JANELLE STALDER

So I saw that my dear friend Miss. Kay from K-Books (http://k-booksxo.blogspot.com/) posted an interesting article today on facebook, which can be read here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/16/ya-novel-readers-publishing-establishment?fb=optOut

This is now the second time I’ve heard about the issue with authors and their “people” fighting with reviewers who dare to give their books a negative review. I actually spoke to an author/reviewer who gave a more popular series one star on Goodreads, which resulted in the other author getting friends of theirs to go on Goodreadsand rate the reviewer’s books at one star, just to bring down her overall rating. I don’t understand this. As a writer myself, I can tell you that our stories are extremely personal to us. They’re like our little babies, and of course we are fiercely protective of them. However, as writers we need to come to terms with the fact that not everyone is going to like it. Is it upsetting if someone says something bad about our book? Yes, why wouldn’t it be? But on the other hand we’ve put our writing out there to be reviewed. If writers aren’t prepared to read something bad about their work then don’t publish it. I’m always scared that someone is just going to hate what I’ve written, but part of me knows that at some point that will most likely happen. It’s just the way it works. Not everyone likes the same books, movies, music, etc. You will always have someone say that a book was horrible, where five others rave at how good it is. I had one reviewer write to me before posting her review, and gave me a point by point list of everything she thought was wrong with it. It hurt a bit, not going to lie, but it’s her right to have that opinion. I willingly sent her the book to review. After her list, she wrote “please don’t hate me!” As if! I quickly reassured her that in no way would I “hate” someone simply for telling me what they don’t like about something I’ve written. If I’m being honest, I could probably rip it apart better than anyone! I’ve always been my own worst critic. Instead of being angry with the person, I took everything they had said to heart, and made a mental note to watch for the things she had listed in my next work. Here’s a thought, instead of getting upset at reviewers for pointing out something that might be bad about your work, take what they’ve said and learn from it!

In the end I think this whole argument makes no sense. Writers, we need readers! They are what make it possible for us to do what we do, and make it worth it! Do not let those who say something negative get you down. It’s not worth it, and really it’s one person’s opinion. For that one person who didn’t like it, there will be ten that loved it. In turn readers need us as well. If we didn’t write fantastic or horrible stories, you’d have nothing to blog about! Readers have a right to say what they think about a book, as long as it is honest. Here is the only issue I have. If you’re going to review a book make sure you’re doing it with the right intentions. Don’t start picking a book apart just for the hell of it. Be sincere and respectful. Note to authors though, if you’re going to start lashing out at anyone with a negative comment, it’s going to make it pretty hard for future reviewers to retain that respect. Don’t make people feel like they can’t give a honest review without being attacked for it. It might hurt, but we need to swallow our pride and accept what others may think.  It’s a shaky relationship, but a relationship none the less!

That is all.

xo J