So there seems to be a few authors going rogue in the blogging community and attacking those giving them what they see as negative reviews.
For the posts I've seen this happen in, the reviews are not out-of-line and are not personally attacking the authors, yet the authors took it upon themselves to attack the blogger along with others in the comment sections.
So my question is...
What do you think about Authors attacking Bloggers/Reviewers for giving well thought out negative reviews?
Do you think an Author has a right to contact the Blogger/Reviewer when a negative review is given? Do you think there is a right way and wrong way to do this? Do you think no negative reviews should be posted?
You get the picture, right? So tell me what you think!
What do I think?
I think that an Author has every right to contact a Blogger/Reviewer when posting either a positive or a negative review for clarification, comment, praise or question. I do, however, believe Bloggers/Reviewers have the right to give negative reviews when displayed in a respectful and well thought out manner and in turn deserve the same well thought out email/comment and the same level of respect when an Author wishes to contact them. With this, I think any negative conversation should be done in private, in an email, and that it should never include attacking either party. I also believe that there should be no negative correspondence done in the comments sections of the blog, defacing possibly both the Author or the Blogger/Reviewer.
Not all books will appeal to all people. No one picks up a book to be purposefully disappointed or let down. The fact someone sat down and read the whole book then took the time to write a review is respect enough, especially if they do it in a favorable manner, explaining themselves well. Reviews are opinions. Bloggers/Reviewers are all allowed to have them. While it may hurt as an author to see someone who didn't grasp what you were going for, as long as that Blogger/Reviewer didn't personally attack the Author's character, I think an author should respect their opinion. A fair written negative review does not merit an Author to slash the blogger's character, curse at them, or attack them in email.
I think there is a fine line between acceptable reviews and reviews that are better left off of the blog. I also believe there is a fine line between an Author contacting a Blogger/Reviewer over a negative review and what would be attacking them.
It really is a sticky situation. I just think that attacking of any kind, from either party, should not exist. Everyone works hard, on both sides of the book. I think there should be a level of respect spread across the bookish community and unless you prove yourself not worthy of that respect (excessive attacking, bashing, etc.) that everyone needs to keep it in mind.
For the posts I've seen this happen in, the reviews are not out-of-line and are not personally attacking the authors, yet the authors took it upon themselves to attack the blogger along with others in the comment sections.
So my question is...
What do you think about Authors attacking Bloggers/Reviewers for giving well thought out negative reviews?
Do you think an Author has a right to contact the Blogger/Reviewer when a negative review is given? Do you think there is a right way and wrong way to do this? Do you think no negative reviews should be posted?
You get the picture, right? So tell me what you think!
What do I think?
I think that an Author has every right to contact a Blogger/Reviewer when posting either a positive or a negative review for clarification, comment, praise or question. I do, however, believe Bloggers/Reviewers have the right to give negative reviews when displayed in a respectful and well thought out manner and in turn deserve the same well thought out email/comment and the same level of respect when an Author wishes to contact them. With this, I think any negative conversation should be done in private, in an email, and that it should never include attacking either party. I also believe that there should be no negative correspondence done in the comments sections of the blog, defacing possibly both the Author or the Blogger/Reviewer.
Not all books will appeal to all people. No one picks up a book to be purposefully disappointed or let down. The fact someone sat down and read the whole book then took the time to write a review is respect enough, especially if they do it in a favorable manner, explaining themselves well. Reviews are opinions. Bloggers/Reviewers are all allowed to have them. While it may hurt as an author to see someone who didn't grasp what you were going for, as long as that Blogger/Reviewer didn't personally attack the Author's character, I think an author should respect their opinion. A fair written negative review does not merit an Author to slash the blogger's character, curse at them, or attack them in email.
I think there is a fine line between acceptable reviews and reviews that are better left off of the blog. I also believe there is a fine line between an Author contacting a Blogger/Reviewer over a negative review and what would be attacking them.
It really is a sticky situation. I just think that attacking of any kind, from either party, should not exist. Everyone works hard, on both sides of the book. I think there should be a level of respect spread across the bookish community and unless you prove yourself not worthy of that respect (excessive attacking, bashing, etc.) that everyone needs to keep it in mind.
So tell me, what do you think?
I completely agree with your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the author should be able to contact the Reviewer or Blogger about it if they want to. However, I don't believe either party should ever attack one another. I personally feel that Reviewers/Bloggers shouldn't blatantly attack a book and that at a minimum they should explain why they didn't like it--politely. If the author or reviewer/blogger feels the need to get in contact with the other party, it should be done over e-mail and even then, as politely as possible.
With that said, I do feel that reviewers/bloggers should be able to post negative reviews because as you said, not everyone is going to enjoy the same book.
What authors are doing this? I find it hard to write a negative review because I don't want to hurt their feelings. I hate embarrassing someone. But we should be honest, right? There definitely is a polite way to do it but I also think that some authors may just be too sensitive for the honest review.
ReplyDeleteAllison
http://www.wellreadreviews.com
I think you should be honest but remember to be polite. I always say in a negative review that its not the book for me, that way they can see that I didn't like it BUT that doesn't mean they won't like it. I try not to rip into a book because there is an author on the other side of it.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about unicorns and glitter but I doubt that is relevant :P
I agree with your post. Both parties should be respectful. Not everyone is going to love your book but, there is no need to be rude when doing a review. It's someone's opinion and if the blogger continues "attacking" then I'm sure followers will stop following. I also think it looks poorly on the author if they go into defensive mode. I've found that the majorty of bloggers who do book reviews are kind and honest in their opinion. They are a great community and as an author I'm very grateful that they take the time to put out a review.
ReplyDeleteAnn
If an author is attacking anyone for any sort of review, well-thought out or not, that's not cool. The author is definitely free to dislike the review, but s/he does not need to be all "FOO YOU DON'T LIKE MY BOOK BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID!" If the author is that upset about the review, s/he should calmly step away. Lashing out won't help anyone. I don't think any sort of attack will be beneficial to the author or the reviewer.
ReplyDeleteI think if the author and reviewer decide to engage in a respectful dialogue, it can be beneficial to both parties.
Although, I sometimes think that if an author has to say "but THIS is what I meant with that section" then the book probably wasn't intended for that particular audience so the reader might not quite "get it" (and that's totally OK, not everything is for everyone), or the author just didn't do a good job writing it in the first place. (Naturally, this is not referring to clarifying factual errors or things of the like.) Or they simply just didn't connect. It happens.
Basically, I'm not OK with rudeness and attacks, but I don't see anything wrong with the author and reviewer chatting, if they want.
Just my 2 cents.