Blogger: Michelle Ule
Location: Santa Rosa’s main office on a sunny day
The late Johnny Carson monologued once on the Tonight show about the pitfalls in responding to a woman holding a newborn baby. She wants you to admire it, and usually you can, but sometimes you’re stuck. “What do you say about an ugly baby?”
Johnny grinned at the audience and put a long emphasis on his second word: “That’s some baby.”
I think of him from time to time when a writer offers up their baby-manuscript and wants an opinion. You can see the hope in their eyes, the pride and expectation of praise. I always look for something positive to say, something more profound than “you typed all these words yourself?”
But what do you do if your friend wants you to write a review of their book on Amazon and you just don’t like it? Can you somehow find words to waffle through a description that tells the truth but doesn’t hurt your relationship?
Or, worse, what if you get a bad review?
Some authors with nerves of steel never read their reviews. They’re confident what they wrote is good and they don’t need some critic’s validation. Other writers live by their Amazon reviews and agonize over every single non-five star opinion. Hopefully, most writers fall somewhere in between.
What is a review, anyway? Just some person’s opinion about a work. How many of you decide whether or not to purchase a book based on a review?
Um, I do, sometimes, though word of mouth–the opinion of someone whom I trust–counts more than a token review in a newspaper or online.
Some marketers argue that any publicity, even bad publicity, is better than no publicity in the busy marketplace we call the Internet. One company, Marketing Science, recently concluded a bad review actually resulted in higher book sales for an unknown writer. You can examine the hieroglyphic calculus and analysis here.
E-how provides a list of what to do when you get a bad review that includes the mature suggestions to keep your cool, learn from the review, and try to salvage the relationships, if not the book itself. What you don’t want to do is rant about the reviewer and cause would-be readers to think you’re deranged. I’m not going to direct you to an author who recently made a fool of herself in this way.
Negative reviews serve a purpose for the reader. What might bother one reviewer–say, “This book is full of Christian symbolism which I hate,” –might be the very thing another reader desires. I declined a 600-page book recently, mostly because I’d have to haul it on a vacation and the reviews were mixed. But a woman who reads in the genre told me how wonderful it was, “I couldn’t be parted from the book I so much wanted to know what happened.”
I purchased it for the Kindle. Paper problem solved.
The negative reviews about the writing in the book itself, however, turned out to be correct . . .a 400-page novel crammed into 600-pages. I had been warned, I recognized the value in the comment, but I persevered anyway–the subject matter was important to me and it actually added pathos to my trip to Budapest.
So, what do you say to a writer about their project if you’re not real keen? “Wow, you’ve worked so hard to write this book. You must be so proud.”
And if someone says those words to you?
Be proud. You worked hard to write that book, regardless of what any reviewer says!
BTW, The Dogtrot Christmas comes out in Barbour’s A Log Cabin Christmas Collection in September. Let me know what you think of my story–good or bad!
I can take it.
At least I think I can. 🙂
How have you handled the sticky situation of bad reviews–whether from giving them or receiving them?
Reviews are tricky beasts, especially when the reviewer and author are friends. I’d say if you can’t give an objective and thorough review, don’t give it at all. Even worse is when the reviewer is asked to be an influencer and you can tell they didn’t like the book: they give four or five-star reviews and stretch to say something positive to fulfill their duty, or simply restate backcover copy. Further infuriating is when I read one of these books and they are utterly horrible. I remember the reviewers’ names and steer clear of their recommendations.
When I ask someone to critique my work, I ask them to be brutally honest, not rude, but honest. Don’t spare my feelings–I can fix what you tell me, but can’t do a thing about what I don’t know.
I don’t have a book published yet, but as I’ve read your posts this week, I’ve noticed a lot of parallels between being the published author of a book and a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers. So I want to start by thanking you.
Lately I’ve wondered if I made a mistake in building a career as a freelancer (mainly because so many people say writers should have a “real job” that doesn’t involve writing). Now I’m seeing that perhaps God has used my freelance career not only as a training ground for the nuts-and-bolts of writing as a skill, but also for the challenges I’ll face one day as the published author of a book.
Today is a perfect example. Much of my freelance work centers on “hot button” issues, so I’ve received my share of positive as well as negative (i.e. very hurtful) reviews in the form of letters to the editor. I try to remind myself that people who hate something are more likely to write a review than people who love something, so for every one bad review, I hold the hope that five more people liked it and just didn’t feel the need to say so in writing. (I’ve also noticed that people who hate something prefer to write long reviews, and people who love something tend to write short ones.)
My other trick has been to give more weight to feedback from people I trust (my editor, a writer I sometime co-write with, my husband-who’s not afraid to tell me if I’ve written drivel). Then, after giving myself some space, I look at what they’ve said and see if it contained some truth. If it did, I can use it to improve.
Great post! And I know you’ll be getting rave reviews on The DogTrot Christmas! 🙂
Michelle, Very timely. Matter of fact, I blogged about my frustration in this regard today. Nice to know the problem is universal. Thanks for sharing.
I’m going to switch my hat from writer to reader for this comment, because — as an online shopper of books as gifts for all occasions — I depend heavily on the reviews when making choices. Especially for those areas that I have no personal interest in (like… um… vampires) that I know some of my dear ones are drawn to. Even more so with children’s books, where parents (and children!) have taken the time to to tell how it did, or didn’t, live up to expectations. Or to find out there were calorie counts in a cook book I nearly bought for an in-law that was sensitive about being overweight. Many times the bad reviews are more helpful than the good ones, for reasons other than just the writing quality.
Especially when what you see is not always what you get. Like when the cowboy vest I ordered for a special little someone arrived less than a week before Christmas and turned out to be made out of paper. These kind of surprises can be even more disappointing with books that can have fantastic titles and captivating covers but fail to deliver on any of those promises inside. But I also need to point out how often a negative book review will actually lead me to buying. Mostly when it comes to the ranting that results from clashing beliefs, like hot air bumping into cold. Many times I opt for the ones that cause the biggest storm.
As for how much a bad review can effect success, I think shoppers who actually take the time to read reviews are pretty savvy when it comes to judging if opinions are genuine, or simply irrelevant bashing (which you find everywhere, no matter what the product is). I have also found that reviews are sort of like ice cream flavors. We might exclaim, “Delicious!” to one, or “Yuk!” to another, but both those emotions are fleeting, and seldom remembered much longer than the need to share the personal experience. In the end, our tastes — in anything — are mostly subjective. But how much fun is it to find people who like the same things? More fun than taking only one person’s opinion on what they liked or didn’t like about something. Because this exciting, fast-changing information age we live in has taken “the buzz” to exponential proportions. And I think that’s a good thing.
Which is why I agree with Lance, if you can’t write an honest review, don’t write one. Real is more acceptable to everybody. From the writer’s point of view, this ability to get opinions from every age and background imaginable can be an overall gauge of how your words are really effecting people. Which gives the opportunity to tweak things in the next project that might have gone unnoticed before. Something that could ultimately have a hand in turning out better, stronger writers in the long run.
I think that’s a good thing, too.
Of course when you write about a religious cult you have left, people who are in that cult feel a divine call to criticize (not critique) your work.
My favorite review was one in which an individual said that my 300-page nonfiction, which contains hundreds of footnotes and a short narrative autobiography detailing my time as a faithful Mormon and meeting a Christian young man whom I later married, was not only “filled with inaccuracies,” but later said of me that “he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
🙂
Latayne C Scott
Writing reviews can definitely be a sticky situation. As a reviewer, I try to be fair and honest. If I am critical about something, I try to write it in such a way that it doesn’t tear down the author. I know how hard most people work at their writing.
I also remind my readers that what I do not like another person may love. Its like chocolate and vanilla. I like vanilla, others of you like chocolate. Sometimes its just a matter of taste 🙂
Great post, Michelle. I wrote an article about how to cope with negative book reviews recently too. It came to mind after I read about another writer who was upset with a blogger’s review and blasted her online–which then traveled all over the blogosphere with horrible results.
I see reviews from three angles: as a writer, as a reader, and as an online publicist. As a writer, I feel blessed. Almost all the reviews I’ve received have been favorable. I can even tell you about some of them. The one I remember most, however, is the one that had a little nitpick with the book. Why is it you can get over 30 great reviews and you remember that less than glowing one?
Reviews don’t always impact my buying decision, but a well-written critical review, especially if I see the same critical comments over and again, may steer me away from purchasing. As a reviewer, I do my best to offer a review that shares the highlights and mentions the areas where the book fell short (when applicable). If written in a professional manner (no personal attacks), it should be fine.
Negative reviews during a promotional campaign can be tough because an author has paid you to promote her book. We can’t censor reviewers, as that would be unethical, but I try to impart to my clients that negative reviews won’t ruin a promotional campaign. You’re still getting exposure for your books. That said, I do my best to try and find bloggers who I feel would enjoy the book based upon their past reads.
Honestly, with self-publishing, some people don’t take the time to get their books edited the way they should. That’s not the fault of the reader or the promoter. If the same critical comments appear over and again, maybe the author needs to consider if these are valid concerns.
Here’s my article if you would like to read it: http://profwritersconnect.blogspot.com/2011/04/keeping-your-cool-when-you-receive.html I hope some of your authors find it helpful.
Too bad there isn’t some kind of standardized “Book Review Form.” (Like the old Book Report Forms some of us had to use in school.) Are there certain criteria that should be included in a book review? I’m assuming a discussion of plot and character development, and writing style would be covered. Other than that, once again, it seems it’s a matter of personal preference.
As a writer, I might be able to augment a character’s personality or polish the plotting sequence, but how does one solve the personal taste issue?
Since I am currently not a published author, I can only relate to having my WIP reviewed by two friends who are published authors. I hope they have been honest…certainly they have been extremely helpful and I trust their judgment.
I tend to be more influenced by people I trust when purchasing a book than a random review.
I, too, am sure you’ll be getting delightful reviews on The DogTrot Christmas. Can’t wait to read it!
This is a very thought provoking post, Michelle.
I have seen several cases of authors responding to negative reviews and it always makes me cringe. Generally the author wants to “clear something up” or expain why they feel the review is unwarranted, but it always sounds like the author’s feelings were hurt.
What do agents/editors recommend authors do about negative reviews? My gut tells me that it’s probably best just to stay silent. Are there cases when an author should respond?
Is it to our advantage as writers that there is no longer a single voice which can bring a writer to greater notice? Yet perhaps the decentralization of power into the hands of the public, rather than a critic, to give credence (and book sales) to a writer hasn’t occurred as much as one might think; after all, the New York Times Book Review still carries prestige, and various voices within the industry still attract attention to voices which might be more unknown. And of course, there is always Oprah 🙂
I’m with Michelle on the power of trusted personal sources to guide our purchasing decisions. What I find to be truly extraordinary is the ability of social media to focus and collect the shared interests of not only our friends, but the larger population of those who we share interests with. For a bad review may hurt the pride, but perhaps not the pocket book due to the ability of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media to direct readers towards your work. Why, even that bad review simply becomes part of the larger data stream, one more byte which helps send your work “trending” across the collected notice of society.
Giving bad reviews….I try not to. Informative reviews, yes; how the piece fits with others in its genre, what it contributes to fiction, and whether or not the asking price was fair or not.
Getting bad reviews…..I just tell myself, “Hey, at least they read it. Maybe they at least learned something from it.”
Several years ago, a block-buster paranormal became all the rage. I didn’t read it initially, but eventually I wanted to see for myself what all the hype was about. Since I write contemporary Christian romance, I’m always a sucker for a love story. While other-wordly creatures might not be my cup of tea to write about, I have to admit that this author held my attention. Her writing is brilliant; the story of “good vs. evil” timeless. Since I’m a Christian, I didn’t adhere to certain elements within the book (and series), but I would have probably given it four out of five stars. I’m a very gracious person by nature I guess, but I try not to let that detour me from being objective either.
I’ve heard some authors say they’ll never read their reviews. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I get to that point…I’m confident in my story and in my writing, but reviews, as alluded here today can be so subjective. Do you think negative reviews can stifle a new author? Just wondering.
Thank you, Michelle, for your posts this week!
Thanks for all your comments today while I’ve been running around town. Note Latayne’s comment about what happened with her book. Some books reviewers (or people on Amazon) are going to find fault with your book no matter how brilliantly written it may be. It’s just not going to appeal to some people.
It’s important to remember that writers are artists–you’re trying to provoke some sort of reaction or you wouldn’t be writing. A negative review can be disappointing, but it is not the end of the world. Review that graph above and see for an unknown writer, a negative review at least brings your work to the attention of the reading public and that’s all, really, we want. Let the work speak for itself to the reader interested in the topic.
How to respond to a negative review? Unless it is obviously 99% wrong and people will DIE as a result of the misrepresentation by the reviewer, I’d say take the high ground and say nothing. Your agent may feel differently. Your friends or others who loved the book may speak up in your defense. As the example I did not share demonstrated, the self-published writer who verbally attacked the reviewer (who only noted the author had some typos but thought the story interesting), made a fool of herself and demonstrated to any publisher that she was not someone they wanted to work with.
For those of us who have had years of rejection, take that experience and apply it to reviews. You’re developing thick skin for a reason!
I appreciate the comments about giving an honest review. It reminds me of college when we were advised to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation by saying, “could you give me a positive letter of recommendation?” and then watch the professor’s reaction.
I mailed my completed first novel to my mom, who lives a thousand miles away, with a note that said, “If you don’t like it, just tell me you know I worked hard on it.” A couple days later, I received a card from my mom with a note that said, “I know you’ve worked hard on your novel.” I was momentarily stunned, but then I had to laugh. There was no way she had already received my novel, read it, and responded. I called her and she laughed, too.
Since my novel isn’t published, this is my only story of a “negative” review.
Michelle, I loved your line about the “400-page novel crammed into 600-pages.” In some ways being a writer ruins being a reader because I find myself analyzing even as I am reading. Sounds like that’s true for you, too.
I think getting a bad review falls into the same category as getting “constructive criticism.” No matter how kindly put, all we remember is the criticism.
Your posts this week have been interesting and informative. Thanks.
I’m a music teacher, and I use a method from The Voice Care Network. It incorporates most of the tenants of another educational method called Human Compatible Learning.
When a kid sings for me and doesn’t do well, there are a number of ways to handle the situation.
Wrong Way #1: “You’re out of tune, dumb @##.”
Wrong Way #2: “Wonderful!”
Wrong Way #3: “Lift your eyebrows.”
Human Compatible Way: “What did you notice about the notes on the top of your ascending lines? (Kid talks for a bit.) I noticed that you’re having some trouble up there, and it could be for a couple of different reasons. I didn’t hear a lot of connection to your air flow, and you’re tensing in your throat…”
I try to do the same thing while writing a bad review. Point out the good and bad, but be extremely technical on why it was weak. I’m honest, but I never taunt. I also do my best to try and see what the author was going for, even if he or she didn’t quite make it work.
It often takes me a lot longer to analyze substandard writing, so I’ll do numerous drafts of my review to be sure I’m being fair.
Michelle,
I finally had a chance to get caught up on the Books & Such Blog this weekend and I enjoyed reading your whole series at one sitting. Great content! I appreciated your fresh topics and insights. Well done.
I don’t review friends books. Only one did I review, but I had caught a glimpse of her writing on her blogs and knew the writing would swing me through. The topic interested me as well as the transparency of it.