So, as a reviewer we are pressured about many things.
- updating consistently
- posting up a review for an ARC BEFORE the publishing date
- blog tour responsibilities
- being honest
- integrity & living up to what yous say you do
- negative reviews
- time management
At least, that's what I always suffer. I know that as a blogger, I signed myself up for all this, and so there's really no point in complaining about it. I mean, I think all this is fun, but something provoked me to make this post.
Here's a recent discussion that y'all should read before you continue reading this post: http://bookaholic-ness.blogspot.com/2013/08/discussion-11-purpose-of-having-review.html This is a spinoff from that post.
Basically, after that post, I went on Goodreads and immediately deleted my original review of saying that the book was actually "good," because that was a flippin' LIE. THE BOOK SUCKED. I gave it a 1 star, and commented on the author's rudeness in the review. A few days ago, that same author comments on it saying that I must've mistaken him for an impersonator, when he CLEARLY wrote on my blog review that people should not listen to me because I was not the author. He openly does his thing again. The "Liana's just the minority and she has no idea what she's talking about" thing. If you're so set on keeping your book's image, then don't ruin it by saying things like that. I am a reviewer, and as a reviewer I am obligated to post up an honest review, even if a negative one. Just because you're the author doesn't give you the right to tell me my opinion is wrong. It just makes you an asshole.
And then I realized that all authors should be ready and prepared to face negative reviews. You can't expect them all to write a 5-star review. You've gotta be kidding. Even J.K. Rowling doesn't have all 5 star reviews. Don't even get me started with the monetary compensation.
PEOPLE. Don't you understand, we are reviewers. We will NOT accept your money to write a fake review. Do you not understand how ridiculous that sounds? If you are an author and bribe your reviewers with money to write fake positive reviews, then you are pathetic. So pathetic that you cannot face negative reviews. Sorry. But not really.
Recently, I've been really, really busy, and that is why I cannot accept review requests at the moment. Although I truly enjoy being a reviewer, and respect every single author that takes his or her time to contact me, I cannot stand those that do not respect the reviewers that are helping them getting their book(s) out there in the open.
There is just so much pressure about being honest, especially when you don't want to disappoint anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. But for whom are we doing this for? Our readers. The readers who actually check out our reviews and take our opinion seriously. And what's in a fake opinion fueled by the bribe of money?
I think this rant is over. Don't forget to respect, y'all. Peace out.
Thank goodness I've never had to deal with an angry author, but I really don't go back and check my reviews on Goodreads and don't have alerts set up either. I couldn't agree more though. If an author is putting their work out there, they need to have thicker skin and be prepared that not everyone is going to like it. Sadly, no matter how you spin it, if you don't like it, some of them are going to lose their shit and take it personally. Stick to your guns, without honest reviewers such as yourself, we'd all be stuck reading the same crappy books and having to pretend to love them. Awesome article.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's really frustrating! I've never had an author personally attack me or my reviews, but I have felt a little pressured to write things a little nicer than what I actually thought. It's really hard to be honest when you're scared of authors breathing down your back - good job for sticking to your original thoughts!
ReplyDelete- Kritika @ Snowflakes & Spider Silk