Books, Blogs, Authors and More discussion
Archive promotions
>
What do you think about...Negative Reviews
date
newest »
newest »
"I think they suck!!!"~R. Alan Woods [2013]
R. wrote: ""I think they suck!!!"~R. Alan Woods [2013]"
Yes, they do suck. Unfortunately, they are a reality we're forced to live with. My first one-star rating hurt, and the second actually made me cry, but I suppose eventually I'll learn to toughen up. If I'm going to bare my neck to the wolves, then...
Paula wrote: "I just read Stephen King's review of Joyce Carol Oates' The Accursed (New York Times). He handled it very well, I thought, especially since he clearly didn't really love the book and found it "dens..."
Absolutely, Paula.
Absolutely, Paula.
Gah! Hate em..hate em! I suppose if they give points of where you messed up and how you can improve then fine but some people are just downright nasty and mean! Or they are negative and base their review on grammactial errors, their own opinions and other things that have nothing to do about the book and should not even relate to it..I dont know thats just me.
I think they can be very hurtful, but as in real life, sometimes you have to take it on the chin. A book is a very personal thing, and some will like it while others won't. It is natural as the author to want every one to like it; but that isn't reasonable is it? Constructive criticism is always welcome though, after all, we should grow as writers, with every book, in theory anyway. Books are very subjective, like films, but if the majority don't like it and don't buy it; there is your review; and trying to be brave enough to admit that and look for reasons is important.
Jonathan raises some excellent points. If we, as writers, truly want to improve our skills, then it's imperative we take constructive (key word constructive) criticism and use it as a tool to do just that. Now, it's important to note that some interviews are taste driven - there was too much blood, they didn't like the hero, or it just wasn't their style period. It's when the negatives form a pattern that we have threads of something we can use.
Theres constructive criticism and then theres being totally douchey and unprofessional and chopping someones works to shreds. It really all depends on the type of person your dealing with really.
Michael wrote: "Once you put your work out there you have to be prepared for it to be evaluated. I had my first negative review but I respected the opinion's of the reviewer and I need to take into consideration ..."Exactly. One common thread that ran through both good and bad reviews of my first book was that more world-building was needed; this helped immeasurably in later books. Further, readers now watch to see if the reviews seem "real." Poor or iffy reviews, as weird as it sounds, will help people give your book a chance sometimes! And frankly, if a book sounds interesting and catches my attention, I won't care too much what the rating is. 3 and a bit? We're a go!
Bad reviews can ruin a day and even make me cry, but in the end, I need to pick myself up, try to sift out anything useful I can, and move on with my life. I suggest ice cream, whiskey, and maybe a walk in the sunshine. And then keep writing!
I don't see negative reviews as a bad thing. I look at it from a reader's perspective. When I'm on a website trying to look for a book to read, I typically find myself reading the negative reviews more often than the positive ones.Why? Because when I'm looking for a new book to read, I don't really care what I'll like about it, as I generally don't know what I like until after I read it. But I do care if the book has something that will keep me from finishing it.
For example, if I read a 5-star review where the book is praised for all its merits and how relatable the character is and how wonderful the prose and settings are, I'm thinking "well that's fine, but will I like it?"
Similarly, if that same book reads that the author has way too many descriptions and it affects the pacing of the book, that's much more valuable to me as a reader since I don't like books that get bogged down in the details.
So as a writer, I do value well-written negative reviews as they let the potential reader make a more informed opinion. Heck, even non-well-written negative reviews have some value. Would you really trust a book that has nothing but positive reviews? It seems too "fake" or "fabricated".
Seeing those one-line negative reviews shows that your book has been read by all sorts of people, and just as many people like it, there are others that hate it. Makes the book seem more "real", in a sense.
Roland wrote: "I don't see negative reviews as a bad thing. I look at it from a reader's perspective. When I'm on a website trying to look for a book to read, I typically find myself reading the negative reviews ..."Just to get a review is nice I have a total of 16 across the world from just over 3500 downloads on Amazon. The bad reviews are more important than the good - why didn't you like my book, was it the story, the editing the grammar or just not your cup of tea? Even good reviews have critical merit, why did the reader like it? Hopefully I have already learned some valuable lessons for a re-edit, and my new books. If negative reviews have helped that process then at least someone is reading my book!
As far as I am concerned an 'HONEST' review is what we should all be looking for. That is definitely what I want. There is no point in having stared reviews if they are not a true reflection. Negative reviews, as long as they clearly specify where the reviewer considered the book failed, are good for us authors to learn how to improve. I am a first time indie author having published my autobiography as an e-book (I am writing more but it will take time to get published). Naturally I am very close to the material and would welcome honest objective reviews. If anyone is interested they can download my book for FREE today (Thursday 13 June 2013) and tomorrow Friday 14th. I really would appreciate any reviews.
As much as I appreciate the value of negative reviews, it's negative ratings that pinch me. Getting 1 and 2 star ratings with no description or review does nothing but tell the world they didn't like my book and dropping my ratings average.
It feels like a punch to the gut. But, I am going to put on my big girl panties and go read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers as referenced earlier. 
I've sold over 300 copies on Amazon in less than a month, but now that I have an average of 2 stars from 2 reviews, I don't think it will sell anymore. I fixed errors along the way and uploaded the edited version instead of going over and over my manuscript before publishing.
I guess I need to just take it as a learning experience. Ouch, I feel like I got marched to the front of the class so the teacher could explain to everyone why I got an F.
As a reader, I'd rather give an honest 1 star than a dishonest 5 stars. Sometimes I just don't like a book and the 1 star rating indicates just that: "did not like it". Those are the words that come up when you hover over the one star. I can understand that for an authour it feels terrible and I do think a reviewer should be fair, just as we should always be fair in whatever we do. It's just a simple fact that there are some badly written books out there. I know there are bloggers, etc. whose policy it is to never give a negative review and I've tried to understand their reasoning, but I've never seen it that way. I'm sure every one dislikes some movies they've seen or restaurants they've tried and share their views with other people. I don't see why it should be different with books. GR gives us 5 stars to choose from and we have to rate within that. If I didn't like a book I have to give it one star.
Dianne wrote: "As a reader, I'd rather give an honest 1 star than a dishonest 5 stars. Sometimes I just don't like a book and the 1 star rating indicates just that: "did not like it". Those are the words that com..."Dear Dianne, I think there's great value in 1-star ratings, both for readers and writers. However, I've got to add that if a reader is going to give a 1-star rating, it'd be great if they'd also briefly explain why. as a writer, I value all reviews and use them as a way to improve my work, but a plain old 1-star isn't very constructive.
Thanks!
Mary
A Negative Review is one thing but a nasty review is completely different..
Found a great quote from Will Self who says "A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism", which is both liberating and confusing!
Mary wrote: "Dianne wrote: "As a reader, I'd rather give an honest 1 star than a dishonest 5 stars. Sometimes I just don't like a book and the 1 star rating indicates just that: "did not like it". Those are the..."I had one 1 star review where the reader had stopped after five pages. Not sure how that counts as a review of a book but the fact is that they took the trouble to write a review. Good or bad reviews are welcome as i want to know what people think
Well I just got a 1 star review that said:
"Violent/dark books are not my kind of thing. Had to stop reading after a few pages"
And yet in the title of the book it says 'Dark Short Stories...'
"Violent/dark books are not my kind of thing. Had to stop reading after a few pages"
And yet in the title of the book it says 'Dark Short Stories...'
Josiah wrote: "Well I just got a 1 star review that said:"Violent/dark books are not my kind of thing. Had to stop reading after a few pages"
And yet in the title of the book it says 'Dark Short Stories...'"
Clearly not a reader but frustrating as the review now counts towards your overall total as does mine. I described my book as a complex thriller then I have reviews saying that it's too complex. Opinions are great either way at least people are reading the book!
Philip wrote: "Josiah wrote: "Well I just got a 1 star review that said:"Violent/dark books are not my kind of thing. Had to stop reading after a few pages"
And yet in the title of the book it says 'Dark Short..."
If a potential reader reads these kind of one star reviews, they, (Okay, I) immediately discount the rating, even if it is the ONLY one.
If, for example, the "violent/dark" reviewer had said, I was walking on the wild side, venturing into a genre I do not normally enjoy, and found I STILL do not enjoy it because the author gave me tons of blood, guts and creepiness with no plot or flow, only then would I feel the rating reflected on the book, itself. That said, I agree with Dianne's statement regarding giving an honest rating, but I need to say why and will NOT rate a book without finishing it. (Even if it involves wanting to scratch my eyes out) If I cannot finish a book, I don't rate it.
I agree. To me in order for a review to be considered a review it has to not only be about the content of the book to which the author liked and disliked but also be long enough to even be considered a review. A sentence or two to me is not review it's a statement and when it's usually done when the person doesn't like the book. Yes maybe they feel the need to make a comment but it's not necessary, if you didn't finish the book then that's that. A review should be a paragraph at least to be considered. Do you ever see people finish a book and then give it a sentence review? Not really! I've seen it but it's very rare.
Justin wrote: "I agree. To me in order for a review to be considered a review it has to not only be about the content of the book to which the author liked and disliked but also be long enough to even be consider..."To be fair, the average reader seems to prefer shorter reviews over long ones. Many other readers I've talked to put much more weight in 1 or 2 sentence reviews versus those with long paragraphs.
It even shows with my own books. On Amazon, it appears that the most helpful reviews are the ones that are just 2 lines long. The really long ones, the ones I figured would be preferred (since those are the ones I typically turn to), weren't as helpful apparently.
Roland wrote: "Justin wrote: "I agree. To me in order for a review to be considered a review it has to not only be about the content of the book to which the author liked and disliked but also be long enough to e..."Reviews that are too long are often too much like a book report. I'm guilty of them myself, so I've been trying to limit my reviews to 350 words or less. I admit, I can get wordy, but one or two lines usually do not convey the "why" of liking (or disliking) a book, which is what I want to see. I'm going to take a look around, though and check out the short reviews! I'm curious how many give enough information for me!
I agree, it shouldn't be a book report it should be a book review so a paragraph usually does it for me. Anything less or more just doesn't seem acceptable
I only like long reviews if I've already read the book. I don't want to know too much going in and long reviews are often a lengthy rehash of the entire plot.
Books, Blogs, Authors and More
Books mentioned in this topic
Living by Ear (other topics)Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print (other topics)
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print (other topics)
If a writer wrote a bad book, I think it's fair to say, he or she didn't do it intentionally. So first rule is to be kind in any criticism.
I agree, a mix of positive and negative reviews is normal. If you look at the most popular prolific authors, they all have readers that didn't like the books for one reason or another. But we always have to take into account the "reader" that is responding. Sometimes reviewers are not very good readers.
I do think negative reviews can hurt sales when they hit early on in the launch of a book. So, I think reviewers have a duty to consider what other reviews are out there before they slam a book with one or two stars and a very negative review.
Being fair, honest, and kind are the keys to effective reviews. The professional know how to keep that balanced.