Saturday 9 April 2016

Leaving bad reviews














I don't like leaving bad reviews. I'm no writer, but I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into writing and getting a novel published, much less the heart and soul that gets poured into a book. I'm pretty sure my little blog doesn't register particularly high on many radars, but even so, I feel a prickle of guilt leaving less than glowing reviews for books. And if I got the book on free review, the guilt goes up another notch.

I think it's important to be honest in my reviews. Wall to wall five stars reviews don't mean anything, I might as well go on to Goodreads and five star every book I read, and like my disclaimer says; all views and opinions are my own. My reviews ratings are great, good, average, bad, terrible. They're loved, liked, ok, didn't enjoy, hated. Just because I don't like a book, doesn't mean it's not a good book and doesn't mean someone else wouldn't love it and give it five stars. I try and make sure my reviews are balanced and about the bits I didn't enjoy, as opposed to dismissing anything as rubbish. But still...the guilt...I need a box of kittens on standby for when I click post.


I've luckily only come across two books for review which I one-starred, some I haven't liked and others I've been fairly indifferent to. But my latest one star review made me feel a little guilty. It was a debut author with a fairly new novel, but I just really, really didn't enjoy the book. Giving one star to Allegiant by Veronia Roth seemed easier, maybe because she's a best-selling author with a multi-million dollar film franchise to her name. Even so, I try and stick to a couple of basic rules of human decency when critiquing books.

Don't get nasty
When I beta read, I'm super careful to word my criticisms carefully. There are ways of saying things constructively and tactfully. "It was crap", "how did this get published", "x is a terrible writer". I've seen these and more, there's no need for it.

Don't get personal
It really bothers me when people say "so and so can't write for sh*t" or "so and so is talentless/lazy/a rip-off etc". I'm happy(ish) to criticise lazy plot developments and characters that seem ... "inspired" by more popular, successful ones, but criticise the writing, not the writer.

Don't get snarky
I admit, I enjoy reading a good snarky review. I gave myself a stomach ache laughing so hard at some of the epically snarky one star reviews of Fifty Shades Of Grey on Goodreads. But even if I utterly despised a book, I couldn't bring myself to write anything like that because I can imagine how I'd feel if it was my novel and someone was tearing into it. If you're a millionaire living it up on the NYT bestseller list these things probably don't worry you so much, but if it was me, that stuff would sting!


Keep it balanced
Even in a complete lost cause of a book, I can usually find something I liked. And I don't use the phrase "lost cause" in my review!

Try and find something nice to say
I was always told if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all. And I've been tempted to skip a review if I didn't really like the book. But I wouldn't think of myself as much of a blogger if I couldn't or wouldn't say anything that could be perceived as negative.

Put it down
I don't think there's anything wrong with DNF-ing books you just don't get one with. Life's too short to read bad books! If I'd promised an author a review, I'd get in touch and say I just wasn't feeling it, otherwise, I'd just stick it on Amazon and get started on the next thing in my tbr pile. Whether or not I'd review what I'd read and call it a DNF is another thing entirely, one I've not had to deal with yet ...

Does anyone else struggle writing, and especially posting, bad or even just less than glowing reviews? What are your coping methods?

15 comments:

  1. I totally agree with this post. I hate writing negative reviews, but when I do, I try not to be too nasty in them.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. It's tricky. I wouldn't consider myself much of a reviewer if I couldn't critique books, but I disliked the last book I read so much I couldn't honestly give it more than one star, but I did try and steer clear of slating the author or the writing. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of some of the nastier reviews I've read!

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  2. I agree. It is hard to give negative reviews. But I do think giving an honest opinion is a good thing. I have learned the hard way to not tag the author on Twitter unless it is a GLOWING review. I gave what I thought was a good review (but with some criticisms) and the author still got all offended. Oh well. Great Post!

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    1. Thank you Ardis! I don't tag the author on Twitter unless the review is four stars or more. I imagine it's awful having someone slate your work, but if you put things out there you have to respect/expect opinions and reactions. That's a shame, but they've probably lost a sale on any other books they write since I don't imagine you'd want to read anything else by them, much less review it!

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  3. I am a writer. I have had been dnf'ed and gotten poor reviews, but they were helpful, not hurtful. I greatly appreciate these reviewers.
    I got a bad review from one person, but it was mean spirited and on the border of being a personal attack. It really hurt my feelings and shook my confidence. I came very close to unpublishing my books and quit writing altogether. I then saw on Goodreads that this same reviewer had 1-starred all of my books without having read them. I suddenly felt better! His unprofessional behaviour led me to discount his opinion. :-)

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    1. That's such a shame! The internet doesn't have a great reputation for bringing out the best in people, but you can usually spot an honest negative review from a troll venting their spleen. Ignore people like that, you don't need their opinion! And don't get disheartened by bad reviews/DNFs, even the best and most popular books and series have their haters. That's the great thing about books, they're so open to interpretation that everyone reads their own story.

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  4. I felt like this too, and I've stopped writing bad reviews now. I only review books I can give 3 or more stars on my blog, and if I really don't like/DNF something I just put a little bit on Goodreads saying why. I feel less bad that way and don't have to struggle to write a bad review or find positives in the negatives.

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    1. I'm glad it's not just me! Luckily I don't often find myself having to leave bad reviews or less than three stars, but I think it's important to be honest. I've not had a DNF yet, not sure how I'll deal with that! The last book I read I gave one star to, but I'd paid nearly £15 for it (it was a hardback copy with postage because I couldn't find it in a bookshop) so there was no way I wasn't going to read it right to the end and get my moneys worth!

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  5. Great post! I agree - I HATE writing any negative reviews, and on the rare occasion I do I try to balance it out with the things I liked. However If I thought a book truly had no redeeming qualities, then I don't review it simply because I don't want to trash someone else hard-done piece of writing! At the end of the day, just because I don't like something doesn't mean someone else won't...

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    1. I've read some really nasty reviews on Goodreads, slating the author not the writing. I like a good snark, but there's no need to get personal!

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  6. I couldnt agree more! A bad review can be as helpful as a good review, it does not need to be hurtful though. I get upset when I see bad reviews that say nasty things about the author or suggest that everyone should steer clear of the book. Someone else might really enjoy it and even if you didnt thats no reason to bully the author. A review is defined as "a formal assessment or examination of something with the possibility or intention of instituting change if necessary." Key word formal, there is nothing formal about being rude. I don't think a review should be confused with a rant, and rant to a friend not in the public pool we call the internet.

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    1. Well said! I'm certainly not above ranting to friends about books, among other things, that I don't like, but there's a time and place. A well-written, constructive negative review is fine, but I've seen a lot that I think cross the line into outright bullying. I think if you wouldn't be willing to say something in person, it's not something you should be saying online, or anywhere else for that matter.

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  7. I agree with most of this, apart from the snark - a snarky review is more likely to persuade me to pick up that book despite the negative review.
    Cora @ Tea Party Princess

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    1. Ha ha! I have to admit to enjoying a bit of snark once in a while, but I haven't yet felt the urge to pick up a book because of it. I feel like I enjoy the reviews more than I would the actual story!

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  8. I hate writing negative reviews for review copies, especially debut author books. I am guilty of a lot of these things though when I review really popular books I didn't like. Like City of Bones, mostly because with it's thousands of 5/5 reviews on Goodreads, my negative review is probably not going to make much difference haha. But, yes, if it is a review copy or debut author then I hate posting a negative review.

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