ROBUST discussion

I discovered a really nice-looking UK-based site that reviews fantasy books. I asked a fan to write to them and recommend they include my book. The website admin, whom I shall dub "Ralph", wrote back to me instead of to the fan, at the fan's address, either seeing through my deception, or being in too much of a hurry to read the mail.

I wound up on a long list of books from which the authors were supposed to pick, thus reviewing each other so that Ralph could deal with his backlog. I selected two and wrote back to Ralph offering to cover either those two. I didn't know it was a direct book-for-book exchange between me and the other author; I actually assumed it was not.

About two months later I received one of those books and was told that my book had a reviewer as well. I read the book and wrote a three-star review. It was an amateurish book but had some good moments. I was not all sweet to it, but I did say some good things along with the critique. Two weeks ago Ralph wrote that he liked my review and was going to put it up, but he hasn't.

Yesterday he sent me an advance copy of the review of my book with the vague comment "In case it might be useful to you." The review was written by the same guy whose book I had reviewed, another indie author. I'll call him "George" because of his similarities to George W. Bush. It was nasty beyond belief. Two pages of unrelenting vicious remarks. It seemed immediately clear to me that George had read my review some weeks before, and gotten hurt, and decided to unload on me.

So I wrote to Ralph and asked him not to post my review of George's book, and then, after some reflection, I wrote to George, extending an olive branch, saying sorry for not having written to him after I did the review of his book, telling him I had withdrawn my review, and asking him to withdraw his.

No answer from George. So I facebooked George this morning, trying again. Then I wrote to Ralph and filled him in on the situation.

So I ask you guys:

1) D'ya think it's a good idea to have people mutually reviewing each other without telling them that's what's going on?
2) D'ya think that if two people review each other, one of them should see the other's review before writing his own?
3) D'ya think it's mature to lash out at a guy's book because you don't like what he wrote about yours?

I can certainly put on my dunce cap for this one, but if I do, then Ralph and George need to wear bigger ones.

Back away as gracefully as you can, don't run the risk of any action of yours, harmless in your own eyes, being misinterpreted and leading to escalation of hostilities. If Ralph actually publishes the vicious review of your book, then ask him to take it down immediately on the grounds that it is personally spiteful.

There are so many raw, careless amateurs in indieland, I sometimes wonder how the good people survive.

What Andre said.

I'd also like to add that this is the sort of thing happening that puts me off reviewing books on a website and advertising that fact. Too many authors get butt hurt over the fact that people do not give them 5 stars.

In answer to your questions :

1 - No it isn't a good idea. It should be made clear that someone will be reviewing your work and you will in turn review that person's work.

2 - No I don't think that you should see your fellow reviewer's review before you write your own.

3 - Oh hell no! That only shows up the other person for being an amateur.

Overall it sounds as if Ralph either doesn't have clear guidelines about the review site or he has too much on his plate to bother.

I will also add that if any of the authors on Robust want an unbiased review, feel free to ask me for one. I'll even post it on my blog!

I agree with Claudine and Andre.

A couple years back I read this interview with this novelist who also did reviews for some big lit journal.

So, he gets a review task handed down to him by the journal editor.

The author of the book he was supposed to review, it turns out, came to his writing program when he was still in university a decade or so earlier (or something like that). She was a big wig at the time (I forgot the names of everybody involved).

She reviewed his work, dismissed it as no good, and told him, "Switch your major to economics."

He apparently struggled with whether to do some sort of "revenge" review before just putting on his big boy pants and telling his editor, "Look, I'm really biased, this person nearly drove me out of writing."

If a person can't strive toward some sort of rough objectivity, they should just not do the review.

Ralph has agreed not to post the negative review of my book. I never heard from George. Good resolution. Claudine, please have a look at The Ghost in the Crystal and see if you want to review it. Email me at schooloftheages at gmail dot com if so.

The Ghost in the Crystal

That was good of Ralph. Not so good of George.

Sometimes I get the idea that authors do not want to know what readers find wrong with their work, as if they don't want to grow.

I emailed you Matt.

That's great to hear, Matt.