Today, I'm talking about writers reviewing. A touchy subject given the sock puppet carry on of last year. Like it or
not, that brouhaha has affected how writers reviewing books, especially in
their own genre, are perceived. Though writers reviewing books
has always held a certain curiosity, right?
Discrete plug: My rockstar book hits the digital shelves 1st July 2013. |
Types of reviews you might see:
OMG I love this book. I want to have this book's baby. This book is *almost* better than a hot tattooed rockstar.
Meh.
I lit this dead tree book on fire and it shall warm me and mine for many months to come because it was that damn long and boring.
Say you know I'm a writer and you read my review. Do you trust me? Or do you call my objectivity into question? Do I know the author or is there a chance I'll meet them sometime in future? Do I see this book as competition trying to lure my lovely fans away from me? Or perhaps I harbour a secret grudge against this person due to an incident at the last romance writers conference that exists solely in my head but shall soon spill out across the internet in a bloody wash of horror? Mwhahaha
Paranoid, I know, but you get my point. Writers reviewing is a complicated tentacle ridden problem. Do we need to chose sides to this degree once we're published? We all know how important reviews are and how tough this industry can be. We all want to help our friends and share our love of books and reading. Maybe a fair chunk of the problem is moot given Amazon is slowly taking down any reviews done by authors.
Paranoid, I know, but you get my point. Writers reviewing is a complicated tentacle ridden problem. Do we need to chose sides to this degree once we're published? We all know how important reviews are and how tough this industry can be. We all want to help our friends and share our love of books and reading. Maybe a fair chunk of the problem is moot given Amazon is slowly taking down any reviews done by authors.
Now for a slight change of topic. Let's say I didn't take to a book and declare as much on Goodreads or Amazon. Maybe I just diss it a bit on Twitter or something. I'm entitled to my opinion, sure. But writers, stop and think...
If the romance writing community isn't a wonderful, supportive place where we all at least try to get along, why the fuck not?
No one knows better than a writer that a book is someone's baby. Writers have to grow
skin and scales similar to that of a komodo dragon to stand up to all that is
slung their way. That’s part of the job. But do other writers really need to join in?
Doesn’t such behaviour suck the soul out of our world just a little? If the
book lacked a certain something, there are plenty of actual reader reviewers
out there to say as much and, we all know, they will. You, however, are first and foremost a writer. Is it really professional to bag someone elses work publically?
To sum up, for me reviewing no longer feels right. Not even just reviewing the books I loved and shutting up about the ones that left me cold and/or embittered. I'm going to promo the writers and books that I love here on my blog instead. Now, as always, this is only my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. I have friends who are writers that review. Some of those friends have reviewed my books and I'm extremely thankful for their time and affection for my work. Peer love is a beautiful thing and it means a huge amount. Though if they said something bad about it grrrr. I'm definitely not buying them a beer next time I see them. I also have friends who choose not to review. Each to their own. Everyone needs to find their own happy. But if you're out there, talking down another writer or their books, please think about shutting the fuck up. The world seems to be full of negative shit these days. Please consider not adding to it.
Your complimentary porny ladybird chaser. |
P.S. Re the negativity rant: No, this isn't about anything anyone said about me. My delicate little artistic feelings haven't been hurt. But if you'd like to send me flowers, chocolates and/or Richard Armitage, I'm cool with that. Thanks.