Horror Aficionados discussion
Authors, What Do You Feel When You Read Negative Reviews of Your Books?
Jon Recluse wrote: "I have a question.I've noticed this on Amazon a few times.
Reviews that read basically the same as what Gregor just quoted. Word for word. The exact same wording, turning up on multiple books. M..."
I've seen those. Two words. Harriet Klausner. This woman is an Amazon top reviewer, and she writes reviews that are basically the dust jacket write up, then she sells the ARCS on ebay. There is a thread in the Kindle Book Forum over at Ammy that outed her a year or so ago, but nothing happened. She's still listed as a top reviewer. But now I know enough not to pay any mind to anything she writes.
Mod
I've noticed this on Amazon a few times.
Reviews that read basically the same as what Gregor just quoted. Word for word. The exact same wording, turning up ..."
I know about her. She "reads" what....12 books a day? That "Top Reviewer" program is a complete joke.
The ones I'm talking about have been written by "----", "Anonymous", "***", and other accounts like that. They started out as "The cover is cheap looking. "Author" just writes for money"
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I need to be sedated pretty regularly.
Jon Recluse wrote: "...I need to be sedated pretty regularly."And now, a certain song is bouncing around in my head :D
Jon, I'm not sure if I've seen those or not. (I misunderstood you before.) I'll have to start paying more attention.
I Wanna Be Sedated...ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ...Yeah, thanks. :)
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The ones on Kealan's and Ketcham's books were deleted by Amazon after a lot of complaints. They usually pop up as the first reviews on new books, mostly in horror.
Jon Recluse wrote: "Charlene wrote: "Jon, I'm not sure if I've seen those or not. (I misunderstood you before.) I'll have to start paying more attention."The ones on Kealan's and Ketcham's books were deleted by Amaz..."
I've certainly noticed these types of reviews, but I'd not noticed that they tend to pop up shortly after a new horror book is published. Interesting. Kind of makes you wonder if it's someone (or a group of people) who's taken it upon themselves to try to protect the innocents from the evils of horror fiction. I mean, everyone knows that there's only one thing more evil than rock n' roll and comic books and that's horror fiction!
Charlene wrote: "I Wanna Be Sedated...ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ...Yeah, thanks. :)"
*fist bump*
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The ones on Kealan's and Ketcham's books ..."
The "Author just writes for money" comment makes me think they are more likely just your garden variety Internet idiots, rather than decency vigilantes, who are a completely different variety of garden variety Internet idiots.
Jon Recluse wrote: "Gregor wrote: "Jon Recluse wrote: "Charlene wrote: "Jon, I'm not sure if I've seen those or not. (I misunderstood you before.) I'll have to start paying more attention."The ones on Kealan's and K..."
Yeah, the writer just does it for money comment is ludicrous and likely the work of the common troll who'd say the same thing about plumbers.
There's a lot of good stuff here. I try to distance myself from the review emotionally so that I can take an honest look at it and see what I can take away from it. And the comments about writers writing for money… if writers don't make any money, it'd be a little hard for people to keep writing, no?
L.G. wrote: "There's a lot of good stuff here. I try to distance myself from the review emotionally so that I can take an honest look at it and see what I can take away from it. And the comments about writers..."
Right. And I seriously doubt there are many fiction writers who ONLY write for the money.
Squire wrote: I had an author respond to my 3 star review with a "whatever" comment. Such can be the arrogance of college professors."Bad books on writing and thoughtless English professors solemnly tell beginners to 'Write What You Know', which explains why so many mediocre novels are about English professors contemplating adultery." Joe Haldeman
Charlene wrote: "Tressa, what? LOL"Shaun thought you told him not to comment here. Just seemed like one of those funny sitcom misunderstandings.
Kasia wrote: "The bigger your name gets the more you can expect in positive and negative light, I cant imagine how many 1 star horrid reviews Stephen King gets but he keeps going."I think when an author has so many books (and a pile of money doesn't hurt), he can rest on his laurels and flip the bird at anyone who doesn't like his writing. I think for a long time he didn't participate in social media, so maybe he's unaware of any big time negativity with his books. But he always writes for himself, so maybe that makes a difference in how thick your skin is.
Gregor wrote: "If you mean that the reviews should be helpful to author of the book being reviewed, then I'd disagree. Reviews are written by readers for other readers. If a reviewer chooses to make their review a platform to provide the author with feedback, then that's the reviewer's choice. But they are under no obligation to do so. ..."Exactly! I've always hated when someone tells me I shouldn't rate a book if I didn't finish. Hello! I couldn't finish it because it had no character development and every action of the non-developed characters is a cliche. I have every right to rate the book that is so bad I couldn't finish it.
Jon Recluse wrote: "Ken wrote: "Another of the used bookstores that I go to merged the horror section into mysteries/thrillers. Makes browsing for horror a real bitch!"Mine, and my library, merged horror into genera..."
My library does that. And so does my favorite bookstore. When I asked the bookstore about creating a horror section, the reason was that what's horror and dark fiction horror and mystery horror and serial killer horror, etc., is too muddied to make clear decisions about where to shelves the books. What cockamamie bull.
Tressa wrote: "Gregor wrote: "If you mean that the reviews should be helpful to author of the book being reviewed, then I'd disagree. Reviews are written by readers for other readers. If a reviewer chooses to mak..."Right. I don't think anyone would suggest that you eat an entire turd before you are allowed to publicly announce that you thought it tasted awful. Also, I see nothing wrong with publicly announcing that you simply don't like the smell of them.
Karma♥Bites ^.~ wrote: "Charlene wrote: "I Wanna Be Sedated...ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ...Yeah, thanks. :)"
*fist bump*"
*fist bump* :)
I try not to take bad reviews to heart. I haven't had a lot of bad ones, although I have had reviewers refuse to read or review my work based on the content. I had four reviewers tell me they wouldn't review End of Dreams, most didn't make it past the first chapter. It is pretty dark and has some heavy scenes. I've exhausted my reviewer list with my latest release Secrets Room too. For me, and it's disheartening to say, horror and dark fantasy aren't profitable and use up far too much time begging and pleading to either review, or sell.
Jon Recluse wrote: "I know about her. She "reads" what....12 books a day? That "Top Reviewer" program is a complete joke.The ones I'm talking about have been written by "----", "Anonymous", "***", and other accounts like that. They started out as "The cover is cheap looking. "Author" just writes for money""
Writing for money. Hahaha. Hold on, I have a cramp from laughing so hard. No, I have to supplement my writing with a full-time job teaching--oh, wait, that doesn't make any money either.
As long as it's enlightening, I'm find with it; if it's just trolling, I ignore it.
Late to the party on this one but, not a review, but a rejection letter from a magazine contained this awesome quote about the story being too gory or something like that - I'm going to use it on a blurb if I ever place it anywhere. It was great - like 'we're not taking this, because blah blah blah violence and gore'. I was like 'that is great - the story magazine xyz were too scared to print' and so on.
I love dark fantasy and horror! I wouldn't have to be asked twice to read it. :)There are so very many people in this world and there is no way to write something that will speak to them all. Being a natural people pleaser myself knowing that sucks and doesn't make it any easier to not be upset by unhelpful reviews.
David Lynch used Siskel and Ebert's two thumbs down on his newspaper ads for "Lost Highway."
As I've written on here before, I tend to not let negative reviews get to me. However the other day I did have to complain to amazon about one. It was a very negative one star review, which is fine everyone is entitled to their own opinion, the reason I complained was that in the process of bashing my book they gave away huge plot points that are not revealed until near the end of the novel.
Kit wrote: "As I've written on here before, I tend to not let negative reviews get to me. However the other day I did have to complain to amazon about one. It was a very negative one star review, which is fine..."That definitely should be taken down - interested to know if and how Amazon reacted.
Kit wrote: "As I've written on here before, I tend to not let negative reviews get to me. However the other day I did have to complain to amazon about one. It was a very negative one star review, which is fine..."What was Amazon's response to your request?
Oh wow, thats low. Sorry you went threw that Kit. Not sure how I'd react to that happening to me..
I absolutely hate reviews that say those who say they liked the book must be friends of the author or are stupid. Reviews are a reader's opinion and people are entitled to their opinion. Just because someone's opinion differs from yours doesn't mean they must be stupid. There's no need to be abusive to other readers or to insult a writer like that. You can give a negative review of the book without attacking other readers, or the writer, personally.
Every reader is of course welcome to his or her opinion. I think the only types of reviews I dislike to see for any author's book are what I call "the hyperbole review." Broad disingenuous statements that overstate a particular error, mistake or reader dislike. Overall most reviews are simple opinions and unless it's coming from a literary critic a writer should take the good with the bad, improve where they can, and ignore the poopy heads.
It's always cool when someone remarks about something I've written. It's the reason I write. Negative reviews are inevitable. It doesn't matter who you are. Yet, though I know this, it takes a lot for me to remember it in the moment while reading a negative review. It triggers fight or flight emotions, which I need to wrestle into submission. It's best if I wait to make any remarks until I have some time to absorb it. I try not to take it personally; but, sometimes a reviewer will make the decision that they don't like me personally after reading what I've written. A few people have even unfriended or unfollowed me on social media after reading my stuff. It's hard to take their feedback as constructive when it appears they've completely given up on me. Of course, I've written some extremely sadistic, degrading stuff...most short stories in the first-person. I know the material is ugly and wrong; but it's just what I write.
Of course, when the dust settles, negative reviews are probably more important than positive ones. Personally, negative reviews loom larger in my decisions to make purchases than positive ones. It's instructive to see what fire the enemies/haters of a product are packing.
For indie writers, it's all good, no matter how much we think we hate you!
Nicholas wrote: "Of course, I've written some extremely sadistic, degrading stuff...most short stories in the first-person. I know the material is ugly and wrong; but it's just what I write...."Sounds good! Must check it out!
Ken wrote: "Nicholas wrote: "Of course, I've written some extremely sadistic, degrading stuff...most short stories in the first-person. I know the material is ugly and wrong; but it's just what I write...."S..."
LOL, I was just thinking the same thing. :P
I think it's important to not compromise with your writing even if you have some bad reviews. You can't impress everyone, so be yourself. And look for positives in negative reviews. You might get some !
And then there are the times when a negative review can be a good thing.Like this one, for example:
"Whaz up; wit all the bigg wordz Proffesor? Wassa matter, can't u writ Inglish? HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Now tell me true. After reading a review like that, could you not put the book in question on your To-Read list? :)
Walter, where on earth did you find that one. LOL
Oh, I just made it up. But there are worse out there. Trust me. :)
While not quite as bad as my example above, here's a review someone posted of Jane Austen's Emma:"Ewwww. I hate it. So boring. I fell asleep at the first page. its great if youre into that old 1800s kind of speech."
Walter wrote: "While not quite as bad as my example above, here's a review someone posted of Jane Austen's Emma:"Ewwww. I hate it. So boring. I fell asleep at the first page. its great if youre into..."
A review I agree with!
That one was on my senior summer reading list when I was in high school along with four other books exactly like it. My senior year was the first year in my academic career that I didn't take honors English. My "regular" English teacher ended up being one of the best teachers I ever had. We skipped all the girly crap and read "Fahrenheit 451", "Animal Farm" and "Lord of the Flies".
"Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner and Everyday burn Austen, burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes. That's our official slogan."
I love all reviews good or bad. The constructive ones help me become a better writer...What I don't like is reviews from people that didn't finish the book. I got a one star review that said DNF, and I was like. Ummm...okay. Then why did you leave a review. You can't rate and review a book you didn't read.
Readers can rate however they want, reviews are for other readers not for authors. I personally wouldn't rate a book I hadn't finished but if someone puts in time to read some of it it's perfectly acceptable for them to rate it as they see fit.
I feel like my lungs have been ripped out of my chest, like my still beating heart is before me pumping its lifeblood onto the ground as I watch and die.
James wrote: I feel like my lungs have been ripped out of my chest, like my still beating heart is before me pumping its lifeblood onto the ground as I watch and die.Major kudos for the honesty, James.
Odd thing is, even when such reviews are infrequent (or even rare), they often matter more than they should. Every time I get one, I'll find myself asking. "Could I have done something different and reached him/her?".
Not all that rational, that kind of response. Very human, though.
Michelle wrote: "...I got a one star review that said DNF, and I was like. Ummm...okay. Then why did you leave a review. ..."??? I can see how being unable to enjoy a book enough so to finish would rate 1 star. After all, doesn't 1 star on GR mean 'didn't like it'? Didn't like it to continue; ergo, a review to explain why.
Michelle wrote: "...You can't rate and review a book you didn't read."
Sorry, but according to whom? Certainly not GR w/ its 'ratings also reflect a member's level of interest' policy.
etc: missing end of sentence
James wrote: "Rational ... I'm a writer ...."Do I detect self-deprecating humour there? ;-)
(But agree w/ Walter--very human (and IMO, understandable) to feel disappointment, pain, etc. Question is how a person
etc: for clarity
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Oh, I agree. I wish there was a better system in place to weed stuff like that out, or the obvious trolls, etc. Or like...a common sense quiz or something. Sadly, no such luck. With the good come the bad. If I had my druthers there'd be a better review process of the reviews, but I seriously doubt Amazon wants to put in the hours/manpower for that. It would help things, though, to at least get better about outright abuse be it reviewers or authors doing the bullying. I have a knee jerk "do not tolerate bullying" thing that definitely gets in my craw. Which, since we're talking about the internet, means I need to have an old lady cup of restorative tea like 12x a day. ;}