When Bad Reviews aren't Bad

A few weeks ago I talked about the difference between critiques and reviews. The main point was that a critique is trying to help a writer improve a work in progress while a review is simply honest thoughts about what the author has asserted to be a finished work (assumed by the fact it's published, publishing before you're ready is a whole different topic).

The topic came up because I am known to write harsh reviews. I got a lot of interesting feedback on this from my writer peeps. I was surprised by the number of people who won't say anything negative on a review. I'm all for the loving, supportive community writers have created. But I think we might be hurting ourselves in an attempt to not hurt each other.

This was really brought to the spotlight by a recent article from Kim Strickland. In her article, Kim bashes Publishers Weekly for writing negative reviews. Her main complaint is that the authors of the books reviewed won't be able to salvage a single half-line to use for promotional purposes. This absolutely blew my mind.

Despite the review picking holes in most of the major components of these books, Strickland wants to be able to pull out five or six words to stick on a back cover so it appears that PW gave the book a good review. False advertising at its finest.

I just don't get this. Honestly, I really gave it some serious thought. If I bought a toaster oven that broke after three uses, I would write a bad review for the product on the company website. Hopefully this would do two things. First, it would disuade another consumer from paying good money for a product that didn't live up to expectations. Second, I would hope the company, upon seeing this review, would go back to the drawing board in an attempt to make a better toaster oven.

And some authors are doing this. I'll point to Emlyn Chand. I picked up her book Farsighted a few months ago. It was pretty good although not something I'll put on my favorites list. Ms. Chand received several excellent reviews for her novel although some reviewers poked some big holes in it (In case you're curious, I gave her three stars). So Ms. Chand went back to work. Despite getting ready to put out the next book in the series in May, Emlyn took the time to offer a free update to her book. She stated the update was based on feedback she received in reviews. To that I say "Kudos, Ms. Chand".

Getting bad reviews didn't slow her down or make her think the series was doomed. Instead she took the opportunity readers gave her to make the book better. I'll be honest. I originally had no intention of reading the next book in the Farsighted series. But now I have a feeling that this book could be even better than the first. Why? Because Ms. Chand is the kind of writer who strives to be better. In fact, I think you should believe that to. If you haven't checked out Farsighted yet, you can get it here. And be on the lookout for the next book, Open Heart.

Critique Vs Review: a writers showdown

I got some disturbing news at my writer's critique group this week and it had nothing to do with my chapter submission. During an off-topic conversation, one of the members commented that she worried about what I would say about her next submission. When I asked about this she said my Goodreads reviews were harsh.

Well, there's no point in denying it. I can be critical when it comes to reviewing published work. You can check out my reviews here if you're interested. Outside of live performances, books are the only artform you pay for before knowing if you'll like it.  You'd never buy a painting sight unseen and usually you hear a great song on the radio before downloading it. But with books, you fork over the money and hope for the best.

This is the mindset I have when reviewing books. As the author you are asking readers to pay for a certain level of entertainment, education, or what have you (depending on the kind of book you write). As the reader I expect to be entertained, educated, etc. When I'm not, it feels as though I bought a non-refundable box of chocolate covered rocks. Sure the picture looked good, but rocks aren't edible.

I'm sensitive to the fact that authors pour their blood, sweat and tears into books.  Shoot, I'm a writer, I get it. But the emotional investment an author made doesn't change my expectations. I'm sure Kim Kardashian worked really hard on her song Jam, but that doesn't mean we should go easy on her or even try to pretend that her song contains any artisitc merit whatsoever.

**On a side note, if you haven't heard this song yet, please stop right now and click the link.  It really is atrocious.**

My group member's comment about my harsh reviews didn't bother me, except she assumed that being a harsh reviewer would make me an unforgiving critiquer. That really upset me.

 I see a very obvious line where these two things don't meet. When I give a critique my mind is always aware that this is a WIP. No one asked me to pay to read this draft. The writer knows the work isn't ready for public consumption yet. My goal then is not to steer away innocent readers, but to help the writer get to the best story possible.

I would never, NEVER, blast someone in a critique. I will give you the honest truth, and that means sometimes saying that it's not working for me. This is always dished out hand in hand with a why. Maybe my point is valid, maybe it's not. That's for the writer to decide.

So how do you draw the line? Do you critique with a different eye than you review? Do you like Kim's new single? Let me know!

Good Reads on Goodreads?

Can we talk for a minute about Goodreads? So I recently signed up as a way to find out about new books I might enjoy. Well, that was my main (public) reason for joining. The second (private) reason was because I wanted to be able to dish the dirt on books I loved/hated in a place where it was expected.

This blog is not a book review site, although I tend to devour books on a regular basis. When I love a book, I want to tell people so they can enjoy it too. And when something stinks like last week's tuna I want to warn folks off so they don't waste the precious hours I did. 

Now, I appreciate that everyone has their opinion of what makes a good book. I also understand that while I might not have enjoyed something, that others may find it good. But at some point I have to start asking "Who are you people?". I want to shout "That book was pig slop! How could you give it 5 stars? Are you the author's mom?!"

This is about the time when I start to worry about today's savvy reader. I wonder if I'm wasting my time trying to create something creative, insightful, funny and heart-warming. Maybe I should just throw some garbage up on Amazon and charge $.99 for my gross misuse of the English language packaged in 256 pages. After all, if some of these reviews are to be believed, people will read anything.

Then I stop myself and remember that my writing is not just about selling books (although I'd be lying if I said that isn't important at all). If I put my name on it, I want it to be good. No, scratch that, I want it to be great! And I want 5 star reviews from strangers and not just my aunt in Tulsa.

So I will continue to plug away at making my work shine and keep the faith that somewhere out there is a gaggle of readers who can appreciate a good read. 

What about you? Do you worry about the quality of today's readers? 

Also, if you want to know my thoughts on books, you can check out my Goodread's account here.