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amazon, author, book reviews, Books, Nikki McCormack, publishing, reading, writer, writing
It’s hard to succeed as an author. It always has been, but in today’s environment, we can find communities of authors under every virtual rock supporting and encouraging one another. It’s a beautiful thing. We don’t have to struggle through the grind of writing, editing, and publishing alone. We can share our struggles, doubts, and successes with each other on our blogs, Twitter, Facebook groups, and so many other places. I could wax poetic for hours about how awesome my fellow authors are and it would be true.
However…
Yes, you knew there was a shoe about to be dropped.
I’ve seen many cases where this mutual support has gone too far. I see people casually handing out five-star ratings and reviews for fellow authors in the name of supporting them and, in some cases, expecting the same in return. A lot of the time, this is done without reading the books being rated. Though innocent enough from the point of view of the struggling author, there can be dire and potentially career ending repercussions to consider.
Let’s take this from the top.
What Do Those Five Stars Really Mean?
When we hand out a five-star rating or review, we are essentially telling the world that this book or story is virtually flawless. The writing shines. The plot and subplots are solid and free of holes or contradictions. The characters come alive. The book is well-edited, not riddled with spelling or grammatical errors. The list goes on.
How many books have you actually read that truly reach that lofty status?
I’m willing to guess not many. I can’t think of a single book that is perfect and I’ve only ever five starred books I thought were so exceptional in most ways that the few flaws didn’t matter. These books are so captivating I could forego food and sleep to keep reading.
If I give a five-star rating or review to someone because I want to support them even though I haven’t read the book or have read the book and it isn’t really as good as all that, I am lying.
Who are we lying to when we give a dishonest review?
The reader. We are lying to the very people we want to draw in and convince to buy our books. The people whose trust we most need to gain.
Supporting Our Customers.
As authors, we need our readers. They are the ones who will ultimately determine our success. When we give a five-star rating or review as a favor to another author, we are lying to their readers. When we accept the same from another author, we are letting them lie to our readers (unless, of course, the book actually is perfect).
This is also true if we pay someone to give us five stars (see Mike Cooper’s post on Why Amazon Reviews Are Not Helpful or this New York Times article In a Race to Out-Rave, 5-Star Web Reviews Go for $5). We are paying someone to lie to our customers for us. Tell me how that can possibly be a good thing.
Who does this hurt?
In the end, it hurts the author. When a reader picks up a book and gives up their valuable time to read it because it has a five-star rating or review then discovers that the editing was atrocious or the plot was full of holes or the writing was simply immature and in need of polish, they feel betrayed. That reader isn’t going to recommend the author to friends and family or read other books by that author. Worse yet, they may leave a scathing review in response because they are rightfully pissed off. Get too many of those and your dreams of being a successful author may go down in flames.
One of the most avid readers I know recently told me that she doesn’t trust book reviews on Amazon anymore for this very reason. When readers stop trusting reviews, reviews become meaningless. Readers will turn to safer options such as familiar authors and publishers or recommendations from trusted friends. Folks, our customers are starting not to trust us already and it hurts all of us.
What can we do?
We have to put our best work out there.
Nobody forced you to write a book. You started with a vision. You put in the time and effort to write it. Why would you sell that work or yourself short? Make that book the best damned book it can be. Invest in an editor. Find a critique group or other people around you who are willing to read it and give real feedback. Then polish, polish, polish until it’s a book you would put in front of a real reviewer without fear.
If you aren’t confident that your book can earn good reviews, then it isn’t ready for publication yet. Your gut is telling you that something still needs work. Figure out what that is and fix it. Then, when the book is really ready…
There are book bloggers and reviewers coming out of the woodwork like termites. Book reviewers are all over the blogosphere and Twitter. There are even blogs dedicated to listing book blogs like the Book Blogger Directory. Put out the effort to contact these people. Find reviewers and even fellow authors who will actually read the book and give you honest reviews. Give them free copies to work with. It’s an investment in your career.
Those reviews might not be five stars and they will probably have some criticisms. That’s okay. It’s part of the job. Not everyone is going to love your work. Nothing will ever change that. If you’re afraid your gentle soul can’t handle criticism, you’re in the wrong line of work. I’ve gotten some brutal feedback from editors in the past and I know how criticism hurts. I’ve also gotten fan mail from people who really loved something I wrote. It’s worth the pain. Put a stick between your teeth, bite down, and take it. If you learn to move past the initial sting, you can find gems of wisdom in the less positive reviews that will help you grow as an author and make the next book even better (which is another powerful benefit we rob each other of when we don’t give each other honest reviews).
If this is your passion, your dream, then there will be a next book and you don’t want jaded readers immediately snubbing your work because they don’t trust you.
Bottom line:
What seems like an innocent favor can turn into the equivalent of a gunshot to the head for an author’s long-term career. False reviews hurt all authors. If it was worth your time and effort to write a book, it is also worth your time and effort to cultivate an audience for that book that will trust you and look forward to reading more. Seek out honest opinions and strong feedback and your work will always be better for it.
This is one thing that has always really bothered me about the world of independent writers: there’s very little constructive criticism. On one side, you have embittered “reviewers” who will rip apart just about every book or author they come across, for no other reason than they can, and on the other, you have fellow writers who want to give you a boost of support by essentially telling you that you can do no wrong (whether they actually believe that or not).
The problem is that we need that criticism, in a big, bad way. There is a lot of unrecognized talent out there, yes, but throwing together an unedited novel, publishing it as an eBook on Amazon, and being washed in five star praise from other fellow authors does not help hone your craft.
Personally, I love the criticism. I need it! Some of my best work has come from people I don’t know glossing over the “kindness” and telling me exactly what I needed to hear in regards to what I wrote.
I’ll follow people on Twitter without regard to how well they write; I’ll give them that help with publicizing themselves, because that’s one thing that we all need. But biased praise, to me, is just as detrimental as a large publishing house ripping my work apart live on their Twitter feed.
Spare my feelings and give me the honest truth, because it’s the only way I’ll grow as a writer. That’s why I almost exclusively post my work anonymously online while I’m still working on it.
Well said. Nothing has improved my writing more than the constructive criticism I have gotten from people. Sure, it might sting, but after I pout in the corner for a few minutes, I go back and learn what I can from their comments. That is far more helpful to the long-term career of a fellow author than giving them a few pats on the back.
Exactly! And, true, it can be quite a task to wade through the useless, unhelpful reviews to find the gems, but it is totally worth it in my mind.
And, yes, it does sting at first, even though I mentally prepare myself for months to expect the criticism. That said, it’s so worth it when I do get that critique that will help me shape the story in edits to come.
On the other hand, because we are out here lovin’ on each other so much, it feels awkward to tell someone what I REALLY think of their work. If it’s in the context of beta-reading, then no problem. It’s a private thing, and I’ll do my best to give honest, constructive feedback. But if it’s a published piece, and it’s someone I’m connected with on FB & Twitter & goodreads, it feels weird to come out in public and say, “Three stars, max.” I was raised to be a nice girl and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
I understand that. It’s the same reason friends and family often don’t make good editors. They don’t want to hurt our feelings. But I would really rather have someone hurt my feelings and help my career. As I told a friend once: Your not critiquing my work, your helping me make my biggest dream come true. You could pay me no higher compliment.
What really makes this hard is that some people publish before the work is ready and that is when it gets awkward for the community, but I would argue that it is still better to give an honest review or no review at all rather than a false one. If you are uncomfortable reviewing it because of this, perhaps its worth contacting them offline and offering some constructive feedback.
I refuse to do the “review for a review” thing. I never tell an author that I’m even reading their book. The most I do is put a status on Goodreads and that’s about it. And I leave honest reviews, regardless of whether or not I know that person. That’s just how I roll
Good for you. I love hearing that and I know a lot of people do the same.
My concern is that some people may think they are being helpful without considering the possible backlash of this kind of ‘support’.
I don’t do reviews, period. I used to review books on my blog, but it got awkward when I realized that the authors were people I hoped would one day be my peers (eep). If I really really love a book, I’ll rave about it, but I keep my meh-and-worse opinions to myself.
Other aspects (besides five-star reviews) of this authorial lovefest also make me uncomfortable, sometimes. If I RT the release of someone’s book, or host an author on my site, does it also mean that I tacitly endorsing their work? What happens if one of my readers/subscribers/followers see this as a recommendation and then are disappointed by the book? Would that also tarnish *my* reputation? Would they then think that since I’m not a good judge of writing, I probably write poorly myself?
Part of the problem is that we rely HEAVILY on other authors to promote us. That’s true for tradition and indie writers. We tweet about each others books, we blurb for each other, we write reviews for each other (just saw the other day that one trad. published writer got glowing reviews from other author friends–I’m sure the book is good, but knowing that they are friends makes me put less stock in the reviews). Where’s the line between supporting our friends and protecting our brand & maintaining our readers’ trust?
Another great, thoughtful post, Nikki.
… that I’M tacitly endorsing…
English– I write him good.
LOL! Isn’t it awful that you feel obligated to spell check your comments on twitter and blogs and such. Oh the trials of being an author.
I’ve done a few promos and I also feel awkward about it. I like trying to support fellow authors, but I don’t want to be seen as endorsing their work if I haven’t read it, so after a few experiments, I have started shying away from this.
I completely agree with you. I’ve recently run into a situation where a friend of mine published a book, and had gotten several 5 star reviews on amazon… I read it aaaand…well let’s just say I kind of wish she had asked me to beta read for her! It was a good story, but the writing was terrible. =/
Recently a website called Letters of Note posted a letter that Ernest Hemingway had written to F. Scott Fitzgerald, after Fitzgerald requested Hemingway’s opinion of his novel Tender is the Night. I love this letter because Hemingway is completely honest and tells Fitzgerald exactly what he did wrong with the novel and that he could have done so much better. Not only does he let Fitzgerald have it, but Hemingway provides specific and constructive criticism as well as general writing advice. If only more people were so straightforward and honest when asked. As much as writers need encouragement, we also need tough love to improve.
Here’s a link to the letter, which I’d highly recommend reading.
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/04/forget-your-personal-tragedy.html
Thanks for sharing that link. I really loved reading that and it exhibits the kind of honesty we need to give one another if we really want to help each other improve.
I think too many people get soo excited when they finish a book that they can’t see the work it still needs. I know the problem. Finishing a book is a thrill, but if they really want to build a readership, they need to keep a level head and make sure the book the best it can be rather than putting people ine kind of situation you faced.
Good post, Nikki! It’s true–I’m skeptical of trusting reviews, except by people whose opinions I trust (usually the ones who are sparing in their 5-star reviews). Maybe the best love we can give each other is our honesty.
Exactly. I think honesty in the form of constructive feedback is what makes us better in our writing and in many other things.
Thanks for the visit.
Do people really do that? Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ve seen a lot of 5-star reviews on Twitter. Honestly I haven’t paid them much mind. When I look at reviews I like to read maybe one of the good reviews, but I prefer to read the 1- and 2-star reviews to see what readers didn’t like. That gives me a better indication of whether or not I will like the book.
Sadly, I’ve seen it done a lot on a variety of sites (Amazon, Twitter, Goodreads, etc.). I tend to look at a few reviews on both ends of the spectrum. If a book has only 5-star reviews, I’m immediately suspicious. No one book is loved by everyone.
Thanks for the visit.
“No one book is loved by everyone.”
That’s something every content-creator needs to realize, regardless of the medium: you’ll never please one hundred percent of your audience. Ever.
As soon as I stopped trying to, it became much easier to not criticize every word I write. I accept that someone, somewhere, at some point, will spend an inordinate amount of time publicly bashing everything I write, and the truth is, it’s somewhat freeing to know that.
Yes. I think it’s very for people to realize that going in. It doesn’t make it pleasant when someone bashes your work, but it does give you a little armor going in (not plate perhaps, but maybe hardened leather).
I agree with all of your points. I’m getting to the point where I find the 5-star reviews pretty much meaningless. The writers are treating 5-star reviews as if they’re owed, and the reader is the one getting hurt — and ultimately the writer.
I’m probably the reviewer from hell. I read a book and try to review it on what the reader will be expecting. If the writer is billing it as an action novel, I better start seeing hints of a storyline that will lead to action, and lots of it. I got into a disagreement with a writer who wanted me to review his fantasy/action thriller (how he billed it). I looked at the sample — about 15 pages — and knew instantly he hadn’t categorized it right. I’m guessing he had an action scene at the end of the story. I told him it wasn’t for me — I knew I would have given him 1-star because the book wasn’t what he said it was. He got hot about my refusal to do the review and pressed for why. I told him there wasn’t enough action, and he just lost it and told me to unfollow him from Twitter. Weirdly, he later followed me again, and by then, he’d changed how he was categorizing his book. But this tells me that reviews have become such a big prize to writers that they lose all common sense!
You know, that reminds me of someone I believed to be a skilled horseman so I let him ride one of my horses. He got thrown and for a long time seemed to hold it against me and my horses. Then one day he got thrown off his horse and suddenly started talking to me again.
People have knee-jerk reactions to things and the closer it is to their hearts, the worse that reaction can be. It takes a lot of time and experience to learn to accept and appreciate constructive feedback. It also takes time and experience to learn to look beyond the immediate rewards (how many 5-star reviews can I get) and plan for the future (how can I build a loyal reader following). The current market allows for people to dive into the mix without an understanding of these things more than ever before and that makes it difficult for everyone.
The only problem is that a review isn’t supposed to be constructive feedback for the writer. All a review does is tell a reader if they should buy the book. If a writer wants constructive feedback, that’s what critique groups and betas are for.
Ideally, but with so many people rushing to publish, the proper critique process isn’t always happening. That rarely bodes well for the reviews. That said, reviews do have some value as feedback. If you are watching your reviews and a number of people have a similar complaint, it might be something you need to work on and can pay more attention to in your next project.
Great post. I think I’d have trouble asking someone to review my work (once published) simply because I wouldn’t want them to feel pressured to say nice things if they didn’t believe it. Of course, I haven’t published anything yet because I don’t think it’s ready or quite good enough yet, so maybe it’ll change a little once I’m at that point, but I doubt it. I think it’s just part of who I am.
I don’t know that I would ask any of the people in my close circles for that reason, or I might tell them they are welcome to if they feel comfortable doing so, but I have been building lists of bloggers and book reviewers I intend to approach when I am published.
Thanks for the visit!
I wish they’d change the rating system to 10 stars, then you have more leeway to give an accurate assessment–or 5 stars each for plot, character development, writing accuracy, etc. The way it is now every body has a different opinion of what 5 stars mean and some people’s standards are lower than others. Good, thought-provoking post.
I was thinking about that the other day. A wider scale or a breaking up of the rating would help some. In my opinion, it’s hard to give a real indication with such a limited scale.
Thanks for the visit!