It's called "common" decency

[☀Rachael☀]

I agree if I don't like a book I'll probably give it a star rating but no comment. Someone else may love it and I don't want to scare them off it just cos it wasn't my cup of tea!
I also don't take on read to review books if I may not get round to it for a while, it just doesn't seem fair if someone could review it sooner!

[Alysses]

This is exactly why I'm starting to feel as if I should just keep purchasing my books. A review is a review and if you ask some authors they just want any kind of review. Any type of review is publicity. I have read books where the review wasn't a great one but the rating was and I've given the author the option to have me post it or not but I can't help feel cheated out of posting it regardless. For those that have been published by big publishing houses... Do you feel guilty in the same way for receiving an ARC and giving a bad review?

This is a hard one.

[[deleted user]]

Scotia, this is a very sensitive issue for me as well. I have worked out a compromise I feel comfortable with. I request that all books sent to me for review be sent in electronic format directly to me from the author. This does not incur any hard costs to the author and provides me with the book in the format I most prefer to read it.

Since I have the author's email, I can respond directly to them before I post the review. To date there has only been one book I simply could not finish. I sent the author a note to that effect and stated that I would not be posting a review. The scathing reply I received almost made me reconsider not posting, but when I read other reviews, I realized there was no point in beating this guy into the ground.

I generally send the reviews to the author for comment before posting them, so the author has an idea what is being said about them. I consider this a common courtesy. I have had a couple of authors tell me to go ahead and post what I considered "bad" reviews. Their idea was that the bad reviews kept everyone honest.

Since I never receive a hard copy of anything and do not want one, I never feel guilty about anything I say.

Bob Cherny

[Vered]

My 1.5 cents worth: As a reader, I've been asked by Indie authors to review their books, plus I also am a member of a review site which focuses on Indie books. In both cases, as well as when I read and review traditionally published books, I write a fair review and post it. I'm honest but I don't get nasty or brutal about it. I try to find at least one positive thing (which is usually possible) so that there is a 'take-away' for the author.

In one case, the book was so awful that I wrote the author with 2 pages of suggestions, and didn't post a review.

From the other side, as an Indie author, I prefer a review or even a brief comment to the star system. If someone gives 4 or 5 stars but NO explanation, I don't find that valuable. Conversely, if someone gives it a 2 or 3 star but a solid explanation of likes and dislikes, I'm happy because a) I learn something and b) some of the reasons a reader doesn't like something won't apply to another reader.