Authors should never respond to reviews?

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aruna

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This author wrote a article in the New Republic, protesting against Vine Reviewers:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119875/margo-howard-amazon-vine-reviewers-sabotaged-my-book
I’ll bet you don’t know what the Amazon “Vine Community” is. I didn’t. I was never even aware of it until my memoir was published earlier this year. Books offered onAmazon for pre-order have a notation: “This book is not eligible for review until publication date.” However, in the run-up to my release date there were already five reviews posted—and they all were rotten; I mean inaccurate, insulting, and demonstrably written by dim bulbs. I was absolutely stunned. Who were these people, and why were they allowed to comment on a book before actual purchasers, when there was a clear prohibition.

I think when you publish a memoir you do open yourself up to criticism of YOU and your life decisions. Look at all the 1-star reviews of Eat Pray Love, for instance. It comes with the territory.
 
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spieles

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I had an author respond and thank me for a comment on Goodreads. While it was kinda a cool moment and I was like, "That's awesome that she took her time to respond." BUT now when I read her work, it's kind like she is there over my shoulder. She made herself personal to me and now(and it's my own hangup) I feel like I have to like her work. It's hard to be objective when reading a friend's work and that's partly how it feels.

Oh I totally get that. Now if you left a mediocre review - you would feel like a bad guy. :Shrug:
 

jaksen

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I wrote an honest review on a site, but didn't like the book. Gave it two stars out of five and said why. My reviews are always factual and polite. (I also get a kick out of authors who give themselves five stars.)

Anyhow, the author thanked me for the review and liked it.

But did he read it? :D
 

veinglory

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In my observation Vine review skew positive. So maybe the book just doesn't have wide appeal?

At the end of the day her publisher signed up for Vine, so it is between them and the author to communicate about these things.

Them being vine reviews doesn't really make any difference does it? I think the usual rule applies.
 
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Bloo

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This author wrote a article in the New Republic, protesting against Vine Reviewers:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119875/margo-howard-amazon-vine-reviewers-sabotaged-my-book


I think when you publish a memoir you do open yourself up to criticism of YOU and your life decisions. Look at all the 1-star reviews of Eat Pray Love, for instance. It comes with the territory.

did you see that margo commented to people in the comments saying that there was an agenda against her because she is a target and rich.

It was also interesting that a few people pointed out that the book had 19 positive reviews of which only 4 or 5 were verified purchases.

I was never a fan of the Dear Prudence stuff, and I'm less of a fan now. It's a memoir, not everyone is going to think that your life is super fascinating.
 

Amadan

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Wow, another rant about how peons shouldn't be allowed to review books.

(Mods- I think I accidentally typed that into a "report post" field just now - please ignore. The perils of browsing forums on a smart phone...)
 

Buffysquirrel

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oh dear, the Grauniad taking STGRB seriously? The poor innocents.
 

aruna

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That article is neverending and just rambles on ... I'm done.
What is catfishing?
I feel as if I've wandered into some Mean Girls movie. Talk about adolescent behaviour!
 

yayeahyeah

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oh dear, the Grauniad taking STGRB seriously? The poor innocents.

What makes it more hilarious (in 'laugh or else you'll cry' way) is that the Grauniad have recently been tweeting authors with negative reviews that clearly count as 'bully reviews' by that site's standards.
 

Kylabelle

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I think 'Grauniad' is a joking distortion of the name 'Guardian'. Anagram breakfast?

As for catfishing, looks to me like catfishing is a form of trolling. Baiting someone or someones, hoping for a reaction.

Never a pleasant behavior to witness, nor one I enjoy deconstructing, particularly.

If catfishing has some further nuance of meaning perhaps someone will instruct us as to what that is?
 

Anna_Hedley

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I'm still boggling at that article. She phoned a woman at work and turned up at her house because this woman gave her a bad review? And she still thinks she's the victim?
 

aruna

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In my observation Vine review skew positive. So maybe the book just doesn't have wide appeal?

At the end of the day her publisher signed up for Vine, so it is between them and the author to communicate about these things.

Them being vine reviews doesn't really make any difference does it? I think the usual rule applies.


Ah, yes, thanks. No wonder I couldn't find it -- I looked for it everywhere but TIO!
 

bearilou

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I'm still boggling at that article. She phoned a woman at work and turned up at her house because this woman gave her a bad review? And she still thinks she's the victim?

I read the whole thing and I think it was more than just a bad review. It ended up being a shitstorm smear campaign. Admittedly, the author wouldn't ignore the reviewer and kept obsessively engaging.
 

yayeahyeah

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I read the whole thing and I think it was more than just a bad review. It ended up being a shitstorm smear campaign. Admittedly, the author wouldn't ignore the reviewer and kept obsessively engaging.

I was following the blogger on Twitter and completely missed the smear campaign. I'd be interested to see screenshots so we could judge just how bad it was.
 

firedrake

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I'm still boggling at that article. She phoned a woman at work and turned up at her house because this woman gave her a bad review? And she still thinks she's the victim?

Yeah, the author definitely has a serious case of the 'me-me-mes'. :crazy:
 

Jamesaritchie

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I don't understand why writers even read reviews, let alone respond to them. I don't give a rat's ass what any reviewer thinks of one of my books, and, apparently, neither do the great majority of readers.

If bad reviews harmed a book in any way, about half the bestsellers out there wouldn't sell ten copies. Anyone remember The Bridges of Madison County? At the time, it held the record for the most negative reviews, and the fewest positive reviews, of any book on record. It also held the record for most sales of an adult hardcover, ever. It hit number one on the NYT bestseller list, and stayed there a record number of weeks. Then it did the same think in paperback, and the same thing again after the movie came out.

There's a saying in publishing that a really good review in the right place can sell 100,000 extra copies of a novel. And a really bad review in the same spot can sell 90,000 extra copies.

Only a tiny percentage of average readers care at all about reviews, and here's no reason writers should care, either.
 
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