Authors can win all the awards they want and readers still have the right (without bad karma return) of stating publicly what they think of that book.

I agree with everything MPH said. And I also agree with you, Jane, when it comes to reviews. Readers need them and want them. Writers can learn from them…even the bad ones. But I’m talking about real reviews, not book roasts where excerpts are taken out of context and the writer is made to look like a fool. Maybe you’ve never seen any “reviews” like this? I don’t know. But I know for a fact this happens, and I know you wouldn’t disagree with me, because you’re such an excellent reviewer yourself. You’d never review/roast a book based on petty jealousy or a hidden personal agenda. You’re much too professional for that. And I’m certainly not including you when I mention this. I have too much respect for what you’re doing here.

Authors can win all the awards they want and readers still have the right (without bad karma return) of stating publicly what they think of that book.

1. Authors can win all the awards they EARN, not all the awards they want.

2. Regarding bad karma, intent is everything when it comes to karma. If a reviewer is peeved when a book does not meet his/her expectation and hurls abuse towards the book, the author, etc.. you can believe two things: a) God don’t like ugly and b) God reads book reviews.

Jane, I am not talking about professional (or at least professionally minded0 reviewers who are able and willing to read an entire book and to provide an articulate and intelligent evaluation of the work’s good points in addition to any failings in question.

Perhaps you noticed in my earlier post I thanked reviewers for their time and effort. As a writer, I am going to evaluate a review for my own work based upon how it might prove beneficial to me.

A review clearly meant to mock or denigrate the book is not “for” the author, nor is it “for” the readers. Such reviews are self-indulgent, and like self-indulgent books, are insignificant to people with critical thinking skills. I don’t know any unintelligent people who are regular readers. I don’t know any regular readers who are easily susceptible to irrational opinions presented in a manner poorly formed and lacking a degree of professional self-control.

A reviewer having a “meltdown” or other comparable “fit” over a book s/he strongly disliked or could not relate to is no different than a toddler having a temper tantrum in the mall. Passers-by may turn their heads and notice, some may feel concern, empathy, annoyance, or other emotion towards the child for being disruptive and making noise, but ultimately they go on about their business and the child and his tantrum are delegated to where they belong. Forgetfulness.

I thought that was funny, and great karma. I hope the writer eventually comes out and talks about it so people will begin to question this reviewer's credentials. But most writers don't like to do that. And, I guess it's not really worth the time or energy. He won the award. She's still hocking poorly written book roasts as thinly veiled reviews.

Bingo. An opinion is only as valuable as the intent and the integrity of its owner. Have I had a good laugh at some rather vile reviews? Absolutely. They are what they are, meant to draw attention and to express strong opinions. Has it affected my decision to purchase and/or read a book? No. The “flamey” style reviews can even benefit an author since they attract attention more than a bland review might. You know the old saying “All publicity is good publicity.”

As for the well-received award winning author, why should s/he be bothered addressing the “flame” review of a person who is utterly insignificant to his/her career? As you know, writing is involved time-consuming work and most productive happy well-adjusted people do not make time for negative insignificant people.

Authors can win all the awards they want and readers still have the right (without bad karma return) of stating publicly what they think of that book.

I thought that was funny, and great karma. I hope the writer eventually comes out and talks about it so people will begin to question this reviewer’s credentials. But most writers don’t like to do that. And, I guess it’s not really worth the time or energy. He won the award. She’s still hocking poorly written book roasts as thinly veiled reviews.

The only value reviews have are the following: 1) if constructive and specific, a writer can benefit and 2) a favorable review MAY (and this is a big MAY) help increase sales.

If the agenda of the review has any other purpose (ie, entertainment for the reviewer/readers, roasting an author, etc.) it is essentially useless and not worth bothering with.

I read a poll some time ago indicating that although readers may read reviews, a sizeable number of readers are not influenced by the reviews as far as their purchasing decisions. That makes sense to me, I’m a voracious reader and I don’t think I’ve ever stopped buying a book that I thought seemed interesting because of an unfavorable review. For that matter, I’ve bought and read books with unfavorable reviews that I considered good reads. *shrugs* So beyond the publicity/advertising the review doesn’t serve much purpose.

Use professional objectivity. The book may not be your cup of tea and that's all right and if you can identify that the book has good points and may appeal to others, wonderful. Please say so.

I couldn’t agree with you more. But sometimes that’s not the way it works. Different people have different agendas, and objectivity disappears. I read a review recently that was more like a book roast instead of a review.

Writers have to learn how to deal with all kinds of reviews, and not take the mean, vicious ones to heart. Bad reviews, written objectively, usually help the writer produce better work. But when it comes to the mean, subjective reviews, the writer just has to learn how to smile and take the heat…hard as that sounds.
Good luck with your book. And try not to take the petty things, when they come, too seriously :)

It never even occurred to me.

I did email Meredith Duran recently to ask if Duke of Shadows was available in an ebook and she responded that it wasn’t but that her new books would be. She then very kindly offered one of her author copies if I had trouble finding it it in paper form locally (I am in South Australia). I didn’t have any luck so I emailed her back and offered to pay for the book and the postage but she declined the payment and sent me the book anyway.

I was very touched by her kindness and enjoyed the book too.

But, srsly? – people just ASK for them? Wow, you learn something new every day I guess…

Please exercise consistency. You are free to like or to not like my book and I prefer you provide honest consistent statements supporting your position. Giving me a 5 star rating and then terming my book “boring” makes no earthly sense. I cannot market the book with that review, nor can I analyze and improve my craft based upon that kind of a review (“Gee, my book’s very good but it’s boring. How do I fix that? Write a bad non-boring book?”) Use professional objectivity. The book may not be your cup of tea and that’s all right and if you can identify that the book has good points and may appeal to others, wonderful. Please say so.

Reviewer Don’t:

I’ve written a lesbian romance. We all know this genre hasn’t found its footing in the epublishing world. If you agree to review an unpopular genre book and you like the book and give it a favorable rating/review, stand by your position. I have multiple reviews for my ebook where it almost sounds like the reviewers are apologizing for liking the book due to its genre. (“It’s a good book, even if it is *insert genre*.”

If you’re uncomfortable providing an opinion about a particular genre, you can always decline to review that genre.

And finally, I’d like to thank all reviewers for taking the time to consider and read books and provide their opinions and recommendations on them. Your time is valuable and authors appreciate you very much.

As a reader, even if the characters and plot of a story are detestable, there is always some redeeming quality in writing. I have never read anything where every single line is trash. When criticising, remember to reflect on the good points, even if they are few and far between. I think this adds weight to your other, more critical comments as it is obvious you aren’t just trying to tear something apart and readers of the review are more likely to take you seriously.

Re: Authors/reviewers recommending friends’ books. Romancelandia is such an open-hearted community, I’d think it would be hard to avoid becoming friendly with your reviewers/commenters.

Re: Owing and gratitude. Finely adapted symbiosis is funny that way.

/hijack

I agree that we’re lucky to be in a growing and popular genre, writers and readers alike. That symbiosis between writer and reader is wonderful, and I think it is why some of us are drawn to blogging and social networking — we learn more about the people on the other side of that relationship. That puts us in a position to be disappointed if they don’t live up to our expectations, such as when a writer gets unprofessional, or a reader/reviewer gets nasty and personal. It’s a two-edged sword for sure.

I for one am very grateful that there are authors who write the books I want to read!! Including Nora Roberts and a bunch of others.

My hubby only reads hard SF. Oh, he’ll make an exception for somebody like Gaiman and he adores Bujold. But hard SF is his love. And hard SF is becoming rarer than hen’s teeth. (He hates the Star War/Star Trek authorized fan fic stuff.) In fact with Father’s Day coming up, I’m considering replacing his toolbox rather than trying to find a new book or two.

So when we go to the back of the BN where they “hide” the romance books, be grateful (all of us) for the 5 full racks of different styles of romance books.

When I hit SF, they shelve romance books that are paranormal or futuristic there just so the shelves don’t seem empty. I can just imagine bringing home a shapeshifter romance for my husband. Fan meet—-oh, never mind.

There will be days when an author flips out and rages at a reviewer. Reviewers are easy targets for authors.

There are exceptions, but it’s usually the new authors who do this. Those of us who’ve been around for a while, and will continue to be around in the future, smile and move on. :)

Ms. Roberts owed me nothing. I owed her nothing. I bought the book (and broke a vow to buy only ebooks in 2009–but hey, it was in Target and on sale) with my eyes wide open. I knew the length, the price, the genre, and there was a good blurb that gave me a sense of what the book was about. I’ve read a bazillion of her books, so I’d come to expect at the very least that it wouldn’t be a wallbanger. It wasn’t. If it was? Well, that would have been my opinion, and still, she wouldn’t owe me anything.

The result of this purchase is that I look forward to the next in the series. Am I obliged to buy it? Hell no. Is she obliged to put it out quickly? Hell no.

As for reviews: I sometimes review friends’ books, but I always, always say whether I’m the friend of the author, and only post recommendations, and why. If I can’t recommend the book, I don’t review it. So I’m not a “real” reviewer.

My reviewer pet peeves: “This wasn’t erotic enough.” “I think this should have been a m/m.” If a book isn’t marketed as erotic romance, don’t judge the story on the erotic content. Finally, “The heroine wasn’t kick-ass.” Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

At the start of your writing career, it is mostly family members and friends making the requests. It’s almost like winning the lottery in the fact that people who are quite distant from you end up appearing with their hands out.

I remember being hounded by a woman for a free copy because a) we had just started working together at a place, and most importantly, b) I’d been a friend of her uncle twenty years previously, so, we are kinda like family, right? Needless to say, I brought in a copy for my co-workers to share amongst each other and…it magically disappeared. Hmmm, wonder who took it?

Later on comes the reader requests for free books. But see, most of those people do it regularly with a wide variety of authors. It’s like coupon clipping to them.