Mergath Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 ...and publish a book, please do not log onto Amazon or Goodreads or wherever to argue with each and every person who posted a negative review of your book. I'm not going to change my review just because you call me a big meanie head. I've had this happen to me multiple times over the last couple of years, but never before that. I don't know if it happens more because authors have so much more of an online presence now, but it makes the authors look like thin-skinned bullies who want to chase away everyone who doesn't like their book. And these aren't self-published authors without the benefit of an agent or a publisher. The ones who have done it to me are authors working with the major publishing houses. Honestly, I think Amazon and the other booksellers/reviewers should prohibit authors from commenting on the reviews of their own books so they can't intimidate people into retracting negative reviews. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Wow. That's crazy. I have had authors thank me for my reviews (positive or negative). I've even had an author I gave a very negative review to apologize for the things I had a problem with and said she appreciated my feedback since it would make her writing better. I've never had one be obnoxious or lash out. Because my interactions have been positive I like that authors can respond to reviews. That's just not cool what you've experienced. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Wow. That's crazy. I have had authors thank me for my reviews (positive or negative). I've even had an author I gave a very negative review to apologize for the things I had a problem with and said she appreciated my feedback since it would make her writing better. I've never had one be obnoxious or lash out. Because my interactions have been positive I like that authors can respond to reviews. That's just not cool what you've experienced. Yeah, I don't get it. And it's not like I went onto Amazon and said, "Your book is poopy and I hate you," or something. They were well thought out reviews that explained exactly why I didn't like the books. And the authors doing it always seem to be those working with major publishers but who aren't well-known. I suppose they figure if their book only has thirty reviews, a one-star review is going to hurt them and so it's worth the risk of lashing out and trying to intimidate the person into taking it down. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Wow, that strikes me as really unprofessional. It sounds like they need to develop a thicker skin. One would think that when you publish a book (or put anything out there for general consumption), you should expect that it will be evaluated and possibly criticized. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Yeah, that surprises me, too. I have seen authors comment in a thread explaining something in an apologetic fashion, i.e., "I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy the setting and how Jenefra turned out to come from the planet Zoltan. I probably could have foreshadowed that better so it didn't feel like it came out of the blue." I haven't seen an author attack or lash out at reviewers (yet). Duly noted though. I won't do that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Wow. I've read so many places that the number one rule is NEVER RESPOND TO A REVIEW. Period. Never ever. That reviewsare for readers, not authors, and responding is not allowed. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I don't suppose you want to tell us the title of the book... :D Not that I'm nosy or anything! I agree that authors should try to remain more professional. I'm not saying that it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I wrote a book and people posted negative reviews; I'm sure it would be very upsetting. But I would complain about it to my family, not post a public comment to the reviewer. Even worse than the author doing that is when the same person responds in a nasty way to every negative review and you can tell it's either the author or the author's mom posting under a fake name, because no one else but an insane stalker would care enough to get that emotional. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Wow. I've read so many places that the number one rule is NEVER RESPOND TO A REVIEW. Period. Never ever. That reviewsare for readers, not authors, and responding is not allowed. That's what I've always understood to be the rule too, which is why I'm so surprised that authors lashing out at reviewers seems to be a thing now. Or maybe I'm just reading the wrong authors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty-two Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I've seen an author or editor respond to what they perceived as an inaccurate review, and as a one-off it doesn't bother me, especially if they are calmly providing useful facts or insight. But there's an author whose work I've appreciated who has responded very abrasively to several of the negative reviews of his books on amazon - he seems to take positive reviews as his due and blames negative reviews on the reviewer's clear defects in understanding or honesty. I still appreciate his work, but I admit, the arrogance he's revealed has colored my opinion of him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I had someone find her book on my blog one time who didn't like what I wrote about it. She said I must not have read it all or I wouldn't have said what I said. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 I don't suppose you want to tell us the title of the book... :D Not that I'm nosy or anything! I agree that authors should try to remain more professional. I'm not saying that it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I wrote a book and people posted negative reviews; I'm sure it would be very upsetting. But I would complain about it to my family, not post a public comment to the reviewer. Even worse than the author doing that is when the same person responds in a nasty way to every negative review and you can tell it's either the author or the author's mom posting under a fake name, because no one else but an insane stalker would care enough to get that emotional. Lol, somehow I don't think that would help things. :P If my leaving a negative review really did hurt her on such a primal level that she couldn't help lashing out, I don't think it would be nice to invite people to gawk at the situation. I really didn't mean to wound her, but it was a truly awful book and people shouldn't be spending money on it. Usually when you're a writer, the eight thousand rejections you get before publication toughen you up some, but apparently in this most recent author's case (as with the others I've seen do this) that didn't happen. I've seen the mommy comments on Amazon. They always give me a chuckle. Though in some cases there really are fans that obsessed, especially when it comes to YA fiction. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Yeah, I don't get it. And it's not like I went onto Amazon and said, "Your book is poopy and I hate you," or something. They were well thought out reviews that explained exactly why I didn't like the books. And the authors doing it always seem to be those working with major publishers but who aren't well-known. I suppose they figure if their book only has thirty reviews, a one-star review is going to hurt them and so it's worth the risk of lashing out and trying to intimidate the person into taking it down. Lol. But admit it, haven't you read a book that made you want to leave this kind of review? Because sometimes what you read is just so awful that you really don't have words. Your comment made me laugh 😀 But I don't think authors should comment on reviews like that. If you don't like their book you should certainly be able to share your opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I don't suppose you want to tell us the title of the book... :D Not that I'm nosy or anything! I agree that authors should try to remain more professional. I'm not saying that it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I wrote a book and people posted negative reviews; I'm sure it would be very upsetting. But I would complain about it to my family, not post a public comment to the reviewer. Even worse than the author doing that is when the same person responds in a nasty way to every negative review and you can tell it's either the author or the author's mom posting under a fake name, because no one else but an insane stalker would care enough to get that emotional. It was for the Very Hungry Caterpillar. "The plot was repetitive and the main character was flat and his motivation was one dimensional. The MC's transformation was predictable." Mr. Carle took issue. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Lol. But admit it, haven't you read a book that made you want to leave this kind of review? Because sometimes what you read is just so awful that you really don't have words. Your comment made me laugh 😀 But I don't think authors should comment on reviews like that. If you don't like their book you should certainly be able to share your opinion. I have definitely been tempted. Actually, that may be pretty close to the review I left for "To Train Up a Child." ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 The reviews that bug the heck out of me is when the reviewer complains about some aspect of Customer Service or the delivery on the review. Say what? "I give you ONE STAR because the postal carrier left the package in my flower pot and my cat peed on it." Ooooookay then... ETA: Fix typo. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 17, 2015 Author Share Posted October 17, 2015 The reviews that bug the heck out of me is when the reviewer complains about some aspect of Customer Service or the delivery on the review. Say what? "I give you ONE STAR because the postal carrier left the package in my flower pot and my cat peed on it." Ooooookay then... ETA: Fix typo. Omg, those are annoying. I saw one review a couple days ago- not even kidding- where the person gave the book one star because she didn't have time to read it after she bought it. I wish I could remember which book it was. Her review was like, "I'm SO MAD that I paid for this book and then didn't have time to read it." Which was apparently somehow the fault of the author. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Or when the reviewer gives a low rating because the book wasn't what they expected, when the description of the book clearly stated that it wasn't about the topic the reviewer was looking for. It's not the author's fault that you bought the wrong book. Some ratings are so weird. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 I was looking at a book recently and a 1 star review said the book was totally 5 stars, but the dust jacket had a small tear so they gave it 1 star. Another time I saw a 1 star review that said they hadn't read the book, but Amazon was making them rate it (Amazon does sometimes send out e-mails saying how many stars would you give x book, but they certainly aren't forcing anyone to rate it). I've also seen 1 star ratings for YA books saying something like "I'm an adult so this was below my level. I didn't notice that it was a YA book when I bought it." I saw a 1 star review once for a children's book saying they were sick of having to read it to their kid because it was their kid's favorite book. When I rate books I've read to the little guys that are for kids their age, I always take that into consideration and judge the book on the boys' reactions to the book since they are the intended audience not me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 It was for the Very Hungry Caterpillar. "The plot was repetitive and the main character was flat and his motivation was one dimensional. The MC's transformation was predictable." Mr. Carle took issue. :lol: :lol: :lol: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest doucethermo Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 It sounds like they need to develop a thicker skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TianXiaXueXiao Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 The reviews that bug the heck out of me is when the reviewer complains about some aspect of Customer Service or the delivery on the review. Say what? "I give you ONE STAR because the postal carrier left the package in my flower pot and my cat peed on it." Ooooookay then... ETA: Fix typo. I think many people believe review means the same thing as "rate your experience." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 ...and publish a book, please do not log onto Amazon or Goodreads or wherever to argue with each and every person who posted a negative review of your book. I'm not going to change my review just because you call me a big meanie head. I've had this happen to me multiple times over the last couple of years, but never before that. I don't know if it happens more because authors have so much more of an online presence now, but it makes the authors look like thin-skinned bullies who want to chase away everyone who doesn't like their book. And these aren't self-published authors without the benefit of an agent or a publisher. The ones who have done it to me are authors working with the major publishing houses. Honestly, I think Amazon and the other booksellers/reviewers should prohibit authors from commenting on the reviews of their own books so they can't intimidate people into retracting negative reviews. Just my .02, but it seems like our culture is going off the PC cliff. How dare you have an opinion about my work?! That said, writers are VERY sensitive people. Even if you read Stephen King's book On Writing, he admits to being impacted by poor reviews. But I'm glad you gave your opinion. We need more of that today!! Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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