.
What winds up happening is that I find myself questioning things. Things like:
Does peoples even word count for nothing any more?
Why would they offer then not come through?
Is my book/story so bad that they don’t want to post the review? If so, why wouldn’t they just come to me and say “Hey Rose, your book is shit.”?
Don’t they realize that I’d be grateful for any review, even a not so favorable one? A review, is a review!
Why? I don’t understand?
Did they forget? Should I remind them? Is reminding them pushing the envelope too far?
Is it even proper etiquette to remind them?
Am I practicing proper author etiquette? Wait, is it me? Am I doing something wrong?
Then commences the downward spiral of one’s morale.
Along with that comes a million and one more questions …
Man, why did I even bother wasting my time trying to get published in the first place?
If no one can be bother to��so much as to give it a simple “I hate it” or “I love it” review what’s the point?
Do I even want to put out more works at this point?
Is it a “rookie”thing? No one likes the rookie …
What am I doing wrong?
Why even go on in this venture?
All of this simply because of a review. If you ask me, that’s just sad. A damn shame, to tell you the truth.
All of this because we walk inside of the dingy, dark corridors of a place called “Reviews”. How do we fix this problem, you ask?
Easy.
Keep you dag-on word!
