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How do authors actually feel about bad reviews and what is a bad review
Just before I published my book, my boyfriend's dad (an avid reader) read the book and emailed me his review (which I used on my website). He told me on the phone that he was being totally honest. It was a good review, and in it he stated that I wrote "with the maturity that carried her through" (a lot of adversity; it's a memoir). Then ... the boyfriend and I broke up. I had two 5-star reviews on Amazon at that point. Today, I saw a review from my recent-ex's dad on Amazon. 4 stars, but quite negative in tone and vocabulary. This time, he stated that I "didn't understand her own maturity..." and apparently told my ex on the phone, "Well, her writing is immature." This being the opposite of what he had said in his first review, it quite unnerved me. I'm still friends with my ex, and he is trying to get his dad to use the first ("being totally honest") review instead. Reviews are a tricky business.
A bad review can sting. I immediately look up the reviewer, whether it be on Goodreads or Amazon and see what their average review score is. I also take a look at which books they give their highest ratings to. If mine falls outside of their usual choice, I begin to understand why they didn't like mine.
There are all sorts of readers in this world; some are happy sorts who enjoy most reasonable books.
Some of these happy sorts choose well for their own taste and these often offer the best reviews. I'm truly pleased they are blessed with happy thoughts!
Some are the critical type who look for, or simply cannot miss, what they see as faults. Some may be true faults within a book - these readers are to be treasured as they help us improve. Some faults may just be their perception. These are the annoying ones, dragging a good writer down.
I then form my opinion (rightly or wrongly) of what sort of person has given me a bad review. In other words a review can tell us maybe as much about the reviewer as it does about the reviewed. From this I work out whether to take any notice or action.
I had a bad review on Goodreads and US Amazon and the reviewer got into a long, visible chat with another reader. What they were saying was right for their own taste in reading but not necessarily right for others. My sales went up. Whether or not I lost sales over a longer period of time, I cannot tell.
I'm okay with the poor reviews. If I don't get a few of these every now and again I'm not being controversial enough.However, I do make every effort to ensure my books give exactly what they say on the tin, so no one should be surprised at what they find inside. I’m strong-willed, a bit outspoken and I tend to say exactly what I’m thinking, which a lot of people can’t handle. I don’t try and fit in; in fact I’m fine just being me. I make loads of mistakes as well, and no doubt I’m hard to handle at times, but I love who I love, and you’d rather have me behind you than in front of you any day of the week. And when I’m angry, I am truly a sight to behold! But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best, because I really, really believe that it’s less important to have more friends and more important to have real ones.
With this attitude, it's hardly surprising I collect the odd 1-Star, but it's actually a lot less than you'd think.
Mod
And it hurt. I'm as insecure as any of you. But I woke up the next morning and realized that I had, without quite noticing it, become a writer. A real, honest to goodness writer. People got so involved with my character that when it appeared I had killed him off, they simply erupted.
So I quickly added the first chapter of the next book in the series as the epilogue to the first book; no, the hero survived, although dumped nearly naked into a river filled with ice.
Hey, if you don't torture your characters, it's not really drama, OK?
Then I began prepping those first (serialized, free) books for sale. That first book, the one that generated the hate mail? It sold more than a hundred copies last month on Amazon.
And got not a single 'return'. Guess readers liked it after all! :D
If you watched the last series of Peaky Blinders you'll have seen a terrific ending. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could save Tommy Shelby. That was it. The end of everything. No room for a third series. Big shame ....But then out of the blue ......
Yep, I love Peaky Blinders and what an ending! Inspirational for a writer.
I read the first response and Anna has a thick skin when it comes to putting her work out there. I hear that's a good quality to have.
Oh no, J.J., far from thick. When I was a teenager I could be easily hurt. But someone suggested the phrase that a comment can tell us more about the speaker than they realize and from that it was a quick step to providing myself with the protection I speak of above. I pass it on to other writers because all of us get bad reviews, whoever we are - and they can hurt if we can't see them for what they really are.Sometimes we may have dealt with a subject that has hurt them in the past - or still is.
But I have learnt as much from constructive criticism (not here on GR nor on Amazon) as I have from reading about writing. It was probably because it stung, and upon evaluation I could see they had a point - people who take time to give criticism discreetly and tactfully are rare and valuable. Sometimes though, they are wrong! Or just have a different point of view and we, as writers, know something of points of view.
Well, reading taste is a very subjective thing, so just because someone didn't like a book doesn't mean it's a bad book. Reviewers are also often stuck reviewing a book in a genre that they don't usually read (I once had to reviewe a Sophie Kinsella and found it dire; but see how popular she is with people who read that genre!). Also, readers can be moody -- I know I am! I've hated books that I've liked later when I reread them in a more receptive frame of mind.Of course, as an author, I don't like bad reviews. Even though I don't believe I'm the cat's whiskers, my ego still takes a bruising with a bad review. What I do try to take seriously is when readers try to explain what it is they didn't like. As a writer, I would like to know what my weak spots are, what I need to work on, etc. I've seen my work improving over the years, and that would never have happened if people didn't step up to point out what wasn't working.
Reviews are nothing but opinion. Reviews from fans are opinions that aren't always thought out well nor expressed well.
Reviews from friends aren't always honest.
Reviews from professional reviewers are often written by people who got the job of reviewing books as a perk, not because they actually have an ability to do it well.
This all sounds like I'm against reviews, but I'm not. I just like to remember the who and why of them.
That said, if I get a bad review, it ruins my day! WAAA!
That's just it. Reviews are subjective. One person could love a book and another hate it. Go onto Amazon and read the reviews of Fifty Shades of Grey. Now there's a divisive book.When it comes down to it a review is JUST one reader's opinion.
When some one reviews a person book, it may be they just don't like that type of book, but someone else may love your book, so I would not take it personal. I have books I love to read and sometime reread their book. I am not a author, but I have friends that are, and they recommend books to me all the time. some of them I really like, I have not come across any that they recommend that I have not liked yet. What kind of books have you wrote? I might like to read them. Thanks
Me? Fantasy, and sex and sorcery. Yes, it could be someone simply doesn't like the book. Can't like everything.
I like Fantasy and sorcery books, what are some titles of your books? I might like to read them.I also like romance type of books.
Mod
But if no one even cares enough to READ and COMMENT, how do you know? Is it good or bad? Even worse, does it leave the reader indifferent?
I personally try to involve readers, even shock them; that's not easy to do nowadays when horror, werewolves, zombie, vampires and the like are everyday components of books. Sex isn't forbidden either, and if you know of a way to shock jaded readers using sex, you're better than me. Real life is shock enough; fiction's got to REALLY be over the top. Look out sheep, it's YOUR turn in the next book! OK, that's been done; maybe a dolphin? Go for broke, sex with a WHALE!
I think I've had too much coffee. :D
I like your comment, it is harder to write now than before, because so much has been done already. you really have to come up with something different.
Carolyn wrote: "I like your comment, it is harder to write now than before, because so much has been done already. you really have to come up with something different."Yep...Take a look at Hollywood...same boat! They keep trying to reinvent the same tired movies and change up/modernize the great classics.
Anyone that has a new take on something needs to run with it! I actually had a post-it note on the wall behind my desk that said, 'HAS IT BEEN DONE THIS WAY BEFORE', just to remind me that I wanted to create instead of rehash! Not an easy task, but I've had a few reviews that even though they mentioned my rookie editing issues, they were able to look past them and enjoy the story. They made comments like 'not your typical biker story and 'refreshingly different biker book'...this tells me that I'm on the right track, and teaches me to edit better. Reviews are priceless! If only they weren't so few and far between!
Reviews: Wouldn't it be nice if ratings and reviews were broken into separate components. For example; under "Likability" - "Quality of Writing" and the reviewer indicates the genre that they ordinarily would write, read or both.(This may then enable the reader of the review the ability to make an allowance for the reviewers natural bias).
It also may help provide credibility to the reviewer. The reviews written may also become a more reliable source of information.
A good example is the way in which a vehicle is reviewed in a vehicle magazine.
I keep seeing this in the GR email feed and the question boggles my mind. What do authors think about bad reviews. If they are a serious author who works hard at writing, they think, "Drat! Another hit against my chances of getting paid enough to write the next book. Many more of those and I won't be able to write much anymore." This isn't a game. Many writers feed their families this way. If they don't they are either independently wealthy, living off of someone else or writing very little in their spare time. But mostly writers need to make a living writing in order to produce their best work. Readers get to choose which writers are worth supporting enough to allow them to make a living and continue writing. If you dislike an author's work enough that you think that they should stop writing, then by all means give a negative review. If you are just playing around to find out how people feel or react, you're playing a game that will ultimately result in more randomization of what you get to read. If you want to read things that you love, give books you love great reviews. If you want to see less of the things you don't like, give books you don't like bad reviews. This isn't about fragile egos. This is about who gets to write long-term and who doesn't.
Fair comment. I qualify my opinion in that its only a tool to be used for those that want it. As other's have indicated earlier, on the thread; If one decides to write, then they may well expect criticism. It may be beneficial to extract what's fair and then press on - hopefully there is no one telling you what to write or how you intend to express it. But that's just my opinion. :)
I think more people should give the authors they read more reviews than they do,I have to tell the truth, until I got to know some writers personally and became friends with some of them, I never gave it much thought. But it does help an author out if people would give the authors they read reviews hopefully good reviews. That way more people may buy their books. There are a lot of really good authors out there and I would hate to see them quite writing, before they really begin
Mod
Your comments are good, Ari, Paul, Caroline. Yes, it hurts, getting bad reviews. But it means someone cared. They didn't abandon the work as unreadable, abandon you as inconsequential.
But the review process is flawed. Favorable reviews are for sale. Reportedly, Amazon is now limiting those, but I'm willing to bet it takes time to get the paid reviewers off the system. And authors can rack up reviews from readers who really didn't care one way or another. They may have only skimmed your book, the Cliff's Notes approach, then wrote something.
The real importance is to the promoters, the ones who send out those emails. They insist on 8 or 10 favorable reviews for one reason: they're too lazy to read, and rate, books for themselves. Think about it; they promote a book, and it might well be lousy. But they're OK with that because it has 4.5 stars! IF they employed a bunch of part-time reader/'raters' of their own who would make the decision, that would ensure quality. But it would cost money too; cheaper, easier to say 'minimum of 8 reviews, 4 stars or better'.
But if you're less than a year into publishing, it's damned hard to accumulate those reviews honestly!
I'm writer as well as reader. I understand the importance of reviews. Averages count. I may give a four or five star review, say it has good characterization and plotting, has a few typos. But if I pan it, 3 stars or less, I try to explain why.
One other thing: if the review has my name (I review under the same name I write with, a legal form of my own name) you can take it to the bank. I've never been paid for a review, never asked to be paid. I read the book, that's my opinion.
Since I haven't got a single good or bad review yet in writing or posted on Goodreads or Amazon, I would have to say that I'd have a bad review but it won't kill me. I think a writer's job is to focus on the writing, improving craft and style, and working on a new thing constantly. We can't please everyone, can we? And we can only write what we know.
Pamela wrote: "Carolyn wrote: "I like your comment, it is harder to write now than before, because so much has been done already. you really have to come up with something different."Yep...Take a look at Hollyw..."
Pamela, you are so right about Hollywood. To demonstrate, try this. Think of a movie. Don't tell me! I'll tell you about the movie you're thinking of;
There's a hero ....
And he's sent on a 'journey' .....
Possibly by a woman (or there's a woman involved somewhere) ....
He faces some dodgy situations .....
Plenty of adventures ....
A huge battle at the end .....
Which he loses ....
..... almost .....
But right at the death he comes through. He wins the prize, the treasure, the fight, the courtroom trial ..... AND ..... he gets the woman (despite their earlier disagreements)
How did I do?
Bambi and Lion King are essentially the same movie repeated in a different time and place. As are 101 Dalmatians and Aristocrats.
We have to be exceedingly careful not to fall into that trap. Our surprise endings must be a genuine surprise. Did you ever watch the TV drama 'Cold Case'? As soon as the murderer appeared on the scene you knew immediately it was them because he/she was always the nicest person. The little old lady, the respectable and friendly old guy. In the end it wasn't worth watching.
Personally I write a different style of book, a genre that is only recently becoming accepted. I'm taking risks with my writing. I firmly believe that the writer must have the audacity to attempt new things and to risk failure. Every one of the big breakthroughs in the art of literature has possibly started as what many would call a ludicrous or even laughable idea as the writer occasionally balances a routine piece with an investment in the eccentric and untried. Over time, the reward is usually worth the risk.
But I love to get hit with a surprise ending that I never saw coming.
I deleted my comment. In retrospect, it was just too convoluted and didn't add anything of great value. :)
If I get an in-genre read and the reader really doesn't like my book, and further disparages it with credible academic detail, it really hurts/annoys me. Other than that,they all roll right off.
I've only had 1 bad review (a 2-star) that got under my skin. Not because it was negative (I've had 1-star reviews as well) but because the reviewer placed a huge spoiler within in. Luckily, the positives outweigh it and I'm not sure anyone else but me has read that spoiler-review.
Hi all:First there is the famous books but they are very bad morally, Second:
There is a change in the taste of the people, they do not read books and cultural knowledge, and I think that is caused by the media.
Despite everything should be working well, however there was a bad business sometimes become famous.
C.P. wrote: "On Goodreads, three stars means they liked it. Not a bad review.Two stars means it was okay. Also not a bad review..."
It really bears repeating that goodreads does not use the Amazon star rating scale. goodreaders rating your book ★★☆☆☆ are not giving you a bad review based on goodreads' scale. ★★☆☆☆ is fine, okay, average, perfectly good book according to goodreads scale. (TPTB have yet to clarify how the kindle integration with goodreads handles).
To readers, the good reviews/ratings are more believable if some lower/bad ones are mixed in. Detailed reviews are more trusted/useful. A review-less star rating may be just be a placeholder until they get around to writing a review (a response from author perceived as negative is not likely to improve rating/review).
Readers review the editions they read and are not likely to re-read and re-review later editions. Some, like myself, are leery of trying fiction books that get updated—why are you publishing books before ready/corrected? Why do you expect readers reviews to provide edits? That ranted, do note edition numbers or "revised edition" types of comments when uploading revisions so new readers know older reviews are of older editions.
I do boycott authors who feel (and publicly comment) consumer reviewers have to justify their reviews by providing line edits. Or insist upon issuing a new edition that review must be either retracted or reviewer has to re-read/re-review. Reviews should be reader comments about their read regardless if useful to authors or even if of current edition. If politely brought to my attention, I will add a disclaimer to my reviews that "Review is of an older edition" on sites I review.
I don't necessarily boycott authors who talk casually about just upload new edits as if no big deal book was a draft but offered as if ready for publication—but, they do go to bottom of to read pile because either (a) the longer I wait the better an edition I will read or (b) it's utter crap never ready to publish. I judge not by reviews from strangers or average ratings; I do judge by what is in the sample and by reviews from goodreads friends I know share my reading tastes.
Lisa wrote: "I've only had 1 bad review (a 2-star) that got under my skin. Not because it was negative (I've had 1-star reviews as well) but because the reviewer placed a huge spoiler within in. Luckily, the po..."Oddly, spoilers don't seem to bother me. It's like a movie. Someone may give the story away, but that's never stopped me from watching it if it's something I'd watch or read. I'll either watch or read it if it looks like the sort of thing that I'd enjoy... But that's just me. :)
Bad reviews used to bother me a little, mainly from a marketing perspective. I've never had trouble accepting that not everyone is going to love what I write, but if the review is going to dissuade someone who might like the book from buying it, well that kind of sucks.A funny thing happened to me recently though that was a bit of an "aha" moment. I got one of those reviews where the reader posts thoughts and criticism every couple of pages, and I couldn't help feeling honored that someone put that much time and thought into my little 'ol story. Honestly, it felt so much better than a five star review with a few generic sentences that just recycle the book blurb.
I appreciate it that people take the time to post a thoughtful review, whether it's good or bad; and I figure that a balance of reviews shows potential readers that it's a book people are talking about, and it might be worth getting into the discussion.
Andrew wrote: "...; and I figure that a balance of reviews shows potential readers that it's a book people are talking about, and it might be worth getting into the discussion..."Plus the detailed reviews could say something like "convoluted love triangle" or "non-stop action" or other comments that would make one reader adore it but another reader avoid. Bad reviews have sold me on a book because reviewer hated what I loved. And if a detailed review lost a potential reader who would hate it and write another bad review yet interested a reader who will love it and review well...
Paul wrote: "...Oddly, spoilers don't seem to bother me. It's like a movie. Someone may give the story away..."
Not completely on topic, but if it helps anyone: reviews containing spoilers can be flagged as containing spoilers. Review won't be removed; it will be hidden behind a contains-spoiler-click-to-see-anyway message once flagged.
I've read a number of "bad" reviews that are along the lines of "it had X, and I hate X!" Well, if I like X, and that's the main complaint I see about it, I'll probably seriously consider getting it.
Talking about bad reviews. I just received the following one star review on Amazon. I guess this fellow doesn't have anything better to do.First there should be a star for 'didn't read the book. They want a rating but I can't rate it because I didn't read it. So I have to give a one star.
There was an interesting article in today's New York Times, which I share with you all:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/boo...
D.A.misses Linda (the now banned fivver and sockpuppet slayer) wrote: "Andrew wrote: "...; and I figure that a balance of reviews shows potential readers that it's a book people are talking about, and it might be worth getting into the discussion..."Plus the detaile..."
Fair comment. That's a good idea about the spoilers.
Jill wrote: "Talking about bad reviews. I just received the following one star review on Amazon. I guess this fellow doesn't have anything better to do.First there should be a star for 'didn't read the book. ..."
Hi Jill, very frustrating. I too recently received a bad one star review. There main complaint was the book was too short. The description of the book is clear and how many pages. Oh well. Can't please everyone.
Happy Holidays!
Best,
Donna
Alice wrote: "There was an interesting article in today's New York Times, which I share with you all:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/boo......"
Hi Alice, thank you for sharing this interesting article, much appreciated!
Happy Holidays,
Donna
I've had enough positive reviews that when I get a "bad" one I shine it on. Everyone has different tastes and you can't appeal to everyone. Also a few negative reviews is better than no reviews- especially if you have all five stars from your friends! However I haven't had any of the really mean-spirited ones from the trolls - knock on wood!
Cinda wrote: "I've had enough positive reviews that when I get a "bad" one I shine it on. Everyone has different tastes and you can't appeal to everyone. Also a few negative reviews is better than no reviews- es..."Cinda, good for you! Happy Holidays. Best, Donna
Ken wrote: "I never respond to reviews--that's a guaranteed downward spiral for authors (at least, in my opinion).As others have said, there's no accounting for taste. I'm grateful that the reader actually t..."
IT's a myth that one cannot edit their own work. Mark Twain never paid an editor, though he had a few who today would qualify as "beta readers." I even wrote a book, "Self-Edit Your Novel," arguing how to use several methods to achieve success. But editors who have a financial interest in editing inevitably cling to this old myth that the writer's brain is unable to be objective. I call HORSE FEATHERS!
On Amazon, I once had someone respond 'no' to the question 'Was this review helpful?' Not just to one review, but to them all. What a waste of their time and emotions.
Donna wrote: "Jill wrote: "Talking about bad reviews. I just received the following one star review on Amazon. I guess this fellow doesn't have anything better to do.First there should be a star for 'didn't re..."
Thank you for your comment, Donna. Unfortunately,I don't these people read the descriptions. I guess because they are MOOSHROOMS!
Every Best Wish for a Joyous Festive Season, Jill
Hi Jill, very frustrating. I too recently received a bad one star review. There main complaint was the book was too short. The description of the book is clear and how many pages. Oh well. Can't please everyone.Happy Holidays!
Best,
Donna
Look at it this way, Donna. If his only complaint was the book was too short, maybe he really liked it and wanted to read more.
I recently received a 1-Star review that started out, "Very good book..." in the comments. It seems this reader was miffed about the Kindle book closing in the middle of the book. -- Discussions on my FB page revealed that others had experienced similar problems. I contacted KDP author support about the issue, and received an e-mail from them the next day, saying they had confirmed the problem and were assigning their tech support people to investigate the problem. I suspect this this problem may only affect some of the older Kindles, as it didn't show up on any of the Kindle models I have access to. Had I not received that "bad review," I might have never known that there was a technical problem with my .mobi file. I just wish there was some way I could communicate this to the readers who experienced the problem, and get corrected files to them.
I don't mind honest bad reviews. My first book was completely overhauled based on reviews. I went back and updated some pictures in my second book and found three grammatical errors to fix as well, again based on reviews. What bugs me a bit are the bad reviews that don't tell me what the reader didn't like. But I remind myself that they are readers, not necessarily writers!
Gibson, There are two things you can do to alert your readers who had this problem. The first and most direct is to leave a comment on each review explaining your response. The second involves beginning a discussion with that topic. You could, in fact, do both.
I've had a lot of good reviews and a few bad ones. If someone doesn't like my book, that's fine. It's why Baskin Robbins makes all those flavors of ice cream. However... two things that put my shorts in a knot are 1) the person who who only reads a couple of chapters and then flies a review that says they hate it and give you one star. That's just flat wrong, and 2) that small group of people out there who live to find some small defect in a book. I actually got one that upbraided me for terrible research because Oldsmobile didn't have plastic tail lights until 1954 and my book was set in 1953. Really! Or the one that castigated me because the cordite composition of gunpowder changed slightly at some date prior to my story and the smoke from a gunshot wouldn't quite be as I stated. Tell me you hated the story or the characters, but comments like that are irrelevant to the story. Bill Brown, author of The Undertaker, Amongst My Enemies, Winner Lose All, Amongst My Enemies, and Aim True My Brothers, and I welcome all reviews, just some a bit more than others.
A bad review of a book is written by someone who has read the wrong book. I am never impressed by a negative review of a book because I only read books I know I will enjoy reading. Only at school and university did I read some books that I did not enjoy reading. I did because I had to, they were part of my course. However high, the reading of literature is supposed to be a pleasure. So if someone finishes reading a book they knew from the start they did not like and then reviews it, then I think the joke is on them. They have read the wrong book, as far as they are concerned, and no one asked them to. Unfortunately, there are some people who enjoy being negative. Being negative about books, films, politics, life in all its aspects, stimulates them. I prefer to hear from people who are stimulated by what they love, including the books they chose to read. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And as Tiny Tim said at the end of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: "God bless us, everyone."
Robin, great advice... which we should all take through our daily lives! Best, Donna