So I thought today I’d blog a little about reviews.
I finished reading a book last night by an author I adore. However, the book? Uhhh…yeah. Not her best piece of work. As I sat to write a review of it, a panic shot through my chest, a cold sweat broke over my brow… I bit my nails and let my fingers hover over the keyboard.
Why? Simply put- do I fib and pronounce how wonderful the book was? How I was so engaged and invested? Or, do I write what I really thought?
For the “outside” person (a reader), this probably seems like an easy choice- write what you thought, but as an author myself; that dreaded bad review forever looming over my head…
So, what is one to do? Here’s what I did:
I wrote what I really thought of the book in a respectful manner.
Any author, in fact anyone who is brave enough to put their work out there for the world to read, should be commended. It isn’t an easy thing to do even if it may seem like it. You have to know that every word you type, each misspelling and twist in the plot, will be read, scrutinized, and quite possibly torn apart by someone you’ve never meant. That is daunting, but the author deserves your honest opinion.
When I tried the self pub route with my first book, I had good reviews, thankfully, but the reviewers also pointed out a few things they would have liked to see differently. Upon first reading the reviews, I swallowed hard, took a shot of Jager, grabbed a spoon and a pint of Mint Chip, and hid from my laptop for two days.
When I mustered the courage to go back and read them again, I took notes. I went back to my story and checked what the reviewers had mentioned.
You know what? They had some good points…
For myself, I had to change the way I look at reviews. Not just for my books, but for books I’ve read. I’m in the minority and don’t choose to read or not read a book based on reviews, but as I said, I’m the minority in this. Reviews can make or break a book.
Reviews can be a great resource for authors. Even the “perfect” story in your own mind can leave some saying “what the hell was she thinking?” While I think it’s important to tell “your story”, I think you also need to take into account the readers- the folks who are going to take a chance and spend a little money to read your work. Your story becomes as much their story at that point.
Reviews can help an author improve their writing. Even the best writers and editors will miss things from time to time. Little things or sometimes (gulp!) glaring plot errors and issues with continuity.
Another MAJOR item to remember- a review is, in its most simple form, one person’s opinion of your work. My Mom used to tell me you can’t please everybody. Okay, I get it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to try.
For readers who leave reviews, let me let you in on a little secret that authors may not want you to know- writers, we have feelings, too. I know I know- “What? No you don’t! You spill it all out on the page!”
Well, my empty bottle of Jagermeister begs to differ with that.
When you write a review, try to bear in mind that authors that do read them (and some don’t) are typically looking to see a few things- Did my readers enjoy the tale? What can I improve on?
If you need to criticize something, do it in a respectful way. Something didn’t work for you? OK, what was it and why didn’t it work for you? An author can use that type of review to look back and see what was jumbled. The story's in their brain and probably made perfect sense to them at the time, but maybe the delivery could have been better.
Author’s really do respect their readers. We want you to enjoy the reading experience. Putting out a negative review just to “bash” an author…not.cool. That’s being a bully and no one likes a bully.
My advice- when you write a review for a book, whether you loved it or loathed it, remember- you aren’t the only person who will read the story. Your issues may be the same as someone else’s or not. Tell the author what you thought, but do it in a way that is kind. Writing “Your book sucked!” yeah, that really won’t help. If you give a starred review, maybe offer why you gave it the number of stars you did.
Well, I guess that’s it for now. Reviews can be incredibly useful if done in a positive way. Let’s all play nice, shall we?

HAPPY READING!
~LCM