Coming Out of the Closet
By Janine • Feb 26th, 2008 • Category: Letters of Opinion • •
The question of whether there is a divide between authors and reader/blogger/reviewers has been discussed and debated here and elsewhere. To me it seems clear that it does, at least in some quarters. Some reader/blogger/reviewers, including some of my fellow bloggers here on Dear Author, have called out some authors for behaving badly. And some authors have called out reader/blogger/reviewers for being mean girls. Recently, Janet (Robin) blogged here about her own response to some authors’ reactions to the recent Cassie Edwards scandal, saying that “It felt to me (and still does) that there was a frighteningly easy shift into reader v. author discourse.”
But nowhere, perhaps, is the rift more evident than in the relative absence from the romance community of people who bridge the gap — those who are both writers or authors, as well as bloggers and reviewers.
I don’t mean to suggest that this hybrid is completely nonexistent in the romance genre. Authors HelenKay Dimon, Alison Kent and Stephanie Feagan all write reviews for Paperback Reader. Bam is a blogger and former reviewer who is now published. There have also been some unpublished writers who have reviewed for AAR, including Kathryn Smith, Marianne Stillings and Megan Frampton, all of whom went on to be published. And there are others as well.
Still, those are a handful of women out of a far larger number of published authors and aspiring authors. It is enlightening, too, to read Frampton’s comments on her decision to stop reviewing.
…I don’t think other writers would do anything close to an objective job in terms of reviewing their peers. I know when I was writing reviews AND fiction, an author told me I had to make a choice: either I was a reader/reviewer or a writer. If I continued to do both, I would face awkward situations and possibly snubbing, etc. in the authors’ community.
A little under two years ago, there was an interesting debate on this topic on AccessRomance All-a-Blog. In comment #43, author Leslie Kelly said:
…The romance fiction industry, despite the number authors, is an *incredibly* small community. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody talks. There’s a lot of loyalty between friends and catty backstabbing between enemies. Honestly, I think a reviewer-author can be shooting themselves in the foot if they rip apart the wrong book and offend that author and alllllll her friends. And, by the way, her editor! (Um, I have personal knowledge of this one. I know an editor who will NEVER buy a particular author because that author has publicly slammed the editor’s authors & basically said their books shouldn’t have been published. Uh, EXCUSE ME? You really think the editor who bought those books is going to buy you after that???)
If a good friend of NYT bestselling author A is ripped to shreds by author/reviewer x and someday author/reviewer x wants a cover quote, or wants to do an anthology, or a miniseries, or in any way interact with NYT bestselling author…hmm–what do you think the answer will be?
And in comment #47, author Julie Leto chimed in:
And I thought I’d mention here that unpublished writers or aspiring writers who trash published books are doing themselves a disservice. My editors read reviews…and those names stick with them if the reviewer has been unfair or cruel.
Leto went on to clarify her comments in comment #56:
I’m not talking about reviewing in general. I’m talking about TRASHING.
But since she also said (to author/reviewer HelenKay Dimon) “Maybe we’re talking apples and oranges. I don’t know…but maybe what you see as an honest review I’d see as an snarky attack,” and since author/reviewer HelenKay Dimon admitted in this same thread that “I’ve gotten hate mail, two of which I viewed as threats,” (comment #70) it is with trepidation that I make my confession here today.
Here it is: I write. I’ve been writing since elementary school, and in a variety of forms. I’ve written poems, plays, short stories, and movie reviews in the past, among other things; I currently write book reviews and the occasional letter of opinion here at Dear Author. But the reason for this post is that my current writing project outside of Dear Author is also my first attempt to write a romance.
Let me take a moment to also admit that trying to write a romance, and trying to write one well, is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever attempted. What a humbling experience it is to come up against the limits of my abilities on a regular basis. It has a way of making me appreciate the effort that’s gone into each and every book that I review, whether or not that book works for me.
And here I come to the crux of the matter: I am an unpublished writer who is also a reviewer and blogger.
How did I come to be all these things? Well, I’ve been reading romances since I was thirteen. I cut my teeth on books by Johanna Lindsey, Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss and Jude Deveraux. Later I discovered Judith McNaught, and later still, Mary Jo Putney and Linda Howard. When, in my twenties, I found Laura Kinsale, I was stunned by the power of the feelings that her books evoked in me. When I discovered Patricia Gaffney a few years later with To Have and to Hold, it was electrifying.
But as much as I adored some books, I was also beginning to feel dissatisfied with many others. At thirteen, just reading about romantic and sexual love was thrilling, but by my mid to late twenties, many of the books I found in bookstores were feeling very familiar to me. I was desperately craving something new and different, something satisfying, but trying to find it by picking up books at random at the bookstore wasn’t working for me.
And so, about ten years ago, I hit the biggest romance reading slump I have ever experienced. For about a year and half, I read mainly in other genres and, except for rereading those few romances I loved and waiting for books from a handful of authors to come out, I became jaded where most of the genre was concerned.
It was around this time that I discovered the internet. For a while, I hung out in a reading community where people mostly discussed books in other genres, which is what I was reading at that time. Then, one day, I found AAR, and soon thereafter, TRR. I can’t begin to say how wonderful it was for me to find these sites: wonderful because for me, they re-opened the world of romance.
Through the recommendations of their reviewers, and in the case of AAR, of readers on their boards as well, I was once again able to find new books I loved — able to discover new-to-me authors like Mary Balogh, Carla Kelly and Connie Brockway.
If it hadn’t been for those reviews, I wouldn’t have plunged back into the romance genre, wouldn’t have realized that there were so many more good books out there than I’d been aware of before. If it hadn’t been for reviews and for the book discussions that have kept me so engaged, I would not still be an avid romance reader today, much less trying to write a romance.
As the introduction to this opinion piece makes clear, I am aware that in the romance community the majority of writers, both published and unpublished, don’t speak publicly about books that didn’t work for them or that they did not enjoy, and do not write critical reviews.
Perhaps if I had come into the romance community with the intention of being a romance writer from the beginning, I would not have done so either. But when I first discovered the romance boards, I did not intend to write a romance, and at first, I also had no awareness of the negative perceptions that some people in the community had of readers who examined in public what did and didn’t work for them in a book.
In hindsight, I wish now that over the years, I had stated some of my opinions more courteously. But I can’t, and don’t, wish that I’d never put them out there. The discussions of books with fellow readers have become a huge part of my love for the genre. And it’s partly for the readers who I’ve met and befriended that I’m now trying to write a romance as well. Because it’s in large part this ongoing internet conversation that’s seduced me and made me fall in love with this genre all over again.
When Jane and Jayne approached me about blogging for Dear Author, I was faced with a dilemma. But ultimately, I decided to join Dear Author because I liked and respected Jane and Jayne, because I wanted to see what my thoughts on books would look like in a more formal format, and because I wanted to contribute and give back in the same way that review sites had given so much to me.
I believed, and still believe, that there is a difference between thoughtful, polite criticism and bashing, and the former is what I have tried to provide here at Dear Author. I don’t know if I’ve always succeeded, but I do know that I have tried.
I know that even thoughtful, polite criticism can sometimes sting the author whose book is being examined. But I also know that one can’t publish something, be it a book, a review or an opinion piece like this one, and expect everyone who reads it to love it. Even Shakespeare didn’t get universal approbation in his time. Why then should we expect everyone to say they love a book, or else to say nothing at all? Doesn’t an open, thoughtful conversation about our differences of opinion also have something to offer us?
I believe that it does. A well thought-out review is of benefit to readers, because it can help them decide how to spend their purchasing dollars, and make them aware of books they would not have known of otherwise. It can also, of course, be a source of publicity for an author.
In addition, having had my writing workshopped in writing classes and critiqued by fellow writers, I know that the process of having your writing examined for flaws as well as strengths can be difficult, but I also know that I have grown as a writer as a result of this same process. Reviews aren’t exactly the same thing, but (at least when some thought has been put into them) they’re also not completely dissimilar.
And finally, I believe that discussions of what makes some books stronger than others can help strengthen the genre as a whole. If the best books in the genre (and I am not saying I am the arbiter of what is best — that is something that is up to the entire community to determine; my role as a reviewer is merely to help keep that discussion rolling) remain read and in print, examined and discussed, then they can only influence and inspire new writers to attempt to equal those books.
Despite all that I have said here, I reserve the right to stop reviewing if I come to some fork in the road. If I find I simply don’t have the time, or that I no longer enjoy it, or if I get published and feel that it creates a conflict of interest. I’m not saying I’ll feel that way in the future; I simply don’t know how I may feel.
For all these reasons, I do not judge anyone else who makes a different choice than the one I’ve made. But I would like to encourage writers and authors to think about what I’ve said here, and consider the possibility of putting opinions of books out in the public eye.
I know that some authors won’t even say what their favorite books are when asked to name them in an interview, and for that reason, I’m glad every time I see a writer or author pipe up to say why she loved a particular book, or explain why some aspect of another book didn’t work for her. Because it makes me feel less alone here in the blogosphere, yes, but also because I truly think that this kind of conversation is the lifeblood of a genre, and that any time writers enter into these discussions thoughtfully, they are making an important contribution to the community.
In closing, I’d like to return to last week’s topic of ethics in blogging. The reason I’m disclosing the fact that I aspire to be a romance author isn’t because I’ve suddenly become courageous. It’s because I have two friends who are about a month away from being published for the first time. Sherry Thomas and Meredith Duran aren’t just my friends, they are also my critique partners.
At one time, I thought that I could, if I disclosed my friendship with them, and if another reviewer offered a second opinion, review Meredith and Sherry’s books (The Duke of Shadows and Private Arrangements, respectively). But as their publication date has neared, I’ve become more uneasy with doing so. It could be argued, I think, that I have a conflict of interest, and I don’t want my actions to reflect badly on Dear Author.
And so, I have decided not to formally review Sherry or Meredith’s books, and to disclose my relationship with them so that if I comment on the reviews of their books in the comment sections, or mention that I think both Sherry and Meredith are immensely talented (as I do) you can all decide for yourselves whether or not to take what I say with a grain or more of salt. It seems to me that transparency is the best way to take an ethical approach to the situation.
And now, let me turn this over to all of you. What are your thoughts on the possibility of a backlash to writers and authors who choose to review? Is it real or, as a friend of mine suggests, merely imagined? What are your thoughts on the role of the ongoing conversation about books? What do you think about unpublished writers as reviewers, published authors as reviewers, authors commenting on books, reviewers reviewing their friends, or any other topic that came up in this post?
Janine loves character-driven books written in lyrical prose. Attention to pacing is also important to her. Her favorite novel in the romance genre is Patricia Gaffney's fabulous To Have and to Hold. She also adores books by Laura Kinsale, Judith Ivory, and Sharon Shinn, among others. She'll read any genre of romance, as well as a smattering of fantasy, YA, mystery, chick lit, science fiction and short stories, but is most drawn to historical romance. Recently, Janine has begun trying to write a romance herself, and this is one of the hardest things she has ever done. She may or may not be biased, judge for yourself, but she thinks that her critique partners, Sherry Thomas and Meredith Duran, are two of the most talented new writers to come along in the romance genre in this or any other year.
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I don’t have time to add reviewing to my To Do list, all other considerations aside. I do discuss and recommend books I’m enjoying in my blog and online, and will continue to do so. If a book didn’t work for me, chances are I never got past chapter one so not much to talk about. I think people have to make up their own minds about what works for them, whether author, unpublished writer, reviewer, reviewing friend, etc.
Janine, since I was “called out” on my comments, I’ll clarify the point you quoted. I’ve really already said all I ever intend to say on the topic.
A negative review and a trash review are two different things.
A negative review, to me, sounds like this: “The plot devices simply did not work and defied a logical progression. Why would the hero hate the heroine simply because her eyes were blue? That made the hero too shallow for me to identify with and ruined the reading experience.”
Trash review: “Oh, my God! This author is such a moron. She must be sleeping with her editor if this sort of trash is getting published! I could do it so much better. I mean, who could hate someone just because of their eye color? Pullleeease!!”
Big difference!
And if you’ve never read a trash review like that–well, suffice it to say that I have, in the blog of aspiring writers who are also very vocal not only about the fact that they write, but also naming the editor they are aspiring to write for. I just think this is very poor behavior.
But it’s not the same as writing a negative review. I’ve gotten negative reviews here at Dear Author and maybe I’ve been lucky, but the reviews were not hateful. One particular that I’m thinking of actually brought up a very good point for me and I wished I could have fixed that aspect of the book before it was published, LOL!
So I think an honest review, for an aspiring writer, is one thing. A “neener-neener” review is something else.
And borrowing from Forrest Gump, “And that’s all I have to say about that.”
Adding I don’t have time either for reviewing–nor the inclination. I want to write books, not reviews.
I have no problem with writers–pubbed or not–who do. It’s a choice.
But I will say another reason–way down the list from time and inclination–I don’t is I have a name. Whether you like my stuff or not, I have a name in the industry. If I don’t like a book, it’s my personal taste, opinion. I express it, and it’s public. It could very well influence a chunk of potential readers not to buy the book I didn’t care for. Doesn’t strike me as fair.
I have, quite often, spoken of books I do like. I’ve actually done two reviews on request. Believe me when I say they were very hard work. I want to focus my very hard work on writing books.
Hey, as long as authors are still writing and publishing, what they do in their free time is up to them. If they want to do reviews, go for it.
How they do their reviews, though, should be thoughtful. How’s the quote go? “The toes you step on today may belong to the person whose ass you kiss tomorrow.” Something like that… In other words, if you rip apart Author X’s latest book in a review, chances are you shouldn’t later approach that same author for a cover quote when she’s a bestselling author and your work is about to be published. I’m not saying pull a Harriet and automatically love everything. But if you’re an author and you’re going to critique other authors’ books, be thoughtful.
And, in this spirit, if you’re a reviewer, and you become a published author, it’s possible that authors whose books you critiqued previously may not be overly helpful to you now. (Helpful how, you ask? Cover quotes, blog tours, cross-promotional opportunities, panels at conventions, name dropping during signings…the list, and it’s an ever-growing one, goes on.) That’s just how it goes. That absolutely shouldn’t stop you from doing reviews — if you enjoy reviewing, and you’re good at it, and you have a readership, please don’t stop! But yes, there is a chance it may bite you on the derrière when you become an author.
As for book discussions/authors commenting on books — I love book clubs. Entire conversations about specific books…ah, bliss! Good times, people. I’ve found that when I participate in book clubs when they’re discussing my books, it’s helpful to me (talk about useful feedback: nothing beats a face-to-face review of your book, warts and all) and it’s entertaining to the book club members (they get the nitty gritty behind why I chose that character’s name, whether the demon queen is loosely based on my mom or not, and other little-known facts).
Does there need to be disclosure when they review author friends? Dunno. Should there be? I think so — hard to do an impartial review when the author is on your List of Five.
A thoughtful post as always, Janine. From what I’ve seen around the internet, I don’t think that most writers see writers reviewing as a negative. It’s all in how it’s approached. There are always the stray vindictive oddball characters who rip others’ books apart, they’re disliked and doing themselves a disservice by their attitude.
But most reviews are done in a thoughtful way, and yours always epitomize that. I don’t think anyone could be upset for having their book considered as serious literature and treated with the respect you always do.
I guess that’s the key. If a reviewer respects the author, even if disagreeing with how she wrote the book, then unless the author is one of the stray odd ones the reviewer will be respected in return.
By the way, kudos to you for having the courage to do the right thing and letting people know your connection with the other two authors.
Funny this topic should come up. I was just talking a friend about this yesterday. Well, to me, there’s reviewing and then there’s snarking/trashing. If you’re going to review a book you didn’t like, you can be constructive about it without tearing the book–and the author–to shreds. The only time I review a book that I didn’t totally like is if I’ve made a commitment to do so. Otherwise, I prefer to not review those books and just review the ones I enjoyed very much. There is no reason an author can’t review a book, particularly if they follow proper etiquette in doing so–respect those as you’d have those respect you.
I think authors can still be bloggers/reviewers for this reason — every author starts out as a reader. Love of books and stories is what drives people to write their own. Getting published doesn’t take away that love — and it shouldn’t take away someone’s right to comment on books/publishing/whatever.
I bore my significant other to tears talking about books and authors and publishing. Having a blog lets me communicate with others about books, which are one of my main passions in life.
That being said, blogging/reviewing can be a tricky tightrope to walk. You want to express yourself honestly, but you need to be professional too because you are an author. It’s a business like any other, with good days and bad days and consequences for doing something stupid and inappropriate.
I agree with the others that there’s a big difference between reviewing and trashing. Calmly, rationally discussing what did or didn’t work for you in a book is completely different than saying an author is just stupid for writing such mindless drivel. I might not like a book for whatever reason, but I always, always respect the time and energy an author put into crafting it. To me, respect is what it’s all about.
I think it’s more of a conflict of interest than a backlash. The more you write, and the more people you know, the harder it is for a writer to review a book and not have some kind of baggage. If you are in the habit of reviewing everything you read, will you go soft on your friends and stick it to your enemies? Give a slight edge to books edited by people you want to submit to? Be too hard on people who break your favorite craft rules? Or will you pick on them for mistakes you see in your own work, and are hypersensitive to, but that don’t bother other people?
And if you do a negative review, dig a little too deep and slice into a vein on some author, are you prepared to have them do the same thing to you next week? It’s not so much backlash, as it is karma. Some negative criticism is only a matter of opinion. And some comments from another writer will boil down to “I wouldn’t have done it this way,” which is true, but not particularly useful.
As far as craft issues go, I’d much rather get and give honest critiquing before the book is published, than point out the flaws after it is too late for the writer to fix them. IMHO, it’s more useful to Beta read for a few people who you really ‘get’, than it is to review a lot of people whose work leaves you cold.
I don’t see anything wrong with gushing when you really like a book. As long as the gushing is sincere. This is not because I like everything and think the world needs continual sunshine. It’s just that, if I loathe a book, I do not finish it. If I’m lukewarm on it, it’s probably only getting 3 chapters before it goes into the library donation box. I am busy, and impatient.
The more I write, the pickier I get. My focus has shifted from pleasure reading to plot structure or weird trivialities. I get angrier than I used to, when I feel an author is wasting my time with a bad book. While it might be entertaining to go on line and vent my spleen, is it really fair to review someone on a day when I am ‘in a mood’ and hate everyone, including kids and puppies?
Frankly, I’d rather snark about movies, or Oscar dresses. I have no personal stake in those, but very strong opinions.
Janine, first off, good luck with your book. ;)
My honest opinion is that reviews on Dear Author can be negative, they can be brutally honest and yes, a little harsh.
But dissecting a book to pieces is a far cry from saying, “This book goes beyond sucking. The writer is a total waste of oxygen and her editor must have crap for brains to have published her.” This is trashing.
Dissecting a book, critiquing it, is not trashing. They can certainly be hard to read, but I would hope most authors can recognize the difference between an honest review, even an honest review with some harsh insights, and a trashing attack against the author, the book, their editor, the cover art and their mom’s dog. I’d imagine that editors do recognize the difference.
You may have authors holding a grudge over negative reviews that try to use this, poke at you, jab at you, etc, etc etc, but the sad fact of the matter is even if you hadn’t been reviewing before you started writing, chances are you’re going to encounter some petty types anyway. Writers are people and you’ll find the same pettiness among writers that you find anywhere else in life.
The only thing is you can is just not let it affect you.
Me, I don’t review books because I either enjoy a book or I don’t. I have no desire to explore just why it didn’t work, or why it did. But I’m glad there are reviews available from people who do just that. Helps me when I’m trying to decide what to buy or not.
Congratulations on your writing! I don’t know if I’ll ever be published, and I’m beginning to think that I, personally, would rather keep writing as a hobby, than aggressively pursue yearly contracts… but the doing of it - even if only occasionally - enriches my life and gives me a bigger viewpoint on the world and the books I read. I’m sure you’ve noticed the same thing.
I also feel that, if the reviews are all honest and stated politely, as yours always are, than you have little to fear from the community in general. I’ve been following this blog for about eight months, I think, and I’ve never seen a review that someone could rightfully get offended at.
I also, agree, that it’s OFTEN the negative reviews (at least on Amazon) that I use to determine whether or not I’d enjoy the book. I, too, am suspicious of all 5-star reviews. What book is there that EVERYONE likes, after all? I must assume that there are people who aren’t going to like the books that I like… and it’s the negative reviews that often tell me which group I’ll be in on a particular book. I mean… if a reviewer says that they got tired of the couple arguing the whole way through the book, then I know I probably will, too. But if the reviewer says that they weren’t satisfied because the sexual tension built, and then the door was closed on the wedding night… I know I’ll probably like it, because that is MY preference.
Keep reviewing as you all have been - politely explaining why certain parts of books didn’t work for you - and I think you have little to fear.
Janine, welcome out of the closet!
I have always enjoyed your reviews tremendously, even when I don’t agree with them. I think you are one of the most courteous, articulate, and well-reasoned reviewers in the genre and that opinion has nothing to do with our friendship–your body of reviews speaks for itself.
And I just want to say here that although Janine and I are good friends–our friendship long predates her tenure here at DA–and occasional critique partners, I do not know any of the other reviewers at DA very well. In fact, with the exception of Jane, whom I met briefly at RWA Dallas in 2007, I do not know any of them at all.
And while Janine did critique my ambitious, unpublished manuscript about a half-Chinese, half-English girl martial art expert, and also more recently my sophomore book, she was not involved at all at any point in the writing or editing process of PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS.
I would have loved to read what she has to say, in a formal review setting, about PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS. But I have nothing but respect for her decision not to review it.
And once again, welcome out of the closet, Janine!
P.S. I just noticed your new avatar now. LOL.
Frankly, I’d rather snark about movies, or Oscar dresses. I have no personal stake in those, but very strong opinions.
And conversely, I have more strong opinions about books than I do about movies (I was telling a friend that I didn’t watch the Oscars because they have no relevance in my life as I haven’t seen a movie in a theatre except for Ratatouille) or Oscar dresses. I am really entertained by snark and I do think that reviews, really entertaining well done reviews, are sort of literary piece in their own right.
I think the trash/bash distinction is very difficult because some authors (not anyone who comments here) take any type of criticism as an affront. It is the ones who do not speak out who Janine might have more from which to fear. But, I do think that editors are business people too and if the work is good enough, I think an editor would likely overlook the fact that you might have been fierce about one of her books in the past.
I’ve had less time for reviewing and blogging lately myself, and there’s a possibility that I will be taking on some extra work soon that will cut even more into the time I put into Dear Author, so I completely understand.
I’ll have to check out your blog sometime, Charlene.
That is often the case for me too, at least with most of the books that would have gotten a D or an F from me had I forced myself to finish them. I have however given C reviews and even a few DNF reviews (to books that I got far enough into to be able to give a description of the plot). I always try to find the strengths of a book as well as its weaknesses and describe both in my reviews, regardless of the grade.
Oh yes, absolutely, which is why I said that I reserve the right to stop reviewing and that I don’t judge anyone for making a different choice. It’s completely a matter of how it fits into that individual’s life. That doesn’t change the fact that I would love to see more authors engaging in thoughtful discussions and dissections of books, though.
There are a lot of things that can influence an editor against you and not all of them are the book in front of her.
Track record is important because most publishers are interested in a series of books, linked or not, and they want to know the author is capable of doing more than one book a year.
So reviewing and blogging history could actually help. It shows you can work regularly.
But - there are so very many writers jostling for ever-decreasing publishing slots that many are terrified that if they do anything wrong, you’re out. It’s not true. I think an author with a point of view is a refreshing thing.
I’m a stickler for historical accuracy (no! you cry. Who would have believed that?) and I know that sometimes my views aren’t received nicely. There is one publisher whose doors are forever closed to me. But in a polite way. Nothing is ever said, and if we ever encounter each otehr, it’s a cordial meeting. They do very well with their books, and the best of luck to them.
Do I regret it? Not really. I do feel passionately that the history of my country deserves a bit of respect and as a reader, I love reading a well-written historical romance (the history’s spot on, the central couple are interesting and the story is believable and engrossing).
Which is why I started writing. But that’s another story.
I think your status as a reviewer could actually work for you. You review mine sometimes and you haven’t liked everything you’ve read, but that’s fine, because if you don’t like the book, you say why and the reason is always understandable (but I will still write what I do, sorry and all that, but I can’t please everybody all the time!) Those kind of reviews are great, because when the reviewer says she likes it, you know she’s telling the truth!
Julie, I didn’t mean to call you out! I apologize if it seems that way. I quoted you, Megan Frampton, Leslie Kelly and HelenKay Dimon because I wanted to frame my thoughts on reviewing as a writer in the context of what I had seen and read online.
Actually the first draft of this piece was written without any quotes, but then I showed it to a friend who said that readers might not understand my trepidation about admitting to being a writer, and she suggested that I had to give that apprehension context. I thought that was good feedback, and I felt that using quotations would be the best way to frame my thoughts and feelings, because the words of several people have more authority than my words alone would have.
Thanks so much for clarifying. I really appreciate that. As I said in the piece, I always make an effort to put thought into my reviews and explain what did and didn’t work for me in a book. I don’t know if I always succeed, but I always make the effort.
I have read the kind of reviews that you describe, but generally I see them on Amazon. I’ve never seen one on a writer blog, but I don’t doubt what you are saying. It does seem like foot-shooting behavior to name the editor of a book after giving it that kind of treatment.
I’m glad to hear that, because it shows that the review was thoughtful. I think that we all try to give concrete reasons why a book did or did not work for us. With that said, we also all have different styles of writing our reviews here.
Thanks again for providing the clarification.
I think this discussion cycles back to the general idea that women ought to be nice to each other; the argument that to be a ‘good sister’ one doesn’t pee on others in the ’sisterhood’ (aka say something not positive).
I find this regrettable, because that knee-jerk, all happy Harriet type behavior is not doing the romance readers and authors any favors in the long run and is part of the reason why we aren’t taken seriously by other, mainly male, audiences/the general public.
In a more general manner, this is also reflected in the public’s perception of women - such as a woman shouting in a business situation being considered ‘hysterical’ or a ‘bitch’, while a male would be considered ’strong’ or ‘forceful’. Women are considered peacemakers and not being conciliatory/nice is not properly ‘womanly’.
Several people made the distinction that constructive negative reviews are okay, but not snarky ones, but what is considered constructive and what’s not is very subjective and everybody will have a different threshold when evaluating this.
And quite honestly, I’ve seen authors get all nasty about constructive negative reviews, where not a word of snark or shredding/trashing was in evidence.
I believe a reason why participation on at least one romance list has dropped over the years was a recurrent, on occasion acrimonious, discussion that erupted when readers who shared negative sentiments on a book were slapped upside down by, mostly, other readers for insulting the author’s ‘baby’ and taken to task for their ‘cruelty’ in voicing a less than gushing opinion.
While I understand the dynamic of ‘if you are mean to me (as I perceive it) today, I’ll not be nice to you later on’, I have to admit I feel this attitude limits us by keeping less than stellar works published and taking up slots for better-written books by new or mid-list authors (Cassie Edwards, anyone? and I don’t mean the plagiarism issue).
It was very interesting to see Janine’s journey, as I dropped out of romance reading in the late 90s due to the feeling that there was nothing out there for me to read any longer (I’m one of those dinosaurs who require character development and don’t like suspense, woowoo, humor, chicklit, women’s fiction, etc. plots). I read (romantic) SF (Lee/Miller, Asaro, Bujold) during that time and re-read old favorites, mainly Heyer, when I read at all.
I just came back last June and am happy as a clam to have found that ‘loving feeling’ again (reading old Paula Detmer Riggs, Ruth Wind and Rachel Lee backlists originally, but now I’ve found new authors I love). Nothing like a 5 hanky read to melt the stress of everyday life away. As an interesting side note, I’ve found a lot of what I desire in the way of characterization and internal plot in some erotic romance/erotica.
Incidently, the arrival/establishment of AAR on the romance scene coincided with my feeling that nothing worthwhile (to me) was being published any longer rather than resparking the interest as happened to Janine. I’m still not quite sure what actually got me back, but I’m very glad I am. :) I’ve read about 400 paper and e-books since then and can’t wait to read the next book in my TBR (I haven’t had one of those in about 10 years and it feels great! ;)
In conclusion, I do think we need to police ourselves if we want to be taken seriously and that includes authors voicing opinions on books, because their opinions are given more weight (correctly or incorrectly so). It doesn’t mean that every author has to do it, but I wish we could get to a point where it’s not considered dirtying your own nest, if an author does it in a constructive manner and where Janine’s concerns about being a reviewer wanting to become a writer would no longer be necessary.
I used to do reviews. My decision to stop reviewing was two-fold. First, it was the time consideration. I wanted to write more than I wanted to read random books. The second reason? Well, honestly, reviewing is weird.
Sometimes a book is so bad that if you hadn’t agreed to review it, you’d stop reading, walk away and forget about it. When you promise to write something about it, you’re forced to slog on. I’d rather pay my money and take my chances, so I have the latitude to call it a DNF and move on.
Yes, a lot of people don’t have the time or the inclination, and I completely understand that.
Thanks for saying that — it is good to hear.
I see what you are saying. It’s hard for me to know how I would feel about reviewing if I were in your shoes.
Still, I think that there would be an upside to being reviewed, even negatively, by a writer with a name in the industry. It would call a lot of people’s attention to the review and therefore to the book being reviewed, and might actually result in more, rather than fewer sales.
Also, the autor being reviewed would have the privilege of receiving feedback (in the body of the review) from someone with expertise.
Lastly, it would keep that conversation about books, and what makes them work or not work for readers, alive. And I think that conversation has tremendous value in and of itself.
So I don’t think it would necessarily be a bad thing, though again, I understand your perspective on it too. There is a lot of responsibility that comes with having a recognized name.
LOL. I am sure your readers want that too! I think it’s great that you speak of books you like. I agree review writing is very hard work. For me personally, fiction writing is even harder work, and downright humbling, as I said above.
Another topic that hits home. Unlike Nora Roberts, I don’t have a ‘name’ ( someday, MAYBE?) but I do have friends and writing ‘associates’ in the industry. Both my RWA chapters offer incentives for posting reviews on line, and the requests come with the unspoken ‘give your buddies 5 star reviews’.
I know there are those who create separate identities for Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and I think it’s so they’re not going to be connected to a review that may or may not be as honest as one done on a review site.
On my blog, I state what book I’m reading, but I’m uncomfortable offering an opinion, because, as someone pointed out, we’re taught to be nice to each other. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who had Thumper’s words drilled into her from an early age …”if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” One author posted a comment saying, “Tell me how you liked the book.” I can’t answer that on my blog because I make it a point NOT to offer my opinion. If I say something nice about one book, does that imply I don’t like a book I don’t say anything about? Or if I say I love it to be nice, what does that say when someone picks up a book I said was great and they hate it? Will they decide they’re not going to read my books?
Recently, I was in the position of having to grovel for cover quotes for an upcoming release. That, to me, was a really tough task, but one the publisher throws at its authors. While these weren’t true reviews, I hated putting people I knew on the spot. Maybe that’s one good thing about not having a name yet. Nobody asks me for quotes.
When I was a reader, I didn’t mind posting my opinions. As an author, I’m not comfortable. (which is probably as close to Nora Roberts as I’m ever going to get.)
This is why it still creeps me out when the whole “an editor won’t touch an author who has trashed another author in a review” thing comes up. It always sounds like a threat to me, and one that really makes very little distinction between responsible reviewing and so-called “trashing.” I don’t think it was that long ago that a certain very popular Romance messageboard had the wrath of many authors for critical reviewing. And the whole no-criticizing other authors thing also seems against the interest of editors, because I’d think their top consideration would be publishing marketable and solid books.
Is this unwillingness to review other authors’ work a Romance thing in particular? Because all you have to do is pick up the NYT Book Review to see that some of their most respected and prominent book reviewers are also noted fiction authors.
When I read a book and love it, I’m vocal about it. I recommend it to everyone I know. I blog about it. I tell my chaptermates about it. I post about it at Romance Divas. I force it on my friends. Who later thank me.
When I don’t like a book, I will often do the same thing BUT without naming the book or the author. I may use parts of the plot as examples, or reference certain unlikeable traits of either hero or heroine, but I refrain from using the author’s name or the book’s title, because I am also trying to get published. Additionally, as the person in charge of booking speakers for my chapter and many of the Authors of the Month for Romance Divas, ticking off an author is counter-productive.
I do, however, sometimes review books under an alias. As I get closer to publication, my time for that lessens. I’ll never stop shouting about great books, though. Those deserve some noise.
My experience has been the snarkiest reviews may begin with the reviewer stating “I usually detest this type of story, but decided to make an exception for this book.”
I agree with that, and I think it’s also good policy for reviewers who have no interest in writing fiction. Because as Julie Leto’s example of a review that had no thought put into it demonstrates, that kind of review is helpful to no one. It doesn’t give readers much sense of whether or not they are likely to enjoy a book, either.
Well, I certainly understand that in the case of someone who gave the kind of “trashing” review Julie Leto posted an example of.
Still — this might be idealistic of me, but if an author has given negative but thought-out criticism in the past, I don’t think that it should come back to bite them on the derriere. I’m not saying it won’t, I’m just saying that there is something wrong with the picture if this is the case.
This is just my opinion, but I think that we should all be mature enough to understand that to publish is to give something to the public at large, and that means that not everyone will love everything.
According to one of my college professors, the audience at the Globe Theatre threw rotten tomatoes at the stage because they didn’t like the ending of Romeo and Juliet. And Shakespeare turned around and spoofed R&J himself in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with that Pyramus and Thisbe play-within-the-play.
If the most respected writer in the history of the craft was able to accept rotten tomatoes with good-natured humor and self-deprecation, shouldn’t the rest of us follow his example?
Again, it is probably idealistic of me, but I think that it’s petty to refuse to help a fellow writer on the basis that that writer gave one a reasoned but negative review. If they took the time to read the book and to think about what did and didn’t work for them, and to communicate that, then IMO they have been fair (and put a lot of work into that process, too).
When I was in college, I was on the editorial board of the art-literary journal. I was also writing poetry at the time. We were encouraged to submit our stuff to the journal, but anonymously, so that our fellow editors would not know who the writer was when discussing whether to publish something.
Once, I was pretty critical of a poem that later got published. I then found out that a friend of mine who was also on the editorial board and had been present at that discussion had written it. But I would never have known that she’d written it from anything she said or did — she never made me feel that I had done anything wrong by being critical of her poem. It didn’t change the fact of our friendship.
By the same token, I also found out from another friend that someone else on the editorial board, who had been in my poetry writing class, not only disliked my poems, he also disliked me personally. This was not easy to hear, but I still voted for the same guy to become editor-in-chief, and I still encouraged him to submit a poem of his (which I had seen in the poetry writing class and really liked) to the journal. I still supported him in other words, because I felt that he was a talented writer and an insightful editor.
Possibly this is easier for college students writing poems than it is for full-time, professional novelists. But nonetheless, I think that ideally at least, the same principles should apply.
Good writing is good writing, and deserves to be recognized. Weak writing should not be praised just because the writer is a friend. Writing should be judged on its own merits, and nothing else.
Janine - I would think authors would make good reviewers since they know the craft but that’s me. As a reader, all I care about is finding good books to read and reviews are one of the tools that I use to achieve that. I can’t believe that most authors so far seem conciliatory about the issue of writers reviewing other writers. Interesting. There has to be one dissenter out there. [g]
My mantra has always been that there is no such thing as universal appeal in anything. Every book I’ve loved has had flaws but I choose to overlook them because the sum of it’s best parts often outweigh the bad and are not worth discussing (for me) in a review. One thing I can’t help is my personal biases and experiences that enter into my review of a book and often I state that up front and I’m not a industry paid professional but a reader so I can do that. But then my review won’t mean much to anybody but me and the readers whose tastes align closely to my own. I’ve always thought that readers and authors put too much power into reviews. They offer (reviews) good info and publicity but often they don’t make the sale for me. I’m weird like that. I love reading the reviews here, I really do. They are all well crafted and often funny.
So, good luck to you in your writing career, Janine and keep us posted on your progress!
~Is this unwillingness to review other authors’ work a Romance thing in particular? Because all you have to do is pick up the NYT Book Review to see that some of their most respected and prominent book reviewers are also noted fiction authors.~
I don’t know if it is or not–and I guess I have to be honest and say I don’t really care.
I think a writer’s job is to write. The rest is choice. I don’t think a writer should be pressured or criticized for not writing reviews any more than I think a writer should be if she chooses to write them.
Whatever her reasons for not doing so might be, they’re her reasons. And that makes them valid to me.
I also suspect that those who do review are good at or at least inclined to analysing fiction. I’m not particularly good at it. Being able to write a story, and hopefully write it well, doesn’t automatically mean you can articulate clearly or entertainly or informatively about the ins and outs of someone else’s work.
As for doing the author a favor by having it reviewed by a name, by someone with expertise? Myself, I don’t want to be responsible for providing another writer with feedback. Who’s to say I’m right?
Alas, there is that.
But while I do worry a bit about how Janine might be received in certain circles, I do not think her reviewer status or her affiliation with DA will have any negative impact in the marketplace, when she becomes a published author.
One of the things I realized from the Cassie Edwards affair is that what happens online stays largely online. Not the desired outcome in that particular instance, but in a reverse way, helpful to someone like Janine who is concerned about a potential backlash. Backlash there might very well be, but it will not matter much beyond its immediate unpleasantness.
Since I write, I don’t have time to review books, but I do blog about books I’ve read that I loved, because I do still read (obviously). That being said, I know of several authors who also review and do a damn fine job of being completely objective and posting concise reviews about what they liked and what they didn’t like about the book.
I think the problem for some authors as reviewers comes from perception. If for example I read a book and didn’t like it, then posted my review of said book on my blog, there are always going to be those reading that review who will think I have an agenda for posting that review–that maybe I have a dislike for that author, or for some reason I want that book to sell poorly. There’s always a perception of fierce competition between authors, and I really don’t have an answer for why that perception exists. So I tend to never post anything negatively publicly about a book I didn’t care for. And I’m fine with that. I love gushing over books I’ve loved, and I’m okay with not saying anything about books I didn’t care for. I’m not in the review business. I’m a writer who also loves to read and I’ll leave it at that.
And congrats on your writing, Janine! I wish you the best of luck with it :-)
I strongly believe there is a difference between writing a review that is honest and professional and writing a review that is meant to entertain at the expense of the author. That is no different than cracking jokes in any venue just to get attention. Some say all publicity is good publicity but I am not sure I agree. Maybe its good publicity for the person creating the laughs and enjoying everyone laughing at their creation.
I am not saying a bad review is not okay. One person will love a movie, a book, a restaurant for that matter, and another hates it. This is part of the joy of choices.
Aside from that, I believe anyone with a big public following can impact opinions. People are easily influenced by others. That is how and why certain marketing strategies are put in place. That is how a buzz is created. However, if the bad comes with the proper dose of professional, and invites conflicting opinions, rather than makes others feel they are foolish for feeling differently, then I think that is when it becomes a positive experience for everyone involved. Even the author who had some who didn’t love their work. The platform can be the difference.
Lisa
I absolutely agree with you. And in a perfect world, books would be judged on their content alone. But unfortunately, it doesn’t always work this way. Sad, but true.
In terms of the writing end of things, the best advice I ever received was years ago at the International Women’s Writers Guild, from the keynote speaker, whose name I’ve totally forgotten (helpful, ain’t I?) — she finished her speech by saying “Never be daunted.” I pass this on to you.
The best advice that I received recently was from author Martha O’Connor. She said, “Write like there’s no one watching.” Passing this on to you too.
Best of luck, Janine!
I hope you are right about that, and about my reviews too, Jan. Thanks for all the kind words.
[Blushing]. Truth to tell, it wasn’t an easy decision for me, but I felt I owed it to our readers. And I didn’t want to feel that I was being secretive when commenting on these two books once they are out.
Anne, I do agree with you on this and for that reason, I try to take a respectful tone in my reviews and to approach them the way I would want reviewers to approach my own writing if I were published — with honesty as well as thoughtfulness.
Congrats, Janine! I know this was a momentous post for you, and I think you raise some interesting questions here.
Certainly I hear people on the issue of not having the time or inclination to review. Robin’s point (that NY Times reviews are generally written by authors) also makes me wonder, do authors in certain genres actually feel professional/institutional pressure to review? If so, might the disparity between reviewing in different genres be connected (however tenuously) to the fact that different genres historically have had very different systems of publicity?
After all, the romance genre developed during a period when reviews of romance novels were difficult to find. Mainstream publications didn’t review the genre, and the internet was not around to fill the void. And so, unlike fans of most other genres, romance readers in the 1970s, 80s, and early 90s had very few ways to factor formal (rather than word-of-mouth) reviews into their decisions at the bookstore. It makes sense, then, that the reviewer herself might have come to occupy a different position in the culture of romance fiction (and in this culture I include both authors *and* readers) than in other genres.
I think the internet must be changing that, if only because, like Janine, I feel that AAR and TRR changed my reading habits profoundly (and sealed my love of the genre). But perhaps that only underlines my previous point. Up until I found those sites in 1999, published reviews were irrelevant to my decisions at the bookstore, because, as far as I knew, there weren’t any out there.
P.S. As Janine’s crit partner, I’ve got to say — if you think her blog posts are eloquent and elegant, you should get a look at her fiction! :)
Jaci wrote: “If for example I read a book and didn’t like it, then posted my review of said book on my blog, there are always going to be those reading that review who will think I have an agenda for posting that review–that maybe I have a dislike for that author, or for some reason I want that book to sell poorly.”
That about sums it up for me, too. I know I’ve already gotten some comments when I blog about a book I’ve loved that go along the lines of “are you just saying you liked it because you’re friends with the author?” There can be the perception - not always unwarranted, I’m sure - that authors are merely praising their friends and badmouthing their enemies when it comes to doing positive/negative book reviews. I’m already limited for time, so I don’t review everything I read. If I’ve really enjoyed a book, I’ll take the time to mention it in my blog. But I don’t blog about every book I’ve ever liked - again, it would take too much time - and I don’t blog about books that weren’t my cup of tea. I’m already answering concerns that I might be biased about the books I love; I don’t want to open the door into explaining my motivation about the books I didn’t love. When you’re a reader or a reviewer, motivation isn’t automatically suspect, as it can be at times when you’re an author.
That being said, best of luck to you, Janine! And kudos for being so forthcoming.
P.S. What a great name you have :)
I couldn’t agree more and that is where I feel that while I don’t want to put pressure on any one individual to write reviews, I also wish that the romance community (not just authors but also their fans) would embrace thoughtful criticism in a more wholehearted way than it has so far.
I’m not speaking of drive-by one star reviews that say “This book sucks, and the author is an idiot too,” but of thoughtful dissections of a book’s strengths and weaknesses in the eyes of the reader. That’s the kind of criticism that I want to see embraced because I think that kind of examination can be of benefit to writers as well as to readers.
I think that the more authors and readers participate in such thoughtful conversations, the more free to engage in that conversation people will feel. I sometimes fear that there are readers and writers who would like to be able to share their opinions but who feel that they can’t because of fear of the possibility of backlash.
And I think it’s up to the community as a whole to help those fears subside to the extent it is possible to do so. Each one of us who contributes to the conversation, whether it is by reviewing, whether it is by commenting on a review, or whether it is simly by being present on blogs that offer these kind of reviews, makes it easier for the conversation to exist. And the conversation serves the community, I honestly believe that.
Now obviously, it is up to each individual to make his or her own choice about whether to enter into any conversation. And I agree with Nora Roberts that it is a matter of personal choice. It’s not something that should be required of any one individual, or that any one person should be pressured to do. It’s hard enough just to write a book, and more requirements should not be added to that job.
But when much of the community avoids this kind of discussion, then the reverse kind of pressure comes into being — the pressure to keep silent. And that’s not good either. So while I don’t want to pressure any one individual to speak, I do want to encourage the community to keep the conversation rolling.
IMHO, as an author, if you review books online, you should be very, very careful.
I don’t review books very often, but I do enjoy writing about books on my blog that I’ve read and what works and didn’t work for me, and I try to be fair and balanced, but I admit I have snarked in the past. I never snarked about romance, because well, romance has been snarked too much for me to add to the snark-fire. However, there was one time I snarked on non-romance, and I have vowed never to snark again.
Back in 2006, I read three books around the same time. The Curious Incident of the Dog In Night Time, an ARC of a now unnamed book (a sort of sex-pose), and Gone For Good, and wrote comments about them all in one blog post, sort of a ‘compare and contrast’. Parts of the unnamed book (namely Chapters 2-23) did not work for me, and sadly, SADLY, the USA Today decides to quote me on it. Yes, the one line out of my comments that they lifted from my blog was:
“Chapter 2 through 23 made me go “ewww,” several times, and I considered washing my sheets.”
Now, I am not a name (I like to think of myself as a stealth-author) so it was more a ha-ha-ha-ohno-whew! moment for me, rather than an ‘ohmygodmycareerisover,’ but I had those thoughts, and they were scary. I waited by the phone for the author of the unnamed book to call me and whisper vile, nasty things to me, but she never did. However, I learned my lesson. USA Today is listening, they are googling, and when you snark, they will find you, and plaster it all over their papers without telling you a dad-gummed thing.
As a writer, or an aspiring writer, I say only one thing. Snarkers beware.
Janine,
Kathleen makes an excellent point, and I put this before you. If you give a review that criticizes another author’s book, you’re taking a risk. Let’s say you review Suzie Q’s new romance and you give a negative review to her book.
You become a published author. You’re new, want to build your career. Suzie Q is suddenly now a NY Times bestselling author and she’s got a choice to help out a new author. She’s picking fellow authors for an anthology, and doing a book tour and a workshop at RWA.
She has a choice between you and Molly B. Molly B is also a debut author and Molly B has never reviewed Suzie’s books.
Whom do you think Suzie B will select?
Human nature being what it is, she’ll choose Molly B. I’m not saying you can’t have a successful career as an author if you keep reviewing. But, you are taking risks and have to ask yourself if those risks are worth it. Reader reviews are one thing. But if you want to be a reviewer and an author, you have to consider all the potential problems that can arise. Some authors will be big enough to forgive critical reviews. Some won’t.
And if you are serious about writing, when you become published, you’ll find there just is so much time on your plate. Would you rather spend it reviewing or in promoting your book and writing?
Good luck to you in your writing. I applaud your honesty in this matter and wish you success.
This has been a dilemma for me. Frankly, I love writing reviews, opinionated hag that I am. But I would hate like hell either wounding or alienating fellow authors. So what I end up doing, particularly when I’m disappointed in a work, is writing a personal “vent” review that never leaves my computer. It’s a cathartic exercise with no unpleasant repercussions.
On the other hand, consistently writing glowing reviews, a la HK, makes one look like either a suck-up or an undiscerning dimwit. If I’m really impressed by a book, I’ll usually tell the author directly.
To answer these questions:
I am not going to review my author friends. But I do think both Sherry and Meredith are exceptionally talented and I will say so informally. Since I’m “out” now about my relationship with them, people can take my opinion however they want to. But it is not going soft, it is my honest opinion.
(In both cases those friendships started because we had a similar taste in books. And since we have very similar tastes in reading, it’s not that surprising that I love their writing voices too.)
Re. sticking it to enemies. As far as I know, I haven’t made any enemies. :) But in last week’s opinion piece in blogging on ethics, Jane mentioned that I regularly praise the writing of an author who has said some not-so-nice things about Jane. I am certainly not going to take the attitude that just because someone has been unkind to Jane, I should “stick it” to that person in a review. I love this author’s writing and so long as she keeps writing as well as she does, I will keep saying so.
But if I felt so alienated by an author that I could no longer review her book on its own merits, then I would refrain from reviewing that author.
I don’t generally think about who the editor is when I review a book. In the rare event that something like that does occur to me, I bend over backwards to judge the book on its own merits. And if a time came when I felt I could not do so, I would avoid reviewing those books.
Putting on my writer hat for a moment, I don’t believe there are any craft rules that cannot be broken. The question is always how and why they are broken. Anything can be made to work, if a writer is skillful enough.
As a reviewer then, the question becomes whether the writer makes me feel that I am in capable hands when I read their book.
Hmm. That’s a harder one to answer. I guess I don’t believe that just becasue I’m hypersensitive to a mistake, means that that mistake doesn’t bother other people. Maybe they aren’t conscious that it bothers them, but that doesn’t mean that their reading experience wouldn’t be even better if that mistake weren’t there. But one mistake won’t make me give a book a low grade. It requires a lot of flaws for that to happen.
I am not published yet so I can only project, but I believe that my answer is that I am prepared to receive the kind of reviews I give.
I see this word, “karma,” come up a lot in discussions of this subject and I have to admit that it bothers me, because it seems to me that there is often an implication that it is bad karma. I’m not saying that you are using it in this way, but I think that is how a lot of people use the word.
It seems to me that there is often an unspoken implication in the use of the word “karma” that a well thought-out but critical review is like a bad deed for which we writer-reviewers will have to pay someday. And I reject that concept, because I don’t feel that I am doing harm to someone if I review their book critically, so long as I have also given it thought and am polite in the process.
In fact, not only do I not feel that a negative but thoughtful review is a bad deed, I actually feel that it is a good deed.
From my vantage point, there are umpteen authors clamoring for me to review their books. We get inundated with review requests at Dear Author. So are we really doing something bad to these authors if we give them an honest but possibly critical review that nonetheless brings their book to the attention of thousands of readers?
If a review says, “This book had some good points, and here’s what I thought those were, but overall it didn’t work so well for me, and here are the reasons why,” then readers can often determine from that whether or not to buy a book, and often, more often than you might think, they will buy a book even if a review is less than glowing.
That’s absolutely true, and I am on the record as saying that a review is nothing more than one person’s opinion. In my reviewing, I often emphasize this by saying “I feel that _____ ,” or “It seems to me that _____ .” When other DA reviewers have reviewed the same book, I will usually include a link to those reviews and mention that another reviewer had a different opinion than mine, if that is the case.
I agree that such a review would not be very helpful either to writers or to readers.
I think they are both useful, in different ways. Of course, it is always better for a writer to incorporate feedback before a book is published, but that is not to say that authors can’t also learn something from reviews after a book is published.
But the main craft benefit I see to reviews is that they are available to the public, and therefore, if they have any insights to offer, they offer them to the entire community.
Writers who are just starting out and haven’t published yet can learn from reviews and the conversation they engender. They can use them to find the authors who inspire them to greater heights, and they can use them to learn how to avoid some mistakes.
An honest pre-publication critique can be enormously useful, but it is only enormously useful to the few people one can give that service to, rather than to an entire community.
“Both my RWA chapters offer incentives for posting reviews on line, and the requests come with the unspoken ‘give your buddies 5 star reviews’”
This puts me in mind of the Avon FanLit competition I entered two Augusts ago. I wasn’t even going to enter–really, I wasn’t–because I had just started a new job. I had planned on reading and giving feedback because I’d won some awards for my critiquing skills in college, but when I read the first entry, a horrid, purple-y throwback to Adele Ashworth’s Winter Garden (the entry ended up in the Top Ten out of 500+ entries!), I knew I owed it to myself to write.
I had never written in a competitive forum before and I soon learned that these sorts of online competitions have sneaky, sneaky rules. I got completely swept away for 6 weeks. Writing all day and night–which was incredible. I was like a machine–and loved every bit of it. The marketing part was slightly more complicated. I was so desperate to make the Top Ten each week, and subsequently, have Eloisa James and Avon editors read my writing, that I practically sold my soul over the internet. It became less and less about the substance and more and more about finding interesting ways to sell your writing–a very good crash on how to do well in the industry, but still. I found myself exchanging emails with strangers 10, 20 times a day just to get them to promise to give a 5-star review.
There were message boards where accusations flew back and forth and if you offended somebody of literary merit (only within the competetion, of course), you could be sure that your story would be slammed by other writers with a series of .5 stars as punishment. It made me seriously rethink the world of romance that I thought I knew. I thought I was different, that I wouldn’t sucuumb to dirty politics, which is what I think book trashing amounts to (hence the relevance of my tangent). I never went so far as to deliberately mark down stories, but I went to some pretty desperate measures to get people to register with the site and vote for my stories–including a guest appearance at a writing class at my alma mater!
Final Result: My final entry placed 23rd out of 500-something. Not too, too shabby for a first attempt!
But I suppose that was why I was so hesitant about joining blogs for the first time after the competition. People–especially romance enthusiasts–are really cruel, which is levels below any of the snark on DA or SB. But I’m glad I did decide to start participating in blogs. It’s kept me writing and connected to the industry. To this day, I have no remembrance of how I discovered Dear Author, but I am truly thankful. Because it is posts like this, that aren’t afraid to deal with the very real struggles of writers that set your site above the rest. If I had to struggle in an industry that was all cute kittens (no offense!) and fake, happy, PC reviews, I probably would have thrown in the towel a year and a half ago. Likewise, I also could have given in after receiving my cold, hard slap-in-the-face of reality–that there is stiff, relentless competition in this business and that writing is only the half of it. But Dear Author gives me a refreshing daily dose of what I need to know–and what really matters, I think.
I’m proud to be an aspiring writer along with you, Janine. And you can just give me a holler if you ever need a quote. I promise to give 5 stars!
Bethany Allinder
Bethany - what an interesting insider account of the Avon FanLit situation. I had heard that it was a voting mess at times and I can see how easily it would be to get caught up in that. I am glad that you are continuing to write though.
I was thinking on this issue as I was walking to lunch. I don’t mind criticism of me as a blogger because I am not defined as a blogger. It’s just a part of my life. But I do get very defensive when someone criticizes the romance genre. I was reading a blog post the other day (and corollary comments) at a fantasy writer’s blog that was somewhat derisive of the romance genre. I had to sit on my hands not to comment and be combative in commenting. I do define myself as a romance reader and therefore perceive attacks on the genre as a personal attack on my intelligence and taste.
I know that there are times that I have thought to myself - who is reading this dreck and why - but have come to the realization that those comments are insulting to readers and not really the work. No one likes the intelligence and taste to be derided.
I think that is why some authors view reviews as a personal attack even when the dissection is of the book because the review is a slight to their intelligence and their taste. Perhaps in writing, the author and the product can never truly be separated for some because they are their writing.
I also think that readers are a bit more perceptive than others give them credit for. Because if we were “sticking” it to an author, I think that can be obvious at times. Although, as some authors upthread have indicated (and I hadn’t even thought about before), an inaccurate picture can be drawn when an author posts a negative about a book. Ironically, though, because many authors have the policy of only talking about books that they like, I can’t really use their recommendations because I don’t know what they don’t like.
I remember before starting to blog that I would rely heavily on AAR Rachel’s reviews (I am sad that she doesn’t review with any regularity anymore). Her tastes, both her likes and dislikes, so closely paralleled mine that when she took a journey outside “our” regular reading tropes, I gladly followed. So to be a trustworthy source of recommendations, the reviewer has to be reliable, meaning that if we step outside the box to “skewer” someone, we begin to lose our credibility and as bloggers, I think our most valuable capital is our credibility.
The commenters here have said everything I would say (and I have already blogged about this topic ad nauseum elsewhere–and ended up receiving emails that should’ve went directly to my trash bin), so I just want to add my congrats and good luck with the book, Janine!
And, as a reader first and writer second, I have to say if you decide to stop reviewing, it will be a sad, sad day because yours and Janet’s thoughtful reviews have gotten me back into historical romances.
I’m completely fine with reviews (and FanLit scores, for that matter) offered in good faith. It’s one person’s opinion about what did or did not work for her.
But when reviews and FanLit scores are deliberately skewed up or down by the reviewer’s agenda or personal feelings about the author, then that’s heading into propaganda territory, IMO. I don’t like feeling manipulated or lied to.
FanLit was…quite an eyeopening tour of the less appealing aspects of human nature. Yes, I met some nice people there, but I eventually to back away from teh crazy. :-)
Thanks, Shiloh!
Yes, I guess this is what I will have to do. And if I find I can’t do it, I will stop reviewing.
I’ve gotten the impression this is particularly true for authors of literary fiction. It seems they feel a need to prove their erudition and “legitimacy” by publishing reviews and essays on a fairly regular basis, in respected periodicals.
Thank you for this post. It’s something that’s been brought up a few times with author friends, so it’s interesting to read more thoughts on it.
Personally, I don’t review books b/c I think there’s 1) a subjectivity issue (we all are), 2) time (I don’t have it), and 3) anti-negativity (a faith-based thing for me). I do endorse books in my blog sometimes, BUT if a book is written by a friend, I notate that in order to express that there may be a subjective issue with my endorsement. OTOH, I won’t recommend against a book b/c putting negativity out there violates my personal code of faith.
As to backlash, I think there are some good points raised in the thread. I know authors who are holding grudges for slams made by other authors. I have heard comments from agents abt googling a prospective client to see what they’re like. There are murmurs I’ve heard that surprised me, but the short version is that long careers & long memories can lead to grudges.
Personally, I consider trash-talking when deciding if I should read a book for an endorsement quote. I have a very limited amount of time to read for this and when I read trash-talking, mean remarks (abt ANY book, not mine in particular), I’m disinclined to put that author’s book on my TBR pile for possible blurbs. I google authors (if their books make it past my editor & agent). My personal anti-venom policy means I take the whole pkg into consideration before I put my name beside anyone’s book. No, my name isn’t that significant, but it’s MINE. Admittedly, the months Wicked Lovely spent on the NY Times and on other lists increased reading requests rather shockingly (which made me glad I had criteria in place already). But the bottom line for me is that I need to live by my ethics. Supporting negative folks doesn’t fit that code.
I’d like to say thoughtful reviews are different, but sometimes I read reviews and wonder if the writer knows how s/he sounds. Attitude & tone don’t always convey well online. Some people have naturally funny voices, but others try for that and simply sound mean. Or maybe it’s just that my subjectivity matches those writers . . . Hard to say.
JMHO, of course.
PS Good luck with your writing.
(Great topic.)
Bethany–I so feel you. I entered my first and last writing contest late last year and have vowed to never do so again because I didn’t like that I twice posted to email loops asking people to vote for me. I hate it when people expect you to vote for them just because you know them–and I did that very same thing. (Looking back at the posts on my web site and blog, I asked people to read ALL the entries and vote for the one(s) they enjoyed most, which didn’t necessarily include mine, so I can live with that.) When I pointed this out after someone brought up the topic, I was crucified because everyone thought I was smacking them and their tactics personally. (Really, sometimes it’s only about the poster and not the readers, people. And for the love of all things shiny, it was only a contest!)
And, frankly, I looked at the contest as a publicity opportunity, stated so publicly, and was crucified for that as well. Apparently, not taking the contest as seriously as everyone else made me a bad person.
(Yes, I know I need to use that filter between brain and mouth a lot more often to avoid FiM disease.)
I am speaking strictly as a reader, and I find reviews invaluable, especially reasonably lengthy and thoughtful ones like the ones at this site. However, sites that give practically everything four or four and a half starts are useless. The whole point of a review is to make distinctions.
This does not mean that I only read books that get good reviews. Reviews that tell me why the reviewer liked or disliked the book give me an idea whether or not I will like it, and what the reviewer disliked may not make it a bad book. I remember reading a review of an Eloisa James book that complained about the multiple plot lines, which I loved.
On the other hands, nasty reviews are fun to read. Nobody remembers Dorothy Parker’s good reviews, but who can forget a line like “She ran the gamut of emotion from A to B.” And the nasty ones are probably more fun to write too.When you think of a really snarky one-liner, it’s hard to resist.
That’s probably one reason pseudonyms were invented.
Janine, thank you for your thoughtful post, and congratulations on your writing! I do admire people who take on fiction writing, because I know it’s hard; in fact, tremendously hard to do well, IMO. I have never done much fiction writing (except in a creative writing class I once took), and any time I think about doing so, I end up dismissing the notion due to my profound laziness.
As a longtime if not always vocal member of the online romance community (I started reading romance I think around 1994, and I would guess I was probably online by 1997), I have a little bit of a different take on readers v. authors, blogging ethics and writing while reviewing.
I am one of those readers who feels that the fact that romance is a overwhelmingly female community really skews these issues. The directive to be “nice and polite”, the idea that criticism should always be “constructive” - I guess I just don’t get that, entirely. Ad hominem attacks on authors are obviously inappropriate, immature and rude. But while several posters have commented about reviews that essentially say “author x is a moron”, I really don’t think I’ve seen reviews like that at the sites I visit. What I’ve seen is more often along the lines of “author x’s characters are morons.”
So - is that the same thing? Technically, no. But I can understand how an author might feel that it is. And I can kind of understand readers who liked author x’s book feeling kind of insulted. But at the same time, I feel like readers should be able to say that the characters are morons, if that’s what they think. I’ve never formally reviewed (except for the two joint reviews I’ve done at this site with Janine), but when I’ve informally reviewed a book I dislike for friends in an online group I belong to, I think it’s fair to say that I can be pretty mean. Why? Well, first, because I am trying to entertain my friends. I’m trying to be funny. Second, because crappy books piss me off. I’m a compulsive book-finisher, so I can’t just toss a book that’s not working for me. I have to at least skim to the finish. At that point, I may feel the need to vent a bit.
I realize that a closed group is a little bit different than a community such as this where anyone and everyone can see what one writes. But a part of me still balks at the idea that I have to tone down what I want to say, for fear of offending. That I have to be “nice.” Again, I’m not talking about personally attacking authors. But the fact is, even though I am an avid romance reader (probably half the 70 or so books I read in a year are romances), I feel that there are a lot of bad romances out there. Not just “not my type of book”, but from an objective literary standpoint (as much as such a thing exists), poorly written, badly characterized, and stupidly plotted books. Which means, I guess, that I think there are a lot of bad romance writers out there. Which I fear may make me seem like 1) a bitch and 2) one of the “mean girls” that are talked about all around the internets.
I will cop to 1), but have a problem with 2). I am not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings. Again, when I’m mean about a book, it’s because I’m trying to be entertaining and because the fact (or my perception) that the book is crap pisses me off. I am not thinking about the author reading my comments, or a fan of the book reading my comments, and being hurt or offended. I’m kind of indifferent to both, honestly because: see 1) above.
(As an aside, I wonder if anyone will take issue with my equating being mean with being entertaining. I don’t think it’s the only way to be funny or entertaining, and I don’t like being around people who are negative and mean about everything. But I also subscribe to the epigram “If you can’t say anything nice, come sit by me.”)
But, back to you, Janine. I have always found your reviews to be thoughtful, polite and fair. So I don’t think you *should* have anything to worry about, if the romance community is fair. And I know that you are a highly ethical person, so I trust that you can successfully navigate the writing/reviewing waters. I also know you to be a passionate and eloquent defender of romance, and a champion of the books you love. I have discovered some great authors that I never would have tried without your encouragement. You deserve all the success in the world.
Kathleen MacIver — Thanks for everything you said.
Sherry — You are good for my ego. :)
I almost made this point myself in the opinion piece — that I had critiqued Heart of Blade and Delicious, but not Private Arrangements. I ended up deciding that this aside was better left for the comment section, but I’m glad to see you have made it. Just so people are clear when Private Arrangements and Delicious are reviewed here on this site.
And in Meredith’s case, I didn’t critique that much of The Duke of Shadows, either — and that not as thoroughly as I have her more recent work. Which is why I initally thought I could review the books.
Ultimately I decided not to review either book because I am close to you both, and because I think that readers will give more credence to someone else’s review due to that, anyway.
Jane —
It is probably because I am an aspiring romance writer now that I am less comfortable with snarking than I used to be. I agree with you that a review is also writing, and in that sense, all reviewers are writers. I don’t want to censor any kind of writing, including reviews. But personally, I don’t think I’ll be doing much snarking here.
The fact that Kathryn Smith, Marianne Stillings and Megan Frampton of AAR all went on to be published suggests that this is the case. In any case, I am not going to let the fact that I am a reviewer discourage me from writing.
I do this a lot when I write (also use “IMO”, etc.), and I try to be conscious of it, only because I think it’s a female thing, and I find it a little…submissive is too strong a word, and not quite what I mean. Maybe “self-dismissive.”
Adults of reasonable intelligence should be able to read a sentence or a paragraph and discern whether it’s a statement of opinion or a statement of fact. Actually, I would feel less self-conscious about being a “mean girl” if other readers, at least, would take that attitude when someone criticizes a book that they like. You have your opinion, I have mine, no matter how scathing your opinion may be, I have enough self-esteem to not feel belittled by your opinion. (I admit this is a lot trickier for an actual author to do, but I do think authors should try to develop a thick skin, and if that’s not possible, avoid reviews.)
Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter who writes thoughtful, literate reviews, as long as they get written. It can only benefit the romance-publishing industry as a whole if both readers and writers are “educated” in what constitutes well-wrought, engaging fiction. DA, far as I’m concerned, is the standard bearer in this arena. (And, dayum, Janine, as much as I hope your writing career soars, your reviews will surely be missed!)
Ah, man. My book releases today. Did you have to remind people why they should hate me today?
Just kidding…well, except for the part where I do have a book coming out today
Like Julie and some others have said, there is a difference between an honest critique and a nasty diatribe. If you review and write, you have to know the difference in your head, be clear about it and then be prepared for the fact that others don’t see the line where you do and that you’ll get knocked around no matter how you phrase things.
I write reviews on a review site (although not lately since I don’t have time) for the same reasons I highlight other authors’ books on my personal website: because I truly love this genre, warts and all. Romance novels saved my sanity at a time when my job consisted of representing folks in horrific contested custody cases. I am forever grateful. Yeah, I’ve received a few threats, some odd and nasty emails and even an email from an enraged husband when I gave his wife’s book a good review. Still don’t understand that one. But I have experienced equal nastiness and gotten a 1 star review from a woman who visited my personal website and didn’t like a review quote I cited from Entertainment Weekly about someone else’s book. That experience taught me I can’t control how people perceive and react. All I can do is know what I do and why, not lose my perspective, take responsibility when I cause trouble even unintentionally and never forget that there is a human being behind every book written. When I forget any of that or get to the point where I feel good about not liking a book - something that has never happened because I want to love them all - then I’ll stop reviewing for good. It really is that simple.
I often find I have more to say about a book I didn’t like than a book I did. Not just when I’m being nasty (about a book I hated), but say a book that ended up being a B- or a C, because it had some things going for it, but some things I really disliked as well. It’s easier for me to pick apart a book like that than to explain in detail why I love the books I love.
Lynne Connolly -
I hadn’t thought of it in that light
That’s what I was wondering too — if there could really be so many authors competing that any misstep would bar the d