It Isn’t Just Your Story Anymore: Authors, Reviewers, and the Power of Ink

[heidicullinan]

On her Livejournal, m/m romance reviewer kassa_rvws  today asks two questions: Do you find one star reviews to be of any value? Do you think books submitted for review by the author are owed a review? She’s asking these questions because after being asked for a review and giving it honestly, she was verbally assaulted in email by the author of the work.

There

Comments

[vashtan]

Thank you. I've been attacked that I was trying to "kill the competition", was "mean", "envious of a great talent", have no "spine", am "gormless" (I had to check that one in a dictionary, hey, I learnt a new word!) - I've been told to "shut the fuck up", been told I "don't have the right to review" because I'm an author, too

[heidicullinan]

Will listen anytime. I understand that this happens, and it happens in the big leagues too, but we don't have room for this horseshit. I have my amazon gear and will stand ready, because goddamn it I WANT to be reviewed. Because I would like to be read.

Sorry that happened to you too. I will grant that published authors do walk a finer political line, but yes, we still get to have opinions. You have a right to review too.

Arg.

[vashtan]

I'll buy yours and I'll review it. And I don't think we'd go mano-a-mano over it. :)

[heidicullinan]

I just don't get what the big death-knell one review is. If that's all you can get and your career hangs on it, you're fucked anyway. If it's a series of bad reviews, you've got bigger problems.

There's a legit concern if someone is gunning for you, and I know that happens. But again: one person. If it's more than one person, or if it's a very well-positioned person, that's slightly different, but usually at that point the Internet mob brings karma back.

In any event, yelling at a reviewer is twelve year-old behavior. Yelling at readers is the stuff of toddlers.

[jl_merrow]

Thanks for the link, Heidi! :D

[heidicullinan]

Kassa rules. I hate that she had that happen to her, and this unprofessionalism has got to stop.

[chris_smith_atr]

I love this. PLEASE POST IT AT META_WRITER. Seriously. You've just put it so very very well. *loves*

[heidicullinan]

Loves you back! Okay, two tics while I re-remember how to do that.....

[chris_smith_atr]

tell me if you have any issues -- this needs to be said and not only have you said it clearly -- you're not sitting there with an axe to grind, so you get double points.

(unsure what points count towards in my uni-world... possibly man-porn)

[heidicullinan]

I did it! If it's not okay, poke me and I'll fix it.

[genetic_drift]

This was an interesting post... very 'under the hood'. I'm not a reviewer, and I write just small things for myself (I lack technical skills to write well), but I am a reader and found this really enlightening.

[heidicullinan]

*hugs*

[kassa_rvws]

*clears throat* hehe well thank you. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's so flattering that a subject I wrote touched such a cord that you felt compelled to take time out of your extremely busy day. Thankfully I can say that and still not be sucking up :D.

Your post is very eloquent and highlights some really brilliant points such as authors knowing the business. As I've said we hear about authors behaving badly enough and often enough that clearly this is a missed course somewhere. Authorship 101, the reviewer, a necessary evil!

As I said, I'll be linking this post on my side bar for your very thoughtful and well spoken arguments. I think the thing to always remember is just because readers dislike one book, they could adore another by the same author. This has happened to me too many times to count.

[heidicullinan]

I'm glad you've gotten so much attention over this, because it's important. You're worth it. Because I know as a reader I respect reviewers more who don't just blanket-love everything.

Someday we're going to be at the same writer's conference or something, and I'm buying you a drink.

[kassa_rvws]

I'm holding you to that! Getting loose at a bar sounds good to me.

[heidicullinan]

I'm really starting to ache for an RWA-style m/m conference. Goddamn, but it would rock.

Someday it's gonna happen, and the first round is on me.