tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post4926771352672689702..comments2024-03-29T08:10:45.752-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: Step Away From the Review by Annette DashofyJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-8401980087043584212021-07-25T13:41:24.650-04:002021-07-25T13:41:24.650-04:00Marilyn, YES, reading the reviews of some of the b...Marilyn, YES, reading the reviews of some of the big-name authors' books and seeing they get hammered too does help.Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02755947919433555176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-38240308476247124212021-07-25T12:59:49.559-04:002021-07-25T12:59:49.559-04:00Reviews are subjective. Everyone has an opinion, a...Reviews are subjective. Everyone has an opinion, and that's not including the trolls who take pleasure in posting a negative review because—actually, I've no idea why they do this. I appreciate the many wonderful reviews that my books receive, and try not to take to heart the few reviews that aren't as good. In truth, they don't bother me as much since the day I checked out the reviews of some best-selling, award-winning authors whose books I love to read. They too had a few 1-3 starred reviews.Marilyn Levinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10424778692932139865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-5599241265586313242021-07-25T12:58:23.994-04:002021-07-25T12:58:23.994-04:00My first book comes out in March, so I don't h...My first book comes out in March, so I don't have any bad experiences with reviews yet. (The anthology my short story was in had nice reviews and a blogger did a very nice review on my story.) I'm sure it'll happen, though! As often as I've heard "don't read reviews" I know I'll have a hard time not reading them. Too bad we can't put a disclaimer at the end of the book saying "If you leave a review, BE NICE!" Korina Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06533228666706765470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-11702031861013714322021-07-25T11:04:55.649-04:002021-07-25T11:04:55.649-04:00I'm with Annette. I've gotten some lovely ...I'm with Annette. I've gotten some lovely reviews for my debut mystery. But what I remember is the one blogger who didn't like The Turncoat's Widow because there was no sex in it and the "detectives were stupid." Maybe I'll be able to read reviews with more equanimity in the future. But for now, with a few exceptions, I'm avoiding them! Mally Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17259003411137418658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-66230610983669343742021-07-25T09:48:42.211-04:002021-07-25T09:48:42.211-04:00I read all reviews to see if there is anything I c...I read all reviews to see if there is anything I can glean from them....When my first book, Maze in Blue was published, I received a horrible review arguing that among other things I'd even gotten the layout of the University of Michigan's campus and the way a road ran wrong. I sat on my hands -- we'd all been told not to respond. Lo and behold, the next reviewer gave me five stars, wrote that her father was now a professor emeritus but she had grown up on campus, and that if he did a little research, he'd have discovered that I got all the details right -- they didn't reroute the traffic pattern and build the new dental school smack in the middle of his complaint until almost a year after the book was set. Made my week!Debra H. Goldsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17533446284471717884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-55716640325935275792021-07-25T09:39:09.073-04:002021-07-25T09:39:09.073-04:00What drives me crazy are the reviewers who seem to...What drives me crazy are the reviewers who seem to have the star system backwards--and give a book one star after they've raved about how much they enjoyed it.<br /><br />I have also encountered people who revert to an older rating system (maybe from TV Guide?) where a 3 is pretty good and a 4 is outstanding. Applied to the bottom end of the 5-star system, this translates as mediocre and pretty goo, with no room for outstanding.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-14936092289789704842021-07-25T09:24:41.265-04:002021-07-25T09:24:41.265-04:00I write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads for every ...I write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads for every book I finish reading. Always positive, always mention what I liked.Margaret S. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07810307017440257313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-32267753885711601682021-07-25T09:07:53.455-04:002021-07-25T09:07:53.455-04:00Jim, good for you! You're much tougher than I....Jim, good for you! You're much tougher than I.<br /><br />Dru, you know I love you and this post isn't aimed at you at all. I ALWAYS read your reviews because you lift authors up rather than tear them down. And, as you know, you're one of the reviewers I love to quote in my promotional posts! <br /><br />Chris, thank you for that.<br /><br />Shari, I must admit, I never thought of a "review" buddy. What a fabulous idea! Annettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02755947919433555176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-58762876007917550372021-07-25T08:51:35.761-04:002021-07-25T08:51:35.761-04:00Oh, so true, Annette. One of my daughters is a rev...Oh, so true, Annette. One of my daughters is a review buddy and will let me know if there's a review I should see. I have to admit that often, among the ones that sting, there will be a review from a reader who gets what I'm trying to do. Those reviews are gold!Shari Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16425493627354028820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-91326326469855328812021-07-25T08:49:56.996-04:002021-07-25T08:49:56.996-04:00As a reader, I don’t review a book I didn’t like a...As a reader, I don’t review a book I didn’t like and, if I did, I would never tag the author. Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01402191180510435706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-53708413356454054312021-07-25T08:08:24.054-04:002021-07-25T08:08:24.054-04:00Wise advice. Thank you. Wise advice. Thank you. Grace Toppinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10291304815273486038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-89980674730576353612021-07-25T08:01:21.942-04:002021-07-25T08:01:21.942-04:00I’m with Kait. However, the occasional bad review ...I’m with Kait. However, the occasional bad review doesn’t bother me since it’s hard to know the reviewer’s motivation. Having taught high school English for decades, I understand the wide variation in readers’ reactions to the same book. Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14080938779828043023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-60850504184260720662021-07-25T08:00:14.634-04:002021-07-25T08:00:14.634-04:00I will not post a musing of a book that I did not ...I will not post a musing of a book that I did not like. I will not shout-out a book that I did not like, period.Dru Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13719942166754224376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-24768538159999010702021-07-25T07:54:46.219-04:002021-07-25T07:54:46.219-04:00I would like to say no, and I discourage writers f...I would like to say no, and I discourage writers from reading their reviews, too. That said, yes, I do read them. Sometimes they are helpful, other times, well, not so much. Kaithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07758348842858993203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-48164377459160324732021-07-25T07:42:22.650-04:002021-07-25T07:42:22.650-04:00I do read reviews because they help me in marketin...I do read reviews because they help me in marketing to emphasize what people like. I don’t recall being tagged for a bad review, but if I were it wouldn’t bother me because it just shows what a small person the reviewer is, and I refuse to waste my time on those I call psychic bleeders.<br /><br />~ JimJim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.com