Review with spoilers -- what to do?

This is one reason why I prefer Goodreads for reviews. They have a system to mark spoilers, and the community is good at flagging reviews that aren't marked. Amazon is a mess of spoilers, which I'm sure most people using it know.

Roxxsmom said:

The only suggestion, though, is to avoid reading reviews for things you haven't read or watched yet, unless someone can attest to it being spoiler free.

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This is why I don't read reviews.

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As an aside, booklikes also has a great spoiler function. With less of that distracting message board nonsense.:/ It's there, but you have to look for it. It's not like, "Hello, how do you like your coffee reviewer?"

Aaaaaa! I hatehatehate spoilers, so I would actually not buy a book if it has been spoiled for me, unless it's something I absolutely HAVE to read (like HP 6...I accidentally spoiled it for myself by watching a video about some guy screaming out the spoiler to a bunch of people waiting in line at Borders the night it came out. Duh.) I still bought it anyway, but I gnashed my teeth throughout because I knew what was going to happen at the end.

I've got to say that if I were you, I'd have left it. If someone's put a spoiler in their review, other Amazon users will alert them to it (trust me on this - I've had it happen to me dozens of times, even when I've not put any spoilers into it). I definitely wouldn't make a complaint because that's just nasty - reviews aren't for authors, they're for purchasers.

MM

Speaking as a reader/amateur reviewer who does her best to avoid spoilers, I gotta say that this sucks. As an author, though, I don't think there's much you can do about it: once your story's out in the wild, people's reactions and reviews are out of your control, save maybe in cases of outright slander or plagiarism. It probably won't affect sales much, though I agree that it's irritating.

It would be nice if more people respected that some of us don't like spoilers, and appropriately labeled spoiler-ridden reviews or remarks. Unfortunately, it seems courtesy isn't hardwired into the human brain.

Cyia said:

Ironically, the spoiler reviews are exactly the ones I go looking for. I *want* to know the big twists before I read a novel. If I like the twist, I read the novel to see how it's staged. If I don't like the twist, then the book drops down my to-read list.

I doubt I'm the only one, so the spoiler might actually get you some sales.

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Yeah, I'm often the same way. Sometimes I enjoy being spoiler-free, but I often want to know the story before getting into something. In any case, knowing plot twists generally doesn't affect my enjoyment.

It's always good to have warnings, though.

aruna said:

OK, some people like spoilers, some don't. So why not give people a choice: add a spoiler alert, then those who like spoilers can read on, and those who don't can skip! Quite simple.

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That's usually the route most reviews take. It's possible that this one forgot and left it off.

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aruna:
I never intended to complain -- if I had written the reviewer it would have been to ask him or her -- gently -- to add a spoiler alert as a courtesy to readers, not to complain. What is nasty about that?

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The reason why I think complaining is nasty is because you shouldn't be policing your reviews unless they're making personal statements about you. TBH, as the author I don't think you should be looking at your reviews at all (but everyone does, so because we're all mostly human ... )

I don't think adding a comment is nasty but it does make me uncomfortable. Firstly, again as an author I don't think you should be commenting on reviews one way or another. Second, in this particular situation I don't personally feel comfortable with someone essentially making a comment on your behalf (although that's obviously between you and Perks) because you've come here to mention the review and it's not difficult to find it going through the links in your signature.

aruna:
Again, I repeat: this is not for me. It is exactly for purchasers.

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I disagree. It's you, as the author, making a decision for purchasers. If a genuine Amazon buyer had gone on there and said - hey, too heavy on the spoilers - that's fair enough. For you - as the author - to do it (even via someone else), it's you imposing what you think purchasers should know.

I don't mean any disrespect by that and I'm not trying to attack you, but I'm posting this as someone who writes a lot of Amazon reviews, and I'm saying it because it doesn't sit comfortably with me. But what's done is done.

FWIW I went to check out the review you're concerned about and while it's very plot heavy and a bit clumsy, I wouldn't have picked out anything as being particularly spoilerific until the attention was drawn to it on this thread. As such, I personally wish you'd have cut the reviewer some slack and left it but like I said, what's done is done. Just wanted to raise my point in case such a situation happens again.

MM

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Liosse sorted it.

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Liosse sorted it.

I hate it when a reviewer provides spoilers, especially without *Spoiler Alert* in the heading. If it's any consolation, I had a huge spoiler at the end of one of my novellas and the first three reviewers ALL provided the spoiler. All of them hated the ending and wanted to warn away other readers.

Sales went up. I'm still getting new reviews and some people are still shocked at the ending.