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I just sent Copperwise a review for Green Man of a book on the history of cooking. It was late because the book was so bad that every time I opened it, I was unable to force myself to read for more than five minutes. This book didn't just suck. It SUUUUUUCKED! So I said so. When my review comes out, I figure I have about a one-in-three chance of getting a splenetic response from the author.
I swear, every third negative review written on Green Man gets an outraged response from the author. (Occasionally they get an outraged response from fans. Mia disliked a book called THE SIGHT and wrote a very funny review explaining why, and she's _still_ getting aggrieved letters about it.)
On the one hand, I think this discourages reviewers from writing honest rather than sugar-coated reviews. On the other hand, I think reviewers need to grow a thicker skin.
It's not that I don't think anyone should publicly disagree with a review. That's fine. However, when the author writes to defend him or herself, he or she inevitably ends up with egg on the face. And I do have a problem with letters which follow the Standard Review Complaint Template:
1. Everyone else liked my book. (Links to positive reviews.)
2. Only positive reviews should be written, because negative reviews are mean and serve no purpose.
3. If you write negative reviews, you must be a bad person who kicks kittens.
4. Only people who have had their own novels published have the right to write reviews.
5. (optional): I can kick your ass.
When I started writing for Green Man, I didn't expect to ever get a response from an author whose book I'd reviewed. I didn't think a little no-pay internet magazine would attract a wide or professional readership (I was wrong about that) and I didn't think that writers commonly responded to negative reviews. (I'd gotten a few thank-yous from the authors of books I'd recommended on usenet, so I knew that happened.)
I was thinking of it from my own perspective as a writer, though; when the TV show I wrote for got bad reviews, it didn't even occur to me to write to the reviewers to tell them they were idiots. For one thing, some of their criticisms were right on the money. I suppose I could have written to explain that the stupid plot twist hadn't been my idea but was the result of someone else rewriting my brilliant script, or to say that everyone thought it was clever in the writer's room, or that my dialogue was actually quite scintillating.
But honest to God, it never even occurred to me. And if it had occurred to me, I wouldn't have done it because I would have realized that I would just make myself look like a moron. Writers write. Their works are their argument. Reviewers review. That's their response. The appropriate response to the response, should it be disliked, is to write a letter ranting about the stupidity and poor writing skills of the reviewer... and then send it to one's friends.
To explain why I feel so strongly about this, complete with explanations of why I think negative reviews are an essential part of the critical process, I will reprint some communications regarding a review I wrote a while back, of a very bad novel called WINDOWPANE.
( Read more... )
If I ever write a letter to some reviewer who didn't like one of my books, you should all kick my ass.
I swear, every third negative review written on Green Man gets an outraged response from the author. (Occasionally they get an outraged response from fans. Mia disliked a book called THE SIGHT and wrote a very funny review explaining why, and she's _still_ getting aggrieved letters about it.)
On the one hand, I think this discourages reviewers from writing honest rather than sugar-coated reviews. On the other hand, I think reviewers need to grow a thicker skin.
It's not that I don't think anyone should publicly disagree with a review. That's fine. However, when the author writes to defend him or herself, he or she inevitably ends up with egg on the face. And I do have a problem with letters which follow the Standard Review Complaint Template:
1. Everyone else liked my book. (Links to positive reviews.)
2. Only positive reviews should be written, because negative reviews are mean and serve no purpose.
3. If you write negative reviews, you must be a bad person who kicks kittens.
4. Only people who have had their own novels published have the right to write reviews.
5. (optional): I can kick your ass.
When I started writing for Green Man, I didn't expect to ever get a response from an author whose book I'd reviewed. I didn't think a little no-pay internet magazine would attract a wide or professional readership (I was wrong about that) and I didn't think that writers commonly responded to negative reviews. (I'd gotten a few thank-yous from the authors of books I'd recommended on usenet, so I knew that happened.)
I was thinking of it from my own perspective as a writer, though; when the TV show I wrote for got bad reviews, it didn't even occur to me to write to the reviewers to tell them they were idiots. For one thing, some of their criticisms were right on the money. I suppose I could have written to explain that the stupid plot twist hadn't been my idea but was the result of someone else rewriting my brilliant script, or to say that everyone thought it was clever in the writer's room, or that my dialogue was actually quite scintillating.
But honest to God, it never even occurred to me. And if it had occurred to me, I wouldn't have done it because I would have realized that I would just make myself look like a moron. Writers write. Their works are their argument. Reviewers review. That's their response. The appropriate response to the response, should it be disliked, is to write a letter ranting about the stupidity and poor writing skills of the reviewer... and then send it to one's friends.
To explain why I feel so strongly about this, complete with explanations of why I think negative reviews are an essential part of the critical process, I will reprint some communications regarding a review I wrote a while back, of a very bad novel called WINDOWPANE.
( Read more... )
If I ever write a letter to some reviewer who didn't like one of my books, you should all kick my ass.