Bad reviews and angry authors

[Dave Rosenthal]

On The Baltimore Sun's book blog (www.baltimoresun.com/readstreet) we've noted the recent discussions about bloggers who post tough reviews -- and get hammered. Recently, a blogger dissed a self-published author's book, and got a snide, anonymous comment, as well as threats of legal action for posting an excerpt and the book's cover. Many bloggers are justifiably outraged, and some note that they do not post negative reviews, to avoid offending anyone.
Do you shy away from giving a bad review? Have you ever had an angry response from an author? Is the reaction worse from self-published authors?

[Paperback Traveler]

I think some people think that bloggers are easier to intimidate since they aren't part of a larger organization, like a newspaper, which likely has a legal department. For what it's worth, posting an excerpt is almost certainly fair use (i.e. legal under copyright law) but using an image of the cover is stickier, although a small image is probably also fair use. So authors are free to bemoan negative reviews, but they almost never have any valid legal recourse.

[Rebecca]

I just started blogging book reviews, but this is my philosophy on writing reviews for books that were less than worthy:

1. Use "I" statements as much as possible. For example, instead of saying something like "The author was long-winded and redundant", you might say, "I felt that this particular thought could have been more succinct." Kind of like they say to do in an argument with someone, say "I feel I could use some help with washing the dishes" instead of "You never help me wash the dishes".

2. Start with a positive, end with a positive, and sandwich the negatives in between. This is a technique I learned as a teacher when talking to parents about difficulties I was having with their child. You soften them up first by noting the positives, then you let them know your concerns, then you end it on a good note. Even if the positive is the cover design or they managed to spell most of the words correctly, state something that was good about it. Give the author something positive to work with.

3. Remind yourself how you would feel reading a negative review of your own book. After you finish writing the review, re-read it as if you were the author reading someone else's review of your book. Were you a bit more harsh than you intended to be? Is there a better way to word something that gets your point across without sounding abrasive or aggressive? Is the criticism constructive or just demeaning? If necessary, rewrite some parts to make it more constructive so the author can use the information he/she is receiving to make positive changes to his/her next book.

Of course, reviewers are just as human as authors, so you can't be perfect all of the time. These are just guidelines that might help us to write reviews that are the most helpful to both readers and writers.

[Jackie K Cooper]

I have had angry responses from authors and I have had grateful thanks from authors, but my review is my review. It is only my opinion so it stands or falls as that. I would never hold, or edit a review, based on what the author or publisher wants.

Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com

[Blaine Dixon]

Sometimes it can be constructive criticism one reviewer said my photos were great but the commentary and captions were abysmal and that I should stick to photography and forget writing. . So... I removed most of the commentary and captions and the book looked better even to me!

[john]

Reviewers who write a dissertation or novella can be a bit much for any author. They will give up the storyline,plot,sub plot and if its a mystery the killer.Hey-tell us if you enjoyed the read. Did the story take you to a place you wanted to be. Make you laugh or cry.Turn page after page and the like. Needless to say I have not read the perfect review yet but I will say when that day arrives I will probably find it on a blog like this one and not in the Times.

[Angie]

I don't write very many negative reviews but it's not something I consciously do. I just get so caught up in the magic of the reading experience (I do the same thing with movies that I see at the movie theater) that a book has to be really, really, really boring before I will consider it bad. So far, I've written entries about over sixty books and only about 3 or 4 of them have bored me to the point where I didn't like them. And when that happened I just said that I didn't care for the book and kind of left it at that - but my blog isn't so much a blog where I review books, but where I chronicle my project of trying to read a book a day for a year - so I don't necessarily write the entries in the style of a book review. It's more like "Here are 2 or 3 highlights of the book." And usually, even the worst books have a few sentences, or paragraphs, that are interesting enough to write about.

[Dave Rosenthal]

Judith, I'm hoping that was a naive, first-time author. It's ridiculous to expect hearts and flowers all the time. There probably isn't an author in the world who doesn't get criticized from time to time.

I'm glad you, Mary and other reviewers aren't shy to tell the truth.