editorial

Negative Reviews: Be Angry and Confused, or Listen to the Reviewer?

Irene Watson

Every so often we experience a reviewer giving a negative review of the book, and of course we often have to deal with an unhappy author.  It is understandable that the authors would have reactions;  after all, they've spent hundreds of hours writing the book and it is their pride and joy.  I know - I was one of those infamous "they" until I had my rude awakening.  Ouch. Darn ego!

Recently this email came in: (Copy/pasted as written except information removed where indicated.)

This reviewer who wrote all the negitive features about this book is completely in reverse of all the people who read and like the book.  The book has been received well by all ages and male and female.  I won the fall 2010 [name removed] Award. This book is based on a true story and the language works with the story.  [Author name removed] allowed me to use an excerpt from his book, [title removed.] at the beginning of my book.  I don't know why this cruel assessment was written. I also don't know what to do about it?

My comments to what the author wrote:

... completely in reverse of all the people who read and like the book.  The book has been received well by all ages and male and female. 

Upon checking other reviews on Amazon.com, yes indeed, there are two reviews that have 5-stars and the short blurbs (not reviews) are favorable.  However, when checking the track record of both of these reviewers I note that the review each one posted is the only review they've ever done, and there is no profile of the reviewer.  We can assume it could be author writing the reviews under assumed names, or possibly close friends or family.  As we know...family and friends often don't tell the truth.  Those two reviews hold no credibility.

I won the fall 2010 [name removed] Award.

There are many awards gigs out there and after seeing some awards given to books that have major editing issues or every book that is entered received some type of award,  it is obvious that the books aren't read.  So, if the cover looks good, the synopsis attractive, and there are limited number of books that are submitted into the category then the book could win an award. (btw - some that give awards actually disclose in the FAQ that the books aren't read but their judges can tell if it's a good book or nor by just flipping through it.  Huh?? I have yet to figure out how to do that.)

This book is based on a true story and the language works with the story. 

This comment was targeted to the reviewer's comments: ... I had a difficult time reading and getting into "[title removed]" because of the mix of formal and informal dialogue. Generally, in today's day and age, we use contractions regularly in our speaking habits. When an author chooses to write without using contractions, to me, it comes across as very formal. I have no problem with that style as long as it's consistent. However, if one character is going to speak "formally" then let's make sure he or she does so all the time. Or, even worse, mix formal and informal together in the same sentence. Because of this inconsistent writing style the story came across as stilted. 

[Author name removed] allowed me to use an excerpt from his book, [title removed.] at the beginning of my book.

Well, what can I say?  It is acknowledged in the publishing industry that the "known" authors don't read the books they endorse.  In fact, many times they don't even know they endorse a book because this is all done through their publicist. In some cases there is a fee involved, and many times the publicist will ask for samples of endorsements so that he or she can pick the most suitable one.  In this case it was an excerpt, so yes, of course, what author wouldn't want an excerpt printed in another book.  Knowing who this author is, it is doubtful that he read the manuscript throughout.

I don't know why this cruel assessment was written

The author took the review as being "cruel" rather than looking at the whole picture as to why the reviewer said what she did.  For example, an excerpt from the review:

"[Title remove]" was hand corrected on at least four different pages and I must say I found this practice to be extremely unprofessional. I understand the thought behind the corrections, but as the person doing the review/critique there was still a slight chance that I might have missed those errors. Unfortunately, crossing them out and writing in the correct information definitely brought my attention to each and every mistake.[There was no indication this was an ARC and actually wasn't because the book was received well after publication date.]

Sadly I found almost nothing positive in this book. It was problem after problem, one issue after another. "[Title Removed]" seemed filled with almost non-stop negativity and I can honestly say it's one of the most depressing books I've ever read. This book is a novel. It states quite plainly on the cover: "A Novel By [Name removed]." In my experience a novel is always fictional even if it does draw on fact or real life experiences. In my opinion a novel, aka fictional story, should, if nothing else be an enjoyable read.

And the author's last statement: I also don't know what to do about it?

Well, first of all, after reading the author's email and seeing all the editing/spelling/grammar/punctuation issues in it my suggestion would be that this author take the review to heart and not consider it as being cruel, but as an opportunity to re-visit the manuscript (that means back to the beginning,) get a professional to give it a radical edit (the whole enchilada - grammar, punctuation, content, flow, plot...the works,) and have the same reviewer look at the final book again. I know the reviewer wasn't being cruel; she is an author herself and qualified her review at the beginning by saying: There are two times I dislike being a book reviewer. One of them is when I have to finish reading a book that anyone else would have set down after chapter one and the other is when I have to write a bad review. To be honest I'm unsure which aspect I dislike more. I just know I hate ruining someone's day...

By the way, this is a "self-published" book using  CreateSpace.  As we know, they are basically a printer and unlike a traditional publisher, or some subsidy publishers, that actually do read the books before they are published so anything goes.  The bottom line is that the authors have to take the responsibility to create a product that is on the same level as those by Dan Brown or John Grisham...I'm sure their books don't have major issues as described by the reviewer of this book.

Comments?  I'd sure like to hear from you here.

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