Nicole’s Literary Rant

There has been a LOT of hoopla around the internet lately (well, specifically among fellow bloggers, authors and publishing industry) about reviews. Specifically, when an author chooses, and how they choose, to comment on when we reviewers post “bad” or “negative” reviews.  If you know me, you know I have an opinion.  Also, you know I don’t keep my mouth shut. Usually, though, I vent to people I know and not in such a public manner as a blog post.  However, this topic, IMO deserved to be addressed.  Our fabulous Casey posted her thoughts and I no doubt concur with her…but felt this topic needed to be discussed further.  Please note that comments, agreeing or disagreeing, are welcome; BUT, keep it respectful and professional.  It’s all I ask.

So here’s the deal.  I review because I enjoy reading books and it’s no secret I’d like to get into the business of publishing…as an agent or maybe an editor. Now, does that mean I’m going to enjoy reading every.single.book given to me for a review? Heck no.  Hell, I don’t like each and every book I buy and read, let alone what I get to review. It’s expected we won’t like each book.  Every time it’s happened to me, I always feel a bit sad and a bit remorseful that I have to post a “bad” review.  However, Jackie fully encourages such reviews.  I think most of us here would agree that there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with writing bad reviews.  I’ll get to that in a minute.  I want to emphasize that it would SUCK, and I mean SUCK, if all readers liked all the same authors, books, etc regardless of a reader’s preferred genre. For heaven’s sake it would be BORING.  I generally like most books I read (regardless of how I obtained them…and I’m referring to LEGAL means, I do NOT condone pirating and that is a whole other topic for another rant), some books/series/authors more than others.  I think for most avid readers, that is the case. We like to read and we like books…period.  But some writing styles I like better than others and if it’s a style I don’t prefer, well I don’t mean to offend anyone, but if I don’t like your style, I’m not likely to read any of your other books.  It’s NOT personal and the author should never, ever take it as such.  Some things are not my cup of tea, period.  Doesn’t mean you as a person or even an author suck.  Just means in my opinion, I didn’t like the work and since I literally have near 100 other books currently sitting on my TBR mountain, I’m not going to add the rest of your backlist or new releases to that stack.

I recently did what one could call a negative review on Acacia by David Anthony Durham. Check it out.  I was originally sent the final book in this fantasy trilogy, but given that each book builds on the previous, I asked to get the prior 2 so I could start from the beginning.  I tried, really I did, but here’s the thing I’ve learned, fantasy…at least reading it…isn’t my cup of tea, so I DNF’d Acacia and the remaining books. I say so…I also explained why fantasy doesn’t work for me.  It has nothing to do with my opinion of Mr. Durham as an author or his books or his actual person.  In fact, his response to me endeared him to me and makes me think really really high of him.  To me, it represents that if you, as an author, are going to respond to a “negative”/”bad” review, this is how it should be done.  He was very courteous to me and did NOT take it personal.  It wasn’t meant as such. I truly stand by that review (I won’t write something I won’t back up or stand by…).  I just can’t read fantasy. Hands down if he sells the movie rights, I hope he’ll remember me and let me know, as I sure as heck will be watching them!  I can’t stress it enough…if you, as an author, and feel it is necessary to comment on a review, please keep it professional.

I haven’t met a fellow reviewer/blogger out there that wants to personally trash an author. Not to say it doesn’t happen..surely it does, I’m not naive.  However, take the advice I’m seeing flying around. Vent to your real life friends, offline, and away from the public’s critical eye.  Hell, that goes even if the review is just trying to be critical in nature and explain why your book didn’t work for them.  We’re all human, I know it sucks to see it when someone doesn’t like your work.  Really and truly, unless that finished copy is just horribly wrought with typos, timeline errors, etc, then I don’t think any of us expect you to change your writing habit. And, even IF that is the case with your finished product, then well, my suggestion would be get a new agent/editor/publisher.  Now, my guess is (not like I’ve done or seen a study on this) that most of those books are self-pub’d and to be honest, I don’t review self-pub’d works.  Also, as a reviewer who does get ARCs for review, yes I expect these kinds of errors. I know damn good and well it’s not gone through all the edits, etc that the finish copy will have been thorough.  I generally don’t make comments on this kind of thing for that reason.

Now on to the dos and don’ts of writing bad/negative reviews. Keep in mind, these are MY opinions, take them or leave them. As a fellow reviewer and reader, well I could care less if you like an author on a personal level.  At least when it comes to your opinion on the actual book you’re reviewing.  Keep that kind of stuff OUT of your review, please.  It’s just not relevant and not helpful when I’m trying to figure out if I want to read the book or not.  Also irrelevant to the actual book and plot… the cover.  I don’t care if you hated it or loved it. If it’s a hot cover or even a sucky one, chances are, I’ll agree.  I’ll also admit, yep, I’ve bought books based on cover alone.  Those notes are meant for the publishers and the art department.  None of which are really going to care once it’s done and out there.  Also, authors have VERY LITTLE control over this, period.  Why waste time talking about it?  If you want to mention you bought it b/c of cover (yeah I’ve done this), awesome, but don’t spend valuable word count and my time on it.  Move along…was the book good or not. And why.  That’s really the basics of what I look for in reviews.

I want to know things like how fast did the plot move, was it a lot of action, where in the series (if it’s a series) does it fall, is there a lot of world-building. Also, I want to know your thoughts on the characters, especially the hero/heroine…and possibly the antagonist.  Was there enough buildup to that final battle/confrontation, not enough, etc?  Is it a ‘filler” book in a series.  They’re necessary sometimes to transition from major plot points in an overall series.  I like to be prepared for these, though. You see, I get bored easily and tend to skim when the action wanes.  My favorite authors can weave those slow parts very eloquently and keep my attention.  Now, if an author doesn’t, doesn’t mean I don’t like the book/series. There are several I read that I know I’ll skim, but I’ve fallen in love with the other things.

So, to me, that negative review should focus on the why a book didn’t work for you. Why couldn’t you finish it or why did you just not care for it? Could you connect with the characters…why or why not? Was the pace too slow or too fast? Again…WHY WHY WHY.  That is what I want to know.  Because you know what…what may not work for you and something you may not like, may work for me and vice versa.  It’s what makes doing this and talking with other readers/bloggers/reviewers fun..the different points of view and opinions.  The catch? Keeping it professional. It can be done…it’d done every friggin day!  Now, if I know you personally, and we disagree, it could turn into a fun debate.  But, notice that key word? Fun. Yep, no need to get all bitchy and bent out of shape.  Example: the majority of my friends LOVE Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series.  Me? I am still suffering through trying to read it. I can’t get past the first book.  Do I think they’re stupid or that Ms. Showalter’s a bad writer? Hell NO.  It just hasn’t captured/captivated me.  Is that OK? You bet it is.  I love hearing them talk about their favorite Lord.  It’s fun.  Also, trust me, we have plenty of other books/series/characters that we love and love to fight over who gets whom as a book boyfriend.

Bottom line…if you’re an author, well, IF you feel you must respond to a negative review, take Mr. Durham’s lead and be kind and courteous.  The majority of us are not attacking you on any sort of personal level. If you’re having a shit day and it just strikes a nerve…vent offline to your friends and family. Do NOT try and cheat the review system (which is what sparked this rant…a YA author sent a really nasty email to a review that was posted on Amazon…and yeah it was BAD and even encouraged others to dis the review so only positive reviews of the book showed “on top”…please that is just immature and wrong. Also, yeah that author is now on my never to read list b/c of her behavior).  Also, take note. Really and truly this world of publishing is SMALL…and I know the agents/editors talk among themselves.  Guess what…authors talk to other authors. Us reviewers/bloggers, yeah we talk to each other…oh and to other authors. Some may even talk to agents/editors.  So, really you’re doing yourself a HUGE disservice if you decide to have diarrhea of the mouth.

Also, if you see a review that IS personally attacking you? Well, same advice applies. Now, perhaps letting it leak out that it’s out there, yeah I’m nosy enough to want to know. Why, because I won’t take that reviewer seriously in the future. So, my fellow reviewers take note. While you may have a right to post whatever in the hell you want, you’ll lose my respect and any interest I may have in your reviews. That stuff isn’t helpful.  Something tells me I am not the only reviewer/reader who feels this way, either.

OK–end rant.  Kudos if you finished it LOL!

~Nicole