Before I start with my post on reviews, I wanted to mention that I’ll soon be posting snippets from THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE. So if you want a little glimpse at what Cat, Bones, and the gang are up to, check back :).
And now, to the main point of this blog. The topic of reviews has been floating around the blogosphere recently and for authors, it’s one that perhaps should be labeled “Handle with Care.” Reason being – for me at least – is that it’s difficult to separate Jeaniene the Person from Jeaniene the Author when I’m online. Jeaniene the Person has been an avid reader since age twelve, and like every reader, loves certain books, is ambivalent about others, won’t finish some, and occasionally flat out despises a book. I used to be able to share all of these opinions without there being a question of my having ulterior motives*, but what I found out after I signed a publishing contract was that online, Jeaniene the Person became replaced by Jeaniene the Author.
Now, if I make a comment or post a review about a book, it’s often** not taken as it should be, which is one reader’s individual taste and opinion. Instead, because I’m often perceived as an author first and a reader a distant second, if I like a book and rave about it in public, it can be seen by some as an attempt to boost a peer’s sales – usually under the assumption that I’m friends with the author, or that my publisher/agent made me do it. If I publicly bemoan how much I hated a book, it can sometimes be seen as though I have a personal grudge against the author, or that I’m jealous of his/her sales. I could lament about how frustrating this is, but I chose to be an author, no one made me do it, and this is simply one of the side effects. Because I have a limited amount of time, I’ve chosen to only post reviews of or mention books that I really enjoyed. I know the squinty-eyed reaction will still come from some corners, but I’d rather take my time defending the reasons why I liked a book and be perceived by some as a professional suck-up (or sell-out) than have to deal with the “OMG what did Author X ever do to you?” or “You’re just jealous!” reaction that posting negative reviews can sometimes generate.
Now, some of you might think, “But Jeaniene, are you saying if you’re an author then you should never post a negative review of another author’s book?” NO. That would make as much sense as me saying that because I don’t eat white chocolate (and I don’t; I hate that stuff) then no other author should eat white chocolate, either. Ridiculous, right? I’m not telling anyone else what to do. I’m only stating the why’s behind why I do or don’t do certain things myself. Everyone should do what they’re most comfortable with, and that comfort level will differ from person to person.
In case some of you are wondering, “Well, then what are your thoughts on reviews as a reader?” I’ll tell you. I’m ever so glad they exist. I buy books based off reviews all the time, and guess what? I buy books based on bad reviews almost as much as good ones. Why? What one reviewer loves might be first on my list to DNF a book, and conversely, I browse some review sites only looking for the C or lower grades because I know their tastes are polar opposite of mine. Tastes vary, and thank God, or the reading selecting would be very boring.
And now for the, “So what are your thoughts on reviews as an author?” I love them for all the reasons I listed above, but I’ve learned not to read them most of the time. Why? That depends. Sometimes I’m not feeling thick-skinned enough. It happens. Let’s say you had a rough day at work, you didn’t sleep well the night before, your family/spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend/pet did something to annoy you, or you’re just in a foul mood. Is that the time to start eavesdropping on other people’s conversations about your work performance? Probably not, because you know what they say about eavesdroppers – sooner or later, they’ll hear something they won’t like. Reading reviews is like eavesdropping on a myriad of conversations about my work performance, and if I’m in the last leg of a deadline or stressed out for other reasons, it can be counterproductive to my writing. How? If I happen to stumble across a few scathing reviews, I might want to close my laptop and curl into a ball with some chocolate instead of finishing the chapter I was working on. Writers might be objective about negative reviews most of the time, but then there are days when things slip through that thick skin even though you know better.
Sometimes it’s counterproductive to read good reviews, too. If I read a spate of glowing accolades about my books, I might develop a case of temporary insanity where I think I’m all that and not listen to the good advice my editor and critique partner give me. Or I might be tempted to think I’m so special that I deserve a few days off when I should be writing instead. I don’t know which author said this about reviews, and I’m paraphrasing, but “the bad ones get inside your head while the good ones go to your head” is a wise word of caution, in my opinion. Both have the power at times to hinder my work performance, and so I’ve found it’s best to leave reviews for the audience they’re intended for: other readers :).
That’s my two cents on reviews and like opinions on books, what works for me won’t (and shouldn’t) work for everyone else.
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*The suspicion that I have ulterior motives behind what I say about other books happens less frequently, but still enough that it’s a headache.
**Please note that “often” doesn’t mean “all the time,” but most people online know me solely through my books so that how I’m identified to them. Author Ilona Andrews recently said, “There is a curious shift that occurs sometime around the publication of your first book. You stop being a person and become a representative of your books. For all intents and purposes, you are a business entity.” I’ve found this to be true far more times than not when I’m interacting with people online.
all very true. The internet is a blessing for us fangirls, but it can be a curse as well for the authors. In real life it is pretty easy to avoid or filter out the haters, crazies and drama mamas, but online it is much harder since there are so *many of them . When some hater gets you down just look at all your fan mail and know your fans far out number the haters. And then watch a great cheesy horror movie
See, 99% of the time, people who write a negative review aren’t being “haters.” They just didn’t like that particular book and they’re sharing their opinion on it with other readers. Nothing at all wrong with that, and as I mentioned, I buy books all the time based on good reviews and bad ones. So on the occasion where a negative review gets under my skin, it’s not the reviewers’ fault. It’s mine for not detaching enough professionally from my work. I’m human and that happens, so I’ve learned to avoid reading reviews of my books for that and the occasional inflated head reason :).
oh, you were only talking about “book” reviews. I was thinking about the fans. I take every review with a grain of salt. If I like the blurb I will still read it regardless of what the reviews say. But a good review will move a book up on my TBR list. I like your inflated head, it is full of smexy vampire goodness 😉 (Vlad)
Do not worry about negativity, it can only harm and potentially block your creative outlet! The same outlet of personality that is so loved and adored by your trillions of fans… such as myself :).
Great post and very true. I just feel bad for authors such as yourself when your inner reader takes a backseat to your writer identity because writers/authors are and always will be readers (in my opinion) and reviewing and expressing your opinion shouldn’t be stifled because of your level of success or because of other peoples lame hangups. Jeaniene should be able to be the Jeaniene she’s always ( in a perfect world I know) but that’s how I feel.
Thanks for this post. I know authors will provide blurbs to go on other book covers and I was wondering do you give quotes for titles that you read but didn’t care for?
Never. I turn down eight out of ten novels sent to me for blurb purposes because I won’t put my name on a book that I didn’t really, really enjoy (as my long-suffering editor and agent can attest). I’m even harder on novels sent to me for blurb purposes than I am on books I read for my own enjoyment because I take endorsing a book very seriously.
If I were already a published author such as yourself I worry that I’d be working to promote your books over mine lol… No doubt because yours are amazing while… well mine are obviously yet to be written so who knows if they will be a success lol. Wish I could have been in the position of having my name on your covers telling the world how enticing your novels truly are! 😉 Then again there is always the future! 🙂
Great post!
Reviewing is hard…especially for someone like me who is capable of loving nearly everything if the mood is right.
I really enjoy and value reading authors opinions on reviews. People do tend to forget the person behind the pen.
The conservatives are poarbbly waiting around to see how much more angst they can wring out of unemployment, wall street, things they have no interest in solving. At least the stimulus has had some effect and E Wa has gotten their share of the dollars.
I agree with everything you said! I’ve become an even more voracious reader since I’ve started blogging and in doing so, it’s given me a great deal of respect and admiration for writers. The only real flaw to that is that sometimes we readers have difficulty separating the author from the reader (Jeannine the person vs Jeannine the author). You, in effect, are like a rockstar for us so it’s easy to forget that you have very real opinions, both good & bad.
I am a HUGE fan of the Night Huntress series {hopelessly in love with Bones! *sigh} so I’m simply blown away by your talent. But in reading this post, I realize that as a person, you also have a lot of integrity! I myself review for the love of it, but even so I would never offer a false opinion to please anyone…not even an author! It’s great to find out that one of my favorite authors thinks like that too ;o)
Sometimes I’ll hesitate to read a book that didn’t get rave reviews…but I have to remind myself that its different strokes for different folks! One readers trash may be another’s treasure 🙂
Anyway, sorry for rambling! This was a great post and very on point!
♥Isalys
Jeaniene, It’s interesting to hear your take. As a reader, I have my own personal review of each book I read, but I have *another* point of view, as an editor/writer. I have no quibble at all regarding any of your work as an editor/writer, and *LUV* it as a reader.
My quibble is with some authors who repeatedly just do silly things which, has a reader/writer/author drive me insane and distract from what might be a really good book/story. For example, a character drives his truck to a house only to hop on his motorcycle to leave. Huh? In one book, I spotted a commonly misspelled word misspelled every single time. I counted, 8. Sounds silly to quibble over stuff like that, sure, to most people. But it interferes with my enjoyment.
Please remember that what is really important is how *you* feel about a book — let your support team guide you, but it’s your talent we want. And when a scathing review springs up, keep in mind that that one person is not one of the many (millions?) fans you have, so who cares what he/she thinks. Really. We are the ones buying your books, not the reviewer. You got me with book 1, I’ll be in line for every one you write.
What I think happens is some reviewers have favorite authors or movie directors and, though they try not to, they compare other books/movies to their favorites. For them, their favorite sets the standard. It’s unfair, but it’s what I’ve noticed.
All my best 🙂
Thanks for this because it is very timely for me. I started my blog as a writing/reading journal of sorts but now I’m trying to figure out what to do with it. The more time I spend writing reviews, the less I write my own stuff. I rarely give bad reviews because I like praising authors but know what hard work it is and didn’t want to slam anyone just because it wasn’t my cup of tea. I love reading books– it’s my escapism. I don’t know why but it seems like such a big move to me to change the focus of my blog to writing because I think of myself as a reader. I don’t know if that makes sense. Thanks for giving me more to think about:)
Howdy Snowgirl,
I have a possible solution to your problem, alias. Get yourself an online name so you can say what you want without reprisals. That’s why I’m Vampyre instead of me. 🙂
You know what they say about reviewers, ” Those that can’t do it, review it.”
Anytime you want to hang out and talk, you know where you can go, I sent you a PM at the Frost Fan Forums about it.
V^^^^V
oops I meant the Frost Cemetery not Frost Fan Forums
“Those that can’t do it, review it.”
That’s kind of rude, don’t you think? I review as a service to readers and because I enjoy talking about the things I love, not because my other ambitions (of any kind) have been frustrated.
Vampy, you’re a bud, but I disagree about “those who can’t do it, review it.” I review movies all the time and I have NO desire to ever act or be a director :). Plus, as I’ve said, I love book reviews since I get a lot of recommendations off those. So reviews are good things, and if there’s an occasion where I let a negative one (or positive!) get under my skin, that’s my issue, not a fault of the reviewer’s.
I often forget how difficult it must be to simply be a “reader” and give a review vs being an author and give a review. The truth is that your words really do carry more weight. I’m probably more likely to give a book a second look if I see a postive review or high rating from you then from an “average” reader. I’m ashamed to admit that but it’s true. lol
It must also be kind of awkward if you were to give a negative review because chances are, because of the circles you travel in (Comicon panels, etc) that you might actually meet the author for which you gave a bad review. Eeeek! Has that ever happened?
Hi Jeaniene!
I agree with you that people can jump on you if say something one way or another and it is not right. It is you opinion as a person but people do seem to be unable to separate the two. I look towards reviews as a way I can decide which books I would like to read next. As you said if I discover someone who seems to have similar taste in books as myself, usually their reviews are a good indication that I may like or dislike the book as well.
When it comes to your books all I have for them is high praise. 🙂
Oh… reviews… I can wax one endlessly about authors and reviews…
Reviews don’t tend to get to me too much-good or bad, unless something is factually wrong. That bothers me, but I still don’t let it affect me too much.
I’m fairly thick-skinned in the long run, thank God. I can credit the thick skin to three brothers-who were meaner than snot. :OP Although my mom tells me I was meaner than they were.
I think going into nursing at 19 also played added to it-if you don’t develop thick skin when you’ve got a doctor yelling at you one minute, and then you’re seeing an elderly gentleman engaging in…ah… private moments that he’d prefer you to SEE…well, you either get out of nursing, or you realize thick skin is GOOD.
The reviews are opinions–I know I can’t please everybody and I wont’ drive myself nuts trying. I think there was a point in my life when my mother told me, “You never once did something just to please somebody else-don’t start now.” I guess I took it to heart. O.O
Reviews can suck. Seriously. I try to learn something from the critical ones, I ignore the mean ones, and the glowing ones, I take with grains of salt, because I’ve seen firsthand what happens when an author starts to believe their own hype. It’s UGLY.
Oh… *G* BTW, Jeaniene, I dunno if you’ve ever seen a Friday 56 meme, but somebody used your book on my blog for one. If I wasn’t already into your series, that line alone would have hooked me.
😀