Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Looking for advice on how to post a less than flattering review on an author who follows you closely and has been raelly gracious to you :(

We have a serious issue. A few months back we were approached by an author who asked us to review his Indie book. The book seemed to feature a lot of the elements we love in a book: Multiculturalism, World building and an Epic easy to relate to hero.Cool, Right?



Currently we've been getting around to our Indie review requests and of course we literally jumped on this one. But after reading the first couple pages, both of us agree, The book is not really that good. The grammar is probably the worst we've ever read in a book, but there are other issues that make the story hard to recommend to others. Inconsistencies, stereotypes, writing style, too often writing dialogue or details that have nothing to do with the plot, and the worst of all, the author spends the ENTIRE time TELLING not SHOWING.



On other review sites , this book has gotten no less than 4 and 5 star reviews but it makes us think that they aren't reputable because a book this poorly written may not get anyone's attention if the author wouldn't request it.

I'm afraid if we both leave a bad review, the author will take it personally, especially since the author follows us both closely on goodreads and social media.

If anyone has any advice, and we mean ANY ADVICE, it would be gladly appreciated.

Our goal is not to bash the author but to be honest about the book. We both think it would be completely unethical to endorse a book that doesn't meet typical standards.

How do we come to a compromise?

17 comments:

  1. I don't think this decision has to be as tough as you make it seem. Sure, we all love the blurbs, and we all want to give chance to new authors. At the same time, we need to be honest. In the Internet era, readers have power previously unavailable to them - readers can make or break a book, promote one that they love, and demote one they dislike. I try to advocate for reader honestly as much as possible. After all, in the Indie market there are no judges, editors or content checkers. This is where the reader comes in with the power to leave a glowing review should the book merit one, or leave a negative review should the book merit one. As an author myself, I encourage readers to leave honest reviews whenever possible. This, in my opinion, is the only way to weed-out the bad stuff in today's market.

    If I'm on the receiving end of a negative review, I try to consider the reviewer's point of view. There are times when a book does not sit well with a reader. Then there are times when a book is poorly written, wrongly advertised, or inappropriate for the genre. If I receive more than one negative review mentioning identical shortcomings, I will look at the issue and try to fix it.

    Of course, there are some authors (we all heard the stories) that will fight a negative review, engage the reviewer online, and even contact stores to have them remove the review in question. This is completely unethical, unprofessional, and unacceptable.

    If this was me, I would be honest yet pleasant about about it. In the end of the day, you have to be at peace with yourself when you go to sleep. If the author engages you in a negative way following your review, ignore him/her. You do not have to justify your opinions.

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  2. Thanks Henry!The problem i think is the author is a bit hmmm...to be in nicely a pest.Every time i post an update of how far i've gotten in the book, he'll shoot me an email "So what do you think so far"?

    He's nice but i think he has such high expectations for his book when there area a lot of things wrong with it.I really appreciate your input.And since I plan on self publishing as well, I know how hard it's going to be getting people to read it and hardest of all, be in love with it like i'm in love with it :(

    Thanks for being the first person to shed some light on this.I'm so nervous on how to approach the situation :0

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  3. I agree with the honest yet pleasant approach. A "negative" review doesn't have to be mean. I would much rather see an honest review for an indie book because, frankly, I am tired of seeing random indie books with tons of generic four and five star reviews. And if there are lower reviews, they don't offer constructive criticism, just a couple bland sentences like "I didn't connect with the main character." I know it's hard, especially if you know the person, but you should go with your gut! :)

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  4. Thanks Heather for your input.I really appreciate your comment and I think i will take your advice, A pleasant yet honest review. My only problem are the things i didn't like about the book may come off as negative.

    I'm really passionate about authors who embrace diversity in all aspects and i don't think you can do that while tearing down the image of another reader, which i feel unbeknownst to him/her,the author has done.

    I will try to tread lightly and thank you again!

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  5. Part of my review policy states that I will review the book but if it is less than a 3, I will give you the review and my thoughts and you can decide if I publish it or not. Before I take a book I make sure that they understnad this. I dont want to promote something I dont agree with, but I am not going to fake it bc someone asked me to review their book. I feel like they are still getting their review that way, just not the promotion and I have a different name I use on amazon and will post a review there but I dont state that I was given the book or anything like that. I am a firm believer that there is a reader for every book but I may not be that reader, hence the option for them to decline the review to be published if it is not favorable. I feel real bad bc I know as indie authors it is a hard hard world to promote yourself and have all that time spent on something and to want people to like it so. So on one hand you dont wnat to hurt them bc it is so hard but on the other you want them to know so they can fix the issues, hence my review policy. I hope this makes sense...

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  6. Hey I found you on Books Blogs. I've followed you on GFC and Networked Blogs. I also do button swaps if you're interested, and am also on GoodReads. I hope we become life long blogging friends! lol

    The Indigo Quill: http://theindigoquill.blogspot.com

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  7. Hmmm- this is a tough situation. If you really do not like the book and respect the author- maybe you could consider writing them an email explaining what you like about the book and what you are struggling with and why. It can be hard to get negative feedback- but maybe your comments will help him to make important changes to his work. He may not like the comments at first, but will hopefully appreciate the feedback and the chance to make his writing stronger. If you want to put up a review, that is your choice, but you could also explain to him that at this time you don't feel comfortable putting up a review that is less than three stars.

    Best of luck!
    ~Jess

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  8. If it was me, I would appreciate the truth and only the truth. So that I can learn, develop my writing and ultimately create stories that people want to read. Isn’t that why we write? Yes, like me, I also write for myself, to still my inner demons, but we all want our readers to enjoy, understand and experience what is going on in our heads. If the writer cannot portray his vision into words then he has failed, in my opinion.
    Sometimes the truth hurts but everyone must take the lows with the highs, so you must help this Author and be honest.

    Good Luck!

    Zane

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    1. Thank you Zane, I really appreciate your comments. I think I would want to know too and I wouldn't mind someone posting something not so positive if it helped my writing. Really appreciate the advice!

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  9. What a difficult question! I guess maybe write about any positive aspects of the book and gently explain what didn't do it for you and maybe some tips on how to improve? If it were me I would probably say what I wanted to see instead, so to explain why it didn't move me. In this case it is definitely important to give a truthful review since it seems like the other reviews out there are misleading. Good luck! And thanks for stopping by Chapter Break :)

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    1. Thanks a bunch, I really, really appreciate your comment.I did take some tips of your advice.I hope it doesn't turn into a case of authors behaving badly XD

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  10. Any public critic has only one virtue, honesty, Your honest, courteous response to a piece of art is what you are providing to your readers. There is clear and unalterable division between a writer and their published words, a response to one is not a response to the other. My all time favorite writers have been deeply flawed as humans, I still love and relish their work. If a writer is so genuinely insecure as to not be able to manage the difference then they really need to reconsider making any work public and so subject to assessment by others. Negative reviews are hard, we all have egos, why write otherwise, we want to be loved. If a writer has hopes of getting my hard earned cash from me for their work then they should expect to get everything else too, rudeness is inexcusable, there is a vast difference between a negative review and taking the opportunity to have fun at the expense of someone else. The work and risk of putting work out in public deserves honest, clear politeness.

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    1. Thank you for your input Conor.I really appreciate everyone who took the time out to make me feel better about this situation!

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  11. A lot of good advice here! Yes, you have stated your review policy, so the author knows what he's getting in to. Your pleasant-but-honest review will help other readers make the choice over whether to purchase the book or not. Just by posting this, you obviously care about giving a thoughtful review of the book, touching on the negatives as well as the positives, and the author shouldn't dismiss such dedication lightly; it will help him in the long run. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks Heather, I think everyone wants 4-5 star reviews and many authors are quick to attack when they don't receive them, But i just think that it's horrible to leave a 4 star review based on my relationship with the author, ya know? Thanks for taking out the time to help me out, Heather =D

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  12. I feel for you. I feel horrible giving negative reviews to new authors even when they don't follow me on Goodreads - you just know that these authors are reading every single review that they get with baited breath and it's hard to feel like you're crushing someone's dreams of being a writer. Still, I hate it when I get a book with very positive reviews only to find that it has very obvious and substantial flaws. I have to assume that it's the author's friends and family writing these reviews and I kind of feel like it's my duty to give my honest opinion so that others will be forewarned. Also, the author won't improve if they have nothing but glowing reviews. Hopefully your honest comments (given in a kind manner) will help this author - at the very least, he'll realize that he needs someone to do some better proofreading for him!

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    1. You're right, when a book has so many obvious flaws but NO ONE mentioned that in their review , it makes me question if the reviewers know the author personally and are just trying to boost their amazon and goodreads rating.Thanks for stopping by to comment on this delicate issue, I'm taking all the comments given and hope my compassion to see this book improved comes off in my review.Thanks Nicole

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