Comments on: Why I read reviews

By: Prudence

Prudence — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:21:29 +0000

A very good point!
*makes note*

An opinion is just that. It isn’t a fact.

The art is seeing what is useful in a review, lifting it out and using it, and leaving the rest to sit quietly in cyberspace.

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:15:26 +0000

I think if I were to get a professional or otherwise well-argued review that ripped my work to shreds, that would hurt – but so far the negatives have been either “meh” or something so idiotic that it caused me nothing worse than a few minutes’ grumbling. In fact an early draft of this post had a detailed rant about a reader who found something unrealistic in my book (which a few minutes’ googling would show to be entirely plausible), but I discovered that the act of writing it down was sufficiently cathartic in itself, so I deleted it.

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:10:21 +0000

Correcting typos is good – unfortunately some self-pubbed authors go further than that and actually change the book substantially in response to negative reviews, which I think betrays a deep-seated insecurity about their work. You con’t ever please everyone, and you shouldn’t try to. In fact I’d go as far as to say that if you’re not turning off a sector of the reading public with your ideas or voice, your writing is too bland!

By: Margaret Fisk

Margaret Fisk — Tue, 22 May 2012 01:30:16 +0000

A very good point, Anne, and a wonderful way to do market research. I will say that especially in these times of indie publishing, reader reviews are essential, even the bad ones. As never before, authors have the chance to go back and correct typos and the like so the next reader has a cleaner experience.

That said, I’m always stunned when one of the authors of books I’ve reviewed stops by and leaves a comment. I guess too many years of shouting in the darkness just to hear my own echo .

By: Erin

Erin — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:34:54 +0000

Count me among those who don’t read reviews — mostly. It’s too easy for one negative review to drag my mood down, no matter how many positive reviews there may be out there. Except I do respond to comments on my stories with Daily Science Fiction — whether on Facebook, Twitter, or my own blog. I figure people who care enough to comment on a short story when they’re getting new ones every day are potential fans, so I try to nurture those connections. Of course, those don’t tend to be deep reviews, either.

By: Ingrid Yaple

Ingrid Yaple — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:00:32 +0000

I actually want and need to reread the book in order to write the review. It’s been playing around in my head and in this post, I was surprised to read that some people thought the story moved ‘too slow’. Well, my husband has been out of town for 3 weeks [now back] so I had way too many interruptions reading it. So I figured in order to do it justice, I will read it again, in peace and quiet. I’m impressed that you are comfortable reading reviews as some people can be unnecessarily ascerbic and it’s easy to find fault in something that is, on the whole, subjective. It is to your liking or not. Mistakes for people who write historical novels or even historical non-fiction, is not that common. There is a LOT of research and sythesizing that goes on prior and during the writing. Kudos Anne! I’m looking forward to my next go around
Ingrid

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:49:53 +0000

Aww, thanks!

By: Prudence

Prudence — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:27:19 +0000

You can only please some of the people…or however it goes. I like your way of using the reviews and will file that away for future information. It might come in handy one day (fingers crossed).

I’ve just got your book at long last. Can’t put it down. It’s fascinating!

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:26:59 +0000

Good post, Anne. A lesson new authors and even those that have been around for some time that should know better, ought to know.

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:18:46 +0000

I link to all the blogger reviews from my website