A Writer’s Life: Book Reviews
I don’t write a lot of book reviews. I star everything appropriately when I have finished it, through Amazon and GoodReads, and since I read on my tablet, I find that if I wait until the day after I have finished a book, I never go back to write a review of any kind, unless the book resonated with me.
Because I am now writing my own books, I find that I feel a greater pressure to leave more reviews, and I find that if I wait a day or so, my reviews are more well thought out and clear then if I went immediately to write them.
Reviews are important to authors, especially self-published authors. If an indie author has a small marketing budget, reviews are the lifeblood of their career. The more reviews a book receives, good or bad, the higher up in the algorithm it can move.
I get that now. So, I am trying to leave them more often, especially on indie books, and especially on the ones I really liked.
But what about the ones I don’t like?
I am a full-on DNFer, and I am not afraid to admit it. DNF is Did Not Finish and I will do that, if a book is poorly edited to the point that the mistakes distract me too much, or if the story is off-kilter, or even if the subject matter bothers me to the point that I cannot enjoy myself. It does not happen very often, maybe a few times a year. But I have never left a review on a book I could not finish, and I wonder now if I should do that.
I don’t like to write bad reviews.
I know that they serve a purpose. I know that they are just as important as good reviews, for the reading population at large. Reading should be a fun activity. It should be an escape. A vacation from the real world, such as it is. And our honesty to the authors is important. Our feedback as readers is vital in turning a so-so author into a good one. I know all these things.
But.
One hundred people can have one hundred different feelings about a story. Story is subjective. Some people want some romance with their battle scenes. Some people just want the blood. A story might vibrate with one person, while the next one absolutely hates it, for no reason other than the main character reminds them too much of their ex-husband. All these things are individual taste, and do not reflect on the writer of the story anymore than my choice of paint color on my front door is loved by one neighbor and hated by another. (Just kidding, our HOA doesn’t allow us to paint our front door without neighbor approval. No, I am not kidding. We’re moving as soon as the housing market rebounds, I swear it). So, it would be hard for me to leave a review that said “I hated the main character” when the next reader might fall in love with him for the same reasons I dislike him.
Should I leave bad reviews for poor editing? Yes. For sure. Here, let me save you the 2.99 and just tell you that this e-book needs an editor like my cat needs her treats. Should I leave bad reviews for plot holes and name changes? Probably. It might save the author some embarrassment in their next book.
I think there’s a way to leave a review for a story you just don’t vibe with, and that’s by saying you just didn’t vibe with it. Instead of saying “This main character is a horrible human being” I could say “I just didn’t resonate with the main character”. Instead of saying “This story is completely unrealistic” I could say “I could not find myself in the main character’s shoes at any point during the story.”
As I said, I’m trying to get better about leaving reviews in general. The next time I DNF a book, I am going to force myself to wait a few days and write a thoughtful review and explain my one-star review, rather than just leaving the star. Probably not a long review and probably not a detailed review, but one that is honest without being harsh.
Because reviews are important. And taking off my writing hat to put on my reader hat now and again is a good reminder for me. Both are equally important in my world.
And both hats are stylish, and a matter of taste, just like story.
And my front door.
