This is just a really short, quick thought that came to me as I'm reading around blogs today.
It seems that I see a lot of the same people reviewing each other's books, all over the place. At Amazon, on blogs, I imagine at Goodreads (though personally I don't go there, I registered there once ages ago and never went back.) Same names and profiles.
And in those reviews, I notice a lot of very carefully constructed sentences- a lot of verbal tap-dancing and I wonder, just how much gentle-treading are these folks doing because they don't want to hurt their friends' feelings?
This is why as much as I love my writer friends (and as many of their books I have and will continue to buy) I won't review them. Because I couldn't really be completely objective about it and I would never want to hurt their feelings if I didn't like it.
After reading I may write them an email to tell them that I really enjoyed the book if I did- but I'd do so privately. In fact it's becoming my policy now not to even mention which of my friends' books I've bought and are/will be reading because A) I never know what my eyes are going to be doing at a given time and so I may not get to it for a LONG time and B) I dread the inevitable "What did you think of it?" Not that I've had much reason to say anything but an honest "loved it!" in the past, but it's just a situation I don't want to be put in- and cannot imagine putting my friends in someday if I ever do put a book out there.
And seriously...I think it looks a bit suspicious if you see one blogger reviewing a friend's book and gushing over it and then the next week the other blogger is reciprocating. How can you know for sure what to think about either book?*
I think that Everyday Reader (though granted there are some bad folks in the lot who complain about Amazon and pan a book, hurting the author, which is about as logical as yelling at a waiter when the kitchen got your food wrong) has a lot more unbiased, unvarnished input to offer- and while I'm not a huge believer in reviews as a whole (especially for film, I never seem to agree with professional critics) I do appreciate the readers, those non-writing, nothing to gain or lose genuine readers, who take the time to leave book reviews.
Not that another person's opinion will make or break my decision to buy a book if I'm really interested- but if there are ten glowing reviews for the same book and all from names I recognize...I will admit, it does give me pause.
I think any time every single review of a book is five star- especially when there's more than a few of them- something is suspect. At least one person, somewhere, is going to find a reason to take away at least one of those stars if things are on the up and up, just because personal taste varies so widely.
So circles of people all going around reviewing each other's books and doing so with over the top praise that's difficult to believe? Just know, going in, that to the outside observer, it is difficult to believe.
If it were my book, I'd want a change in strategy- and let the reviews come in from where they may instead of putting my friends under the gun, and hoping they'd reciprocate. I speak about this because I think it's a huge underlying tension in the blogging world these days- and I hope maybe people will rethink it, just a little.
Just my 2 cents which you know, is worth absolutely nothing given the exchange rate between here and Jupiter. Though I hear that their economy is due to bounce back any minute now.
Happy Friday, everybody!
~bru
*there are many bloggers who regularly review books by authors they don't know, and that is fantastic, if that's what they enjoy doing. That is in no way what I'm talking about here, please know that.
Friday, January 27, 2012
17 What say you to that?:
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My book's reviews on Amazon are certainly from strangers and they aren't all perfect.
ReplyDeleteIf I like a book enough, I'll post a review on Goodreads. But if I don't, I'll just quietly mark it as 'read' and move on.
I'm a really slow reader so hopefully no one is holding his breath that I'm reading his book.
That's cool, Alex, I know your book has been so successful and I have seen the reviews. Definitely real 'reader on the street' stuff, and you take it all in stride. I have to admire you for that I don't know if I could even bear to look at reviews honestly if I had a book out. It's clear that the loving reviews for it far outweigh the few unhappy folks (everybody's a critic, as they say...)so that speaks volumes about it. Have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you wholeheartedly, Bru. A year or so ago, I bought into all the hype and bought a bunch of books based on these glowing reviews. I was disappointed with many of them. So disappointed that I won't even buy books right when they come out anymore. I wait for real reviews first.
ReplyDeleteIf/when I'm even in a situation to promote a book, I will only interview, guest post, and/or think of some sort of blog hop. I am not going to ask my friends to review my books.
I've only reviewed a few books on my blog and they were books I believed in. In general, I won't review books. It makes me too uncomfortable. If a writer asks me, I always choose an interview or guest post. I don't want to be in an awkward position if it's not my kind of book. And if I read a book from someone I like and want to say it's "Read" on Goodreads, I won't give it a star rating if I think it's 3 stars or less. I leave it blank.
If we're not honest in our reviews, it diminishes the power of the review.
Promoting fellow bloggers' books on your own blog is a tricky thing. Yes, you want to be supportive. No, you don't want to be dishonest or misleading. That's why I prefer to do interviews, rather than reviews.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter will write reviews, but even she has felt the awkwardness of writing a review for a book she received for free. I think she's become more leery about it already.
I'm happy to have authors over at my Blog for a brief interview, but I don't do reviews. I can't bring myself to do a review anywhere else either, like on Goodreads. For a little while, I did a few on Amazon under a pseudonym, but I ended up stopping and erased all the interviews that were less than 4 stars.
ReplyDeleteBeing a writer AND a reviewer is a hard thing. I applaud the people who can do that with true objectivity.
Luckily, there are plenty of readers who are willing to be brutally honest, and I do rely on those reviews to help me prioritize which books I'm going to read next.
Wow, it's like my own personal all-star blogging dream team stopped by today, woo hoo!
ReplyDeleteTheresa, Dianne, and Lydia you've all said it better than I did/could so there's really nothing I can add but thank you for saying it!
You ladies set what I consider to be the gold standard in my view as far as what blogging authors can and should be. Class acts, each of you, and I'm so happy you weighed in on this. Thanks again.
and I hope this makes sense this late in the day my brain is fit for only Twitter if that *laugh*
xoxo
bru
I'm also sceptical of book reviews. Reviews of washing machines or coffee-makers or curtains are fine but a book is by definition so subjective that a review is almost meaningless (unless it tells of horrific language or formatting errors!). Some of the best stories I've ever read had horrible reviews and vice versa. For books I think you're better off trusting to your feelings and leaping in...
ReplyDeleteWell hello, The Owl Wood or should I say Whiskerburn Sloopscuttle, V.S.O.P.? Thank you for stopping by and visiting and thank you for your wonderful comment. Right you are, I'd say.
ReplyDeleteAlso...YOUR BLOG!!!! (Sorry my good man, I didn't mean to shout...) your 'modern data' page tag line had me laughing so hard I almost choked on my Darjeeling.
There's something very "Adventurer's Club" (Disney reference...and a very cool one) about your picture there. I haven't had nearly enough time to read around your blog yet but I am looking forward to correcting that situation as soon as I can. I'm dying to know, is that really you doing that Victorian photography? Because that is just about the most amazing thing ever. It makes me giddy.
~bru
'Ello Missus! Vintage photography - well, photography using vintage equipment at least - is my "day job", and the Victorian camera is my favourite. All mahogany and brass and hiding under a velvet dark-cloth, it's great fun!
DeleteYour byline "the characters are in control, I just take dictation" really struck a chord with me. In my case the action happens spontaneously like a cartoon in my head and I quickly scribble notes!
That is so cool. Few people know this but the last job I had before I had that pesky little stroke was as a portrait photographer. I didn't get to work with cameras anywhere near as cool as it sounds like you do and the Victorian era is a PASSION of mine- so you just intrigue me in the extreme! Will definitely be visiting your blog and learning more. So glad that my byline resonated with you- we artistic folks have to stick together! :~) Again, welcome.
DeleteRight on the mark about reviews. I have always skeptical of them and when it comes to giving them.
ReplyDeleteThanks JM for reading and for weighing in! It's good to know I'm not alone in my skeptical view of them. Thank you.
DeleteI'm not on your dream team... so sad, now...:(
ReplyDeleteI would agree with you about doing reviews except for one thing, people need reviews. They're vital. Of course, if you've read my stuff about doing reviews, I believe in being as objective as possible, because a review is no good if you're only going to say "I loved it" about everything you put up. There has to be something to measure by. Anyway, part of how I want to support other authors is to review their books, because it's hard to sell a book with no reviews.
Now now, Andrew, no long face there! Who said you weren't on my dream team? You know I consider your blog 'don't miss'. Also, I've told you before that you're a rockstar to me (and yes you can pretend to be Bono if you want to just you know, don't get arrested or anything)so you know you're up there on the 'bru loves' list. :~)
DeleteI totally respect your viewpoint here and I know that you DO give objective and honest reviews (I've read some) so I know that your review is going to be as honest as anyone else's about how they really felt about a book.
It's just I think that few bloggers have the ability to stand up to the pressure they feel to like a book if a friend wrote it- and that's where the problems can come in as well as the simple 'mutual admiration society' thing that can occur sometimes (not always, definitely not always.)
So thank you for reminding me again that it's about sales and trying to support other bloggers/writers. I guess once you have a book out there, maybe a lot of this stuff looks different than it does to those of us who don't yet. I try to keep reminding myself of that, and honestly dealing with all these worries about sales and things that inevitably happens when people publish (however they do) is a huge thing that holds me back. I just don't want it, myself. Maybe later, someday but maybe not.
Thanks for reminding me that fellow-blogger book reviews can be done fairly.
Now get back on stage, rockstar! LOL And no more frowny face it makes me sad.
and sorry this reply is so rambly. Way past my bedtime.
~bru
I am sorry it took me so long to get over here. I like what you say here, and I do agree in many ways, but like you mention in your response to Andrew, things can change when you're on the other side of the fence. I have no control over who reviews my books or what they say. Many friends wish to support me, which I am extremely grateful for, and they like to do reviews. I guess to the writing community where many people recognize other people's names, it can look like a favor-review type of situation. But I never ask anyone to review my books (unless it's a professional request from my publisher for an endorsement to use on the cover/for marketing), so I feel sad if people's reviews of my work is looked down on just because they want to be supportive.
ReplyDeleteI think what you're getting at, though, is that authors will trade reviews. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, sort of thing. I've done that twice, I think, and that was a long time ago. I realized quickly how sticky and bad that gets, especially with friends.
Once my work became a product making money - and not only money I depend on, but others do too, my world flipped upside down. I have no control over this political stuff. The most I can do is just put my work out there and let happen what may. As for what I CAN control, I don't review books, period. I will recommend them on my blog and in my newsletter to support friends and let others know what I love. It just feels like a conflict of interest to me to review other people's books, but that is a completely personal decision.
Thanks Michelle for giving your thoughts on this. I think if nothing else, the discussion is useful because it helps all parties, the published, unpublished, readers and writers understand each others intentions and motivations! Thank you!!!
DeleteOh, I was just teasing about the long face.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are completely correct in that most people (not just bloggers) can't give an objective... anything. It was a tough decision to do the review thing in that I knew I was going to be objective about it and not just go around shouting "OMG! I love this SO much!" which is what people really want. The truth is that most stuff is not that good, unfortunately, but that applies to traditionally published stuff, too. And I have higher standards than most, so that makes it even more difficult. Anyway, the fact that there is so much "mutual admiration" going on is one of the reasons I decided to do the reviews. There needs to be at least one voice in the wilderness, so to speak.