Random Post #6: The Issue of Not Liking a Book and Reviewing It
There are thousands of talented writers out there, heck probably millions. Not all of them choose to put there work out there, while others make their way into the publishing world.
Some succeed, some don't.
To get your book published, I have heard, is EXTREMELY hard work!
JK Rowling...who some of you may have heard of...she's only the author of one of the MOST FAMOUS CHILDREN'S SERIES of ALL TIME, if not THE MOST!! was rejected a DOZEN times before landing a publisher!
And according to this article, the only reason why Bloomsbury accepted Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is because the CEO's "eight year old daughter" begged her dad to publish it!
Judy Blume, who wrote MANY famous novels that millions of young girls grew up with, received nothing but rejections for over two years!
MEG CABOT, my hero! My absolute favorite author received over 17 REJECTIONS, before getting The Princess Diaries in print!
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer was rejected FOURTEEN times before getting published by Little, Brown, and Company, and becoming known as one of the biggest Phenomenons in the world!
It's a tough business!
Now to the real point of this post...
I am book reviewer as some of you may know :), not professionally, I have NEVER claimed that, but I do it for fun. I read A LOT of books! And this has been the perfect outlet for being able to find a community that has similar interests. My friends, the ones I know in person, don't read. In fact, I noticeably can tell that every time I mention a book, they get annoyed. Not all of them, but a couple. And while that hurts, for a friend to be doing that, I get it in a way, because books are the main thing I can talk about.
But at the same time, I have absolutely no intention of putting someone off from reading a book, that I did not enjoy.
It is a horrible position to put in when an author asks you to read their work, and you don't enjoy it. I was in that situation a few days ago. An author asked me (not naming names) to read her contemporary romance novel. I love contemporary romances usually, but of course there are the exceptional few where they just don't click with me.
When I accept a book for review, I don't make promises out right that I will love it, a reader just can't do that. But I inside I know, that if I don't like the book I am going to ask the author if they want me to post a review or not.
I, personally, just can't be one of those people that mercilessly BASHES a book. People have opinions, I get that, I've stated mine a few times here, Goodreads, and other sites; but this is someone's art. And unless you're a professional, you don't really have the right to talk about someone's works in a way that will throw everyone off from reading it, just because YOU didn't like it.
Every time I have post a negative review on a book here, on The Romance Bookie, I have made it clear at the end, that just because I didn't like it does NOT mean you won't! And I love hearing opinions on whether you, yourself, enjoyed it or not!
Opinions are great things, but there is a point where it does get to be too much, and I believe some people just don't know the boundaries.
Now, I have also seen authors get very nasty toward a reviewer, openly bashing them on their own website, which, wow, can't get anymore unprofessional; but unfortunately there is no one that can stop them.
People can get nasty, believe me, I have experienced it enough times to know. But there are invisible boundaries that I like to keep, and I hope some of you do too.
So for the future again, The Romance Bookie is completely MY opinions, not yours, not anyone else's. So if I liked a book, and you don't...that's okay! If I didn't like a book, and you really wanted to read that book...please DO! I don't want to be the one responsible for stopping you from reading it!
The Romance Bookie is my hobby, which means my fun outlet! :)
I hope you all still enjoy it, and continue stopping by, because I love hearing from authors, readers, and sometimes opinionated people!
Thanks for reading my rambling once again! :)
Some succeed, some don't.
To get your book published, I have heard, is EXTREMELY hard work!
JK Rowling...who some of you may have heard of...she's only the author of one of the MOST FAMOUS CHILDREN'S SERIES of ALL TIME, if not THE MOST!! was rejected a DOZEN times before landing a publisher!
And according to this article, the only reason why Bloomsbury accepted Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is because the CEO's "eight year old daughter" begged her dad to publish it!
Judy Blume, who wrote MANY famous novels that millions of young girls grew up with, received nothing but rejections for over two years!
MEG CABOT, my hero! My absolute favorite author received over 17 REJECTIONS, before getting The Princess Diaries in print!
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer was rejected FOURTEEN times before getting published by Little, Brown, and Company, and becoming known as one of the biggest Phenomenons in the world!
It's a tough business!
Now to the real point of this post...
I am book reviewer as some of you may know :), not professionally, I have NEVER claimed that, but I do it for fun. I read A LOT of books! And this has been the perfect outlet for being able to find a community that has similar interests. My friends, the ones I know in person, don't read. In fact, I noticeably can tell that every time I mention a book, they get annoyed. Not all of them, but a couple. And while that hurts, for a friend to be doing that, I get it in a way, because books are the main thing I can talk about.
But at the same time, I have absolutely no intention of putting someone off from reading a book, that I did not enjoy.
It is a horrible position to put in when an author asks you to read their work, and you don't enjoy it. I was in that situation a few days ago. An author asked me (not naming names) to read her contemporary romance novel. I love contemporary romances usually, but of course there are the exceptional few where they just don't click with me.
When I accept a book for review, I don't make promises out right that I will love it, a reader just can't do that. But I inside I know, that if I don't like the book I am going to ask the author if they want me to post a review or not.
I, personally, just can't be one of those people that mercilessly BASHES a book. People have opinions, I get that, I've stated mine a few times here, Goodreads, and other sites; but this is someone's art. And unless you're a professional, you don't really have the right to talk about someone's works in a way that will throw everyone off from reading it, just because YOU didn't like it.
Every time I have post a negative review on a book here, on The Romance Bookie, I have made it clear at the end, that just because I didn't like it does NOT mean you won't! And I love hearing opinions on whether you, yourself, enjoyed it or not!
Opinions are great things, but there is a point where it does get to be too much, and I believe some people just don't know the boundaries.
Now, I have also seen authors get very nasty toward a reviewer, openly bashing them on their own website, which, wow, can't get anymore unprofessional; but unfortunately there is no one that can stop them.
People can get nasty, believe me, I have experienced it enough times to know. But there are invisible boundaries that I like to keep, and I hope some of you do too.
So for the future again, The Romance Bookie is completely MY opinions, not yours, not anyone else's. So if I liked a book, and you don't...that's okay! If I didn't like a book, and you really wanted to read that book...please DO! I don't want to be the one responsible for stopping you from reading it!
The Romance Bookie is my hobby, which means my fun outlet! :)
I hope you all still enjoy it, and continue stopping by, because I love hearing from authors, readers, and sometimes opinionated people!
Thanks for reading my rambling once again! :)
The Romance Bookie :)
Good post. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post/topic! Book Bloggers often have this same dilemma. I agree that what my be my cuppa tea may not be yours. If I like a book but don't love it I post a review point out all the things I like and didn't like. I tend to sandwich them. I use to post about books I didn't like at all and try to find something positive to say but now I don't always post those.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Always finding something nice things to say is extremely important!
DeleteYou are a nice lady. I don't do negative reviews either. Life is too short.
ReplyDeleteSorry, previous comment froze. If I don't enjoy a book I find other ways to promote it. And if someone dessn't care for one of my books and says so, I suggest a giveaway.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, just because I didn't like it doesn't mean you won't. So I usually ask the author if they would like to do an interview or guest post, to help promote it for other people! :)
DeleteOur thoughts match to a great extent! In fact, when I started reviewing, I had NO idea I'd be doing it like I'm doing it right now, or I'll be getting review requests and such. The only thing I was sure of, was that it's all MY opinion and my feelings. Also, I don't know how to actually criticize a book because of course that's someone's hard work! They've put in so much of efforts and they're published. My choices and preferences are different.
ReplyDeleteI find it even harder to review a book I didn't enjoy. I'm guessing you'd agree. You feel awkward and worried that people might take it in a general sense, instead of something that's our personal preference.
This was a great post and I could totally relate to it! :)
Thank you Ashna! It definitely can be tough! And yes, I started blogging, not knowing it could be this awesome! Getting free books!! WOW! A readers dream!! :)
DeleteThis is always such a hot button issue. For me, if I can't balance out my criticism with positives, I won't post the review. I may have to work with this author/publisher/agent someday, and my words might come back to haunt me. Likewise, if I slam a book and say, someone who has very similar taste decides not to read it b/c s/he won't like it either...what if that would have been that person's favorite book, and they didn't try it because of my words? That hurts the reader whose experience I took away AND the author who would have gained a fan. When I write a balanced review with both elements, I still have people comment that I want to read it, which makes me feel good that I handled it well. But that's just my own personal outlook coming from a different place than other bloggers, I think!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! You never know what might happen in the future, those negative reviews may come back to haunt you!
DeleteThank you for commenting Bonnie! :)
I have a hard time with this as well. I have posted a negative review. And low and behold the author read it via Twitter. Luckily, he did not respond to my knowledge. I think that is why I am focusing my blog this year on my picks, my books. Not books from authors. I have a hard time telling someone I don't like their stuff. I am not a pro like you and I just do this for fun. I have incorporated links to other bloggers reviews in my reviews of books now. Just so people can get more than my opinion.
ReplyDeleteGreat post topic!
Haha I am hardly a pro! But thank you Alysia! :)
DeleteAnd yes it can get so difficult! It's frustrating sometimes!