While researching my St. Patrick’s Day blog, where I reminisced about writing a novella, I must confess I poked around and looked at the fate of a few other books I wrote as well.
I tell authors that a one-star review isn’t as bad as they think because that shows that your book is being read by impartial readers. I had to remind myself of my own advice as I read a few poor reviews. What writers feel that negative reviews are justified? I’d venture that none really do.
Needless to say, I enjoyed reading the favorable reviews.
Then, I felt truly humbled. People had taken time not only to read my books, but many shared what they liked about the plots. I couldn’t help but feel amazed that anyone would not only read my work, but discuss stories I’d made up. Just typing this brings back that awestruck feeling.
Even though I’m not writing books now that I’m an agent, I feel a sense of gratitude to those readers who felt strongly enough about my work that they shared those feelings with others. As you take your publishing journey, I wish for you many engaged readers, too.
Your turn:
What is your favorite comment anyone has made about your work?
What comments have you learned from?
Do you read all the reviews on a book before you purchase? Why or why not?
What An Editor Does–Phase 2
Readers through the Amazon Vine program select books and are provided a free copy in exchange for their honest review. These folks sometimes select a title without realizing the book is faith based. My favorite review said, “I didn’t realize this book on strengthening your marriage was a Christian book. But I am separated and my husband filed for divorce 2 days before this book arrived, so I read it. It really made me think and examine my own behaviors and how I had just stopped making effort to build and protect my marriage. I’ve got some things to consider based on this book. Oh, and I didn’t mind the God stuff as much as I thought I would.” Gave it 3-stars. All time favorite review. Helping someone think is my goal and when it causes them to reconsider their choices – doesn’t get any better!
What a wonderful affirmation that your work is serving God! I’d treasure a review like that, too.
One comment I’ve gotten that I love is when a reader said she didn’t get out of her PJs all day long because she didn’t want to take time away from reading the story. However, my favorite comments are when they feel sad that the book is over because it’s like saying goodbye to old friends. My favorite stories are ones that have lovable and well-developed characters, so that comment tells me I’ve hit my mark.
One thing I’ve learned from comments is how subjective they can be. On the same novel, I’ve gotten reviews that called it “dark and haunting” and others that called it “sweet and light.” I’ve had some mentioning typos–that were quickly fixed.
I will read a couple of reviews before buying a book. Usually at least one good one and one bad one. I see if the bad one cares about what I care about and often find they don’t. The biggest selling point, however, is the sample on Amazon. I need to see if the writing style grabs me and pulls me into the story.
Thank you for sharing Tamela. Because I’m not yet published I sometimes sense readers feel it is their duty to criticize. However my most favorable feedback was a reader who finished a book and told me they didn’t want the story to end. And one of my Genesis judges took the time to contact me via email to say she couldn’t stop thinking about my story. I consider all critiques very seriously, but a little hope and encouragement goes a long way at this stage!
I love the comments where readers say they’ve grown closer to God or broken free from a stronghold through reading my books and doing my Bible studies. I don’t read all the comments before I buy a book, but I do look at how many positive ones there are compared to negative and read a few of each.
Tamela,
Nice post about reviews. It’s hard for any author to get book reviews. One of the ways I support and help other writers is through consistently writing reviews. I have written over 550 Amazon reviews and I have 5,000 friends on Goodreads (the maximum which I learned after I hit it).
Writing a few sentences of review does not take much time but is important for a number of reasons–and something every writer can do—no matter whether you are beginning or have published dozens of books (as I have). Recently I wrote You Need Honest Reviews blogpost
Terry
The Writing Life
I do read as many reviews as I can. Most 1 star reviews were very biased, but in at least three, I found comments that made me take notice and think about the story or scene and had an influence on the manuscript in progress at that time.
If books are from my favorite authors, I don’t read the reviews, but if from an unfamiliar one, I read a few to get a feel for the book.
One comment I’ll always cherish is when a beta reader said her heart was breaking for my main character in a certain scene. As an avid reader, I know that feeling, and it was so inspiring to know I’d caused that reaction for her.
As far as reading reviews on a book, I’ll look at the average ratings, but not delve too deeply in the actual comments. Opinions are so subjective. I like to read a sample chapter of the book and then make my own decision to buy & continue the story or move on to something else.
WTF
I like to skim the reviews, and I always read the 1s and 2s. These tell me a lot in a different way. Sometimes, though, it is a mistake to read the 1 star reviews. They tend to be harsh and unkind. Some diss the message of the book.
One of my book reviewers seemed totally surprised by its content. In part, he said “This was a difficult book for me to read. Not because it was bad, by any means. It hit so close to home on so many levels. As she wrote her beautiful psalms and reflected on her conversations with God, Brumbaugh shone light on issues that I have with my own bitterness. . . As a person who tends to practice my religion from a scholarly perspective, I found her simple conversations with God incredibly refreshing. I can’t recommend this book enough.” It is encouraging to know that your own little bit has made a difference.
Speaking of book reviews… I have a question:
I’d like to publish reviews of books on my blog. However, is it OK to add images of the content inside the book, say a photo or two of some illustrations of a children’s book? I’ve seen other bloggers do this and I wonder if it violates copyright? Is permission required from publisher to post any type of photo I take of what I am reading and writing a review about? Thanks. Sorry, this may be another topic, but I thought it may be related somehow here.
I’m really glad you asked this, Erendira. I’d like to know, too.
Erendira, I think you would be wise to be sure the use is okay with the publisher. Better to be “safe than sorry” as the expression goes.
The below section in quotation marks is copy-pasted from Fairuse.Stanford.edu’s, a website on Fair Use.
“Commentary and Criticism
If you are commenting upon or critiquing a copyrighted work — for instance, writing a book review — fair use principles allow you to reproduce some of the work to achieve your purposes. Some examples of commentary and criticism include:
•quoting a few lines from a Bob Dylan song in a music review
•summarizing and quoting from a medical article on prostate cancer in a news report
•copying a few paragraphs from a news article for use by a teacher or student in a lesson, or
•copying a portion of a Sports Illustrated magazine article for use in a related court case.
The underlying rationale of this rule is that the public reaps benefits from your review, which is enhanced by including some of the copyrighted material. Additional examples of commentary or criticism are provided in the examples of fair use cases.”
Note: Might be a good idea to check to see if the portion of the book that you’re taking a picture of is displayed on Amazon or in a “book preview” sample publically available. If it is in a book preview, you should be fine. Fair Use is a potential gray area that has resulted in many annoying court cases. Rule of thumb–less is more, especially if you’re taking a picture of the inside of a picture book. I would stay away from that.
Copyrights are there to protect those developing intellectual property, and to ensure the continued creation of it. Thinking of how you’d like someone else to treat your work can be helpful. Would you want 20% of your picture book displayed on someone else’s website when you didn’t even want a preview shown?
I have a sincere, heartfelt email from a woman in Texas that says, “Your book saved my marriage.”
If I’m buying a book for my historical research or something on the writing craft, I read several reviews to learn about the breadth and depth of the content if I haven’t read any of the author’s prior works. When I’m buying a novel, I might look to see if it has predominantly 4 or 5 stars in the bar chart on Amazon, but I don’t usually read the reviews. If I’m buying a novel in a store, I usually don’t bother reading the comments by celebrities and well-known authors bound in the front. Glowing words by people I don’t know personally are too hard to calibrate as true opinion or loyalty to a friend. If there’s an ellipsis…what was left out? If I say your novel was stunning, was it stunningly good or bad? Comments on the book by friends who know what I might like carry much more weight.
I’ve learned that reviews are like rejections from publishers which they nicely called a “pass.” We learn that not everyone will like our work, but that doesn’t make it bad, and as you said, people have taken time to respond–good or bad. From the negative reviews, sometimes we can learn something or it gives us food for thought. Naturally we love “good” food but sometimes the bad tasting food makes us appreciate the delicious ones even better.
I read reviews of my books when I can. I love it when something clicked with another person, when it helps them or makes them laugh/cry/change a life. The one-stars don’t bother me when they’re just lashing out at religion or nonsense. I think most people see through those. One really did bother me. It was because they reviewed a situation with the audio file that was out of my control. I’d asked the company to correct an accidental upload of raw audio. The rep told me they had it corrected. But 3 months later, it wasn’t. And I found out because of the 1-star review. I asked again to correct the accidental file. I hope I don’t find out in another 3 months that it wasn’t done. But, even that review was helpful. I found out the correction was never made so I could go in and follow up.
Once a 3-star review bothered me. The reader had a prominent position that tends to get a LOT of press. That person reviewed their personal issue, but not my book or the story or my writing. In fact, the person seemed incredulous about the internal feelings were possible. But I knew they were. I’d lived a while very angry at God. I knew others that were angry with God when they lost someone or something dear. Grief can do that to a person. That review stung because it was circulated as a judgement on my book, the disbelief that a person could be angry with God. But didn’t have anything to do with the writing. The review was, however, written in such a way that it appeared to be. I think it hurt sales because of the prominent position. I decided to pray that the reviewer’s heart be healed. My story had obviously hit a pain point for that person. I realized that sometimes books are not written for “success” no matter how sure we are that we’ve created something good. That person might have needed to have a healed heart more than I needed a massive sales number. I see myself standing in front of God at my appointed time. He says, “Because you were obedient, and let me use your book the way I wanted to—”
“But God, that book didn’t sell as many copies as I dreamed. It didn’t change the world for you.”
“Ah, but it did.” He calls someone else forward. “She’s here because through your work I was able to speak into her heart.”
Now I see. Book or coffee chat, rich or poor, gregarious or quiet, when I do what I’m supposed to do and when I am who I am supposed to be— it doesn’t always look successful on the surface. I won’t always get the kudos. But if I can stand (or probably fall flat on my face) in front of God on the most important moment in my eternal journey to hear that something I thought meant I’d failed might mean something completely different in the Grand Plan…I’m okay with that opportunity. Sometimes a book is written for an audience of one. The one God chooses to reach with it. Yes, I’m okay with that too.
I can’t think of a greater compliment than the one I received from a young woman in my writers’ group: “Please make Samuel the protagonist in your next book. I’m in love with him.”
As a debut novelist, I’m just learning the wisdom of your words.
You can bet I’m taking note of reviews as I write #2!
My favorite review of THE CALLING OF ELLA MCFARLAND has been Allison Pittman’s at bit.ly/1RA4zsi.
I appreciate this posting. Thank you.
I don’t read reviews before getting a book. However, I research a bit on how well the book /author is being discussed by fellow authors (that led me to Three and Terri Blackstock). I would hopefully bypass the harsh 1 star reviews when I get published.
I don’t buy books based on reviews, and I won’t ever review books I don’t like because I wouldn’t want negative reviews of my own books.
I love your vulnerability, Tamela <3
The only reviews I read are for non-fiction books that I want to purchase for specific information. I rarely read reviews for fiction because it's usually subjective.
My favorite comments about my books are the few that say the book made them laugh and cry. There's something about having stirred real emotions that is satisfying.
Hello Tamela! I really enjoyed this post.
I have yet to publish a book but one I am trying to get out did garner a review that stuck with me. Mary DeMuth (heads up my writers group) said, “You are such a clean, interesting writer.”
Trying to stay positive about my work I didn’t question her comment. I took it as a complement (hopefully it was) and ran away.
Thank you for your posts and God bless ya!
I have a question ~ I’ve heard often that you should never respond to bad reviews, but never about whether to respond to favorable reviews. Not a single word on the subject. I’ve had some amazingly positive reviews and decided that regardless of protocol, I wanted to say thanks and invite the reviewers to provide input on future books.
This book is non-fiction, a garden journal, so not your typical line, I realize, but surely you’ve come across the question of thanking positive reviewers before, and I value your opinion and that of anyone who wants to weigh in on the flip side of the topic.
As for your questions, I’ve had too many favorites to pick one, and I’ve learned from almost all of them.
I do read reviews to inform my decisions on whether to purchase. I skim a few positives, and read the lowest negatives to protect myself from too much sexual content or foul language. Generally if these are an issue, you can count on at least one person giving the book a one or two star rating as a result. If the book passes the one-two star test, the things I consider are if there are too many complaints about grammar/spelling and the balance of stars overall compared to total number of reviews. I’m not a fan of romances for the sake of romance, so I’m looking to see if the reviewers are impressed by the girl/boy aspect or that the story is complex and has take-away value beyond the romance. I’ll put up with romance for the potential to look at life and values from another angle.