Listen, I understand that some people are uncomfortable with writing negative reviews. They are afraid that they'll hurt an author's feelings and that it will reflect poorly on them. I get it.
Personally, I have no qualms with writing negative reviews. I certainly don't go out of my way to find things wrong with the books I read, but when specific things don't appeal to me, I am not against being critical of them. I'm a very opinionated, observant, and analytical person by nature. I'm also straightforward and more than a little snarky. When I write reviews, I remain true to my personality, and I don't censor myself. My intent is never to be malicious or disrespectful, but I do have a tendency to be brutally honest. I don't mince words. I simply call it how I see it.
I know that writing a book and getting it published is a lot of very hard work. Kudos to all of those involved in the process. Nonetheless, the fundamental fact that some people forget (or choose to overlook) is that books are products, readers are consumers, and authors/publishers are selling a service (entertainment).
If you're an avid reader like me, books can become a significant expense. A single hardcover book purchased in a non-online store can cost you around $20. International readers can end up paying a lot more for books shipped to them out of the US. Moreover, given the current state of the economy, people's budgets have become increasingly tighter, and consumers have been forced to become more conscientious & frugal with their spending.
Consequently, product reviews are more important then ever before. Consumers need to be knowledgeable about their potential purchases. They don't want to and often can't afford to waste their hard-earned money on choices they later regret. And so, negative reviews serve the same purpose as positive reviews, which is to equip the consumer with information needed to make a smart purchasing decision—either to buy now or to save the money for a different product/service later.
Additionally, there is another perspective to consider. Think about when you were assigned to write an important paper for school. You spent many days and sleepless nights doing research and meticulously putting your thoughts to paper with the intent to impress your teacher and get that coveted "A". After much stress, headdesking, binging on junk food & caffeinated beverages, and repeatedly flipping off the computer screen, you finally completed your assignment and handed it in with much pride & hopefulness. A few days later, your teacher gave it back to you, and you found yourself utterly dismayed at all the red markings littering the pages. After a brief catatonic phase followed up by a bit of covert crying in the bathroom, you pulled yourself together and took a long, hard look at the teacher's criticisms. There were some you agreed with and some you didn't. Nevertheless, you now gained a better understanding of your teacher's expectations, likes, and dislikes, and you filed those away in your memory as you vowed to yourself that you would get better and totally blow your teacher's mind next time around.
Sound familiar? I sure experienced that scenario more than a few times in my past. In fact, some of the teachers that had the greatest impact on me and pushed me to continuously better myself were those who set a really high standard and who were unabashedly critical of me and my classmates. They didn't hand out gold stars to everyone for simply trying. They made us work our asses off for any and all praise every single time. Were those teachers being mean to us? Was their intention to hurt our feelings? No. They were challenging us to improve while inadvertently helping us grow a thicker skin. If people are constantly telling you how great you are and how perfect your work is, you run the risk of becoming stagnant in your growth & development because you eventually start to lose the motivation to try new/different ways of thinking & doing things.
Now, yes, there are different kinds of negative reviews. Admittedly, some are more tactful & helpful than others. I believe that negative reviews should explain why the reader didn't enjoy or understand particular aspects of a book instead of simply making statements like the following: "This book totally sucked donkey balls. The characters were lame, and the story was so boring I wanted to gouge my eyes out with a freshly sharpened pencil." As amusing as that remark might be, it's not very informative. That's why if you compare my positive reviews with my negative reviews, you'll notice that my negative reviews tend to be lengthier and more in-depth. I make every effort to explain in detail what didn't work for me and why. Sure, I put a funny spin on things and crack jokes here & there, but I do that to offset the negative tone of the review and not because I'm trying to be flippant.
With that said, what really bugs me is when I see commenters verbally attack reviewers for posting negative reviews. I find this kind of behavior extremely closed-minded, immature, and hypocritical. Furthermore, I can't stand the misguided notion that an opinion is less valid or valuable if it happens to be in the minority. Also, people really need to stop interpreting negative reviews as a personal affront on their reading tastes. That's not it at all, trust me. As I hope to have demonstrated above, negative reviews serve a legitimate purpose and are not inherently bad or written with ill intent.
So, please, let's respect each other's opinions.
I totally agree with you! I write my reviews as honestly as I can. If I don't like a book I'm not going to lie about it and say I do. I do try to be funny about it, though, to keep things light. Luckily nobody gets mad at me for my bad reviews.
I agree. As a book buyer, I want to do some research and see if I'll like the book. As a book reviewer, it's hard when you're excited for a book and then it lets you down and you know the review is not going to be a good one. I understand and admire the hard work that authors go through to put their work out there. And then here we are telling them that we didn't like their work. It sucks. But it has to be done.
I don't mind others commenting on the review disagreeing with me but do it in a respectful way. The same way that I kept in mind not to be unprofessional while writing the review, the same way you should reply.
But I get that we don't think the same way. And negative comments and reviews are something we (bloggers and authors) have to deal with.
Thanks for this post! :)
I've been waiting for someone to finally write a post like this. Lately, I've just found myself in the minority who don't like certain very popular books and though I find it harder to review the book in a critical and yet objective way, I don't want to be made to feel like I'm being mean for being honest. I'm a writer as well and I can understand why people would feel disappointed in a negative review, but maybe they should look at it from a different perspective instead of instantly getting defensive. As you've said, most negative reviews I've ever read don't attack the writer as a person. They usually explain the things they didn't like and most even give examples. Nobody has attacked me yet for writing a negative review, but I can imagine it'll happen one day.
Jenny - For the most part, people have been very supportive of my negative reviews. But recently I've come across a few instances of bloggers I follow receiving backlash for their negative reviews--reviews I thought were very well-written and not at all mean to the author. That's what spurred me on to write this post.
mfay2 - Exactly. I don't mind people disagreeing with me, but I get really annoyed when commenters start lashing out saying things like, "You're just trying to be mean. This genre is clearly not for you. You should read something else." I don't appreciate people making unfounded accusations and on top of that telling me what I should or should not be reading.
Lan - Dude, I always seem to be in the minority, lol. When I first started blogging & reviewing, I felt incredibly self-conscious about stating my honest opinions, especially about books that were being really hyped up by everyone. But now, I've become accustomed to being one of the outliers, and I just don't give a damn.
And you know what, I will be first do admit that my reviews are very subjective. I don't know how something like a book review can be entirely objective. Yes, there are technical things that you can critique objectively like grammar or plot structure/development, but there's also a whole lot of stuff that is based on the reader's individual emotions, perceptions, expectations, preferences, etc. Reading is, after all, a very personal experience that requires imagination.
I prefer to think of it as writing critical reviews rather than negative reviews. I agree with you though. I don't want to only read what was good about a book. And you know what? You can like a book and still be critical about it. Why does it have to be either/or? To me it doesn't.
When I write critical reviews, I always try to find something positive about the book as well. But even if I don't, I always try to remain tactful.
Immature is THE WORD I would use. Even worse if they are the authors themselves who attack reviewers, that's just making me go *facepalm* Fantastic post, Marg! I found you through Marta's post and absolutely loved your blog! ;) You have a new follower
Beth - You, my dear, get extra points for awesomeness. I love your positive outlook. I def prefer the term "critical review" over "negative review".
kara-karina - Oh gosh, yeah, I've been witness to a couple authors totally losing their shit and flipping out on bloggers over reviews. It just made them look immature, unprofessional, and neurotic. Not a pretty sight at all.
P.S. I'm really flattered by Marta's post. She's awesome. And I'm glad you like my blog. Thanks for following. :)
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