I have written reviews in my line of work for almost two decades now. I’ve reviewed video games, gadgets, baby products, software, food, places, feminine stuff, household items and tons and tons of books. Over the years, I have learned a thing or two about reviewing. But it’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve started reviewing books more. I guess it comes with being a writer as well. You read more so you tend to review more books.
One of the discussions that I constantly hear when I go to conferences is the effect of reviews on sites like Goodreads and Amazon on book sales. Does it help? Does it affect book buying? How do authors feel about negative reviews that are quickly (and sometimes harshly) provided on these sites?
Many authors I’ve listened to provided different views on this book-reviewing thing. For instance, Erin Entrada Kelly says she is “impervious” to book reviews, while Veronica Roth says she’s accepted the fact that once the book leaves her hands, readers will interpret it the way they want to, and that’s beyond her control.
For me, personally, I have yet to find a stable reaction to bad reviews. I am currently flying between extremes of not caring at all and screaming to the heavens (and the reviewers) ‘why don’t you like me?!’. I’ll let you know when I get to ‘impervious’ level.
But why did I say on the title that I don’t give bad book reviews? Well, for several reasons.
I know the author journey firsthand
I know what it’s like to bleed on the page (figuratively and literally – because papercuts suck). I know the difficulty of finishing a book. I know the constant battle of questioning ‘is it good enough?’. I know the feeling of just wanting to keep the manuscript in the drawer because there are evil people in the world who just wants to shit all over your work.
I prefer constructive criticism
Karma is a bitch. I’d rather be constructive than hurtful. Since my days at school, I’ve been told that constructive criticisms are the best criticisms to give. Not to say it’s been like that since then. I have had old bosses that never learned the value of constructive criticisms. But I can only control my own actions so I continue to dish out criticisms that will hopefully help someone improve themselves and/or their work.
I don’t read books I don’t like
This is the most important reason on my list, actually. I know that when we’re in school we need to read books that our teachers picked for us. It’s their job to educate us so we don’t have a choice but to follow.
Having said that, I am super grateful to have been forced to read stuff like the Canterbury Tales, Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo, The Cask of Amontillado, and A Rose for Emily, among other stories. Having grown up poor, with no spare money to buy books, I would never have been able to discover such works on my own. It set the journey towards discovering other authors once I was able to afford to buy books.
Nowadays, however, I put books through the ‘first two chapters test’. Unless I like the first two chapters, I don’t continue reading the book – and I won’t write a review for it either. Why? Life is too freaking short to be reading books I don’t like and to be spending my precious time writing a scathing review about it.
Also, people have different tastes and a popular book (even one considered as a classic) that someone else likes might not be my cup of tea. I know what I like and I will spend my money the way I want to spend it.
So I guess the crux of this whole thing is that, while I do have visions in my head of giving the finger to reviewers who bag books just for the heck of it, or of screaming in their faces things like ‘so, how many books have YOU written exactly?’, I’ve decided to focus on the writing process instead. Because writing is fun and arguing with people behind keyboards isn’t.
Leave a Reply