Comments on: Positing a New Author-Reviewer Relationship – Sam Sykes Guest Blog

By: Elena Nola

Elena Nola — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:53:09 +0000

As someone who reviews and sometimes interviews and has paid attention to some of the “how not to review” discussions that pop up periodically, I just want to say that I enjoyed hearing an author perspective on it.

Most of my reviews tend to be positive, probably because I don’t bother finishing and then reviewing a book I’m not liking. I don’t get off on snarking about how terrible something was, which would be the only point to me in continuing to read and then discuss a book I didn’t like from early on. Sometimes I wonder if that’s why there sometimes seems to be a dearth of critical reviews…just that volunteer reviewers don’t bother reviewing what they don’t enjoy reading, and only a handful of books take you on a good ride and then dump you off at the end into Lake WTF.

That being said, I think there IS a problem in that too many of us (and I include myself in this) look at reviewing as, well, REVIEWING. giving an overview of the book, what spot of my sub-genre/sub-niche shelf it hit, and who I think might also like it, as opposed to really getting into the MEANING of it all. unfortunately delving like that often involves spoilers so it’s not “the thing to do” on a review blog. I’m curious how you (or any other authors reading this) would feel about having more article type reviews that might spoiler the crap out of your work but also give significant talking points?

By: DarthRachel

DarthRachel — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:09:30 +0000

As a reader I’d much rather read an interview or hear a podcast in which a conversation occurs. Authors are people, not story machines. That being said I willingly blind myself to the idea that authors and readers and all the people in between (reviewers/advertisers = and that circle jerk thing is right too many reviews are just plugs) are in a business relationship in which one person offers up a good and the other consumes that good.

i’d much rather think that authors are thoughtful and approachable people that would very happily discuss their work, pitfalls and all, with someone who wants to talk to them about it.

there are lots of authors that are very accessible via the internet (yay internet) that are more than happy to include their readers in their processes or just answer questions, and there are others who whine and post angry rants about how they owe their readers nothing and how dare anyone criticism anything they do (don’t like it? don’t read it! blah blah blah)

But all this basically boils down to – I like blogs and reviews on blogs. Especially because it opens the position of “reviewer” up to non-professionals who aren’t being paid to promote the bias of their employer.

By: MWStover

MWStover — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:22:31 +0000

“God knows, people who are paid to have attitudes toward things, professional critics, make me sick; camp-following eunuchs of literature. They won’t even whore. They’re all virtuous and sterile. And how well meaning and high minded. But they’re all camp-followers.”

— Ernest Hemingway, in a letter to Sherwood Anderson, 1925

While I don’t personally go as far as the Esteemed Hem, I do confess to occasionally posting links to monumentally terrible reviews on my blog, usually without comment, as ignorance is generally self-explanatory. I’ve been known to do the same with uncomplimentary “fan” mail.

Try it. It’s less embarrassing than arguing with them and produces much the same effect.