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The
Reviewer’s Responsibility An
Absolute Write reader took me to task a few weeks ago about our book reviews.
She told me that she was going to tell her writers’ group to send us
their published books to review, but now she wouldn’t... because we ran
“negative” reviews. My
first thought was, “Good! I have
such a backlog of books that I don’t need any more.”
But my second thought was more contemplative... who did she think we were
reviewing for? A
reviewer’s responsibility is to the publication’s readers.
Period. Sometimes
this responsibility gets confused. New
book reviewers think that, because the author or publisher sent them free books,
they’re somehow indebted. They
have to write positive reviews to “pay back” the author. Or
maybe it’s out of a sense of loyalty: “You’re a writer like me, and you
respect my opinion, so I should praise you.” How
sad... and how unfair to the readers. A
reviewer is not a publicist—at least, he or she shouldn’t be.
A publicist’s job is to present the book in the best light and praise
it unconditionally. A reviewer’s
job is to help readers figure out what’s worth buying or picking up at the
library. Or, in the case of trade
magazines, to help book sellers and librarians figure out what’s worth
ordering. I
had to quit a reviewing job once, early on in my career, when an editor at Video
Librarian changed my review of a video.
It was an educational video that was informative, but boring—and my
review stated as such. I generously
gave it 3 out of 4 stars because of its solid content, but added the caveat that
students probably wouldn’t be excited by it because of the narrator’s
monotone drone. The editor removed
any hint of negativity from my review and changed the rating to 4 stars.
I was baffled... and upset. My
name was on that review, and that carried a certain responsibility.
Now, if a librarian ordered it because of my “glowing” endorsement,
she would have been misled. If she went on to recommend it to a teacher, and the
teacher’s students all fell asleep during the video, it was “my” fault for
giving it such high praise and neglecting to mention how boring the video was. I
still don’t know why the editor changed the review. I’m not cynical enough to think he was bribed, but I am
realistic enough to know that he was probably friendly with the company that
produced the video. Maybe they send
him lots of videos and he was afraid they wouldn’t send him more if he ran a
lukewarm review. I don’t know,
but that’s on his conscience. My
conscience tells me that false praise hurts readers and undermines the purpose
of reviews in general. That’s
how I look at every review I do; if I can’t find anything positive to say
about a book or product, I’d prefer not to review it at all.
But if my feelings are mixed, I feel a responsibility to the reader, just
as I’d feel a responsibility to a friend.
If my friend asked me, “Hey, how do you like your new vacuum?
I’m thinking of buying that model,” it would be terrible of me to
tell her only about the vacuum’s great suction power and omit the detail that
the darn thing is impossible to clean, gets clogged every 20 minutes, and is no
good on bare wood floors. Of
course we tell our friends the truth. We
want them to make good buying decisions, and we are happy to share our
experiences to help them figure out what’s worth the money and what fails to
deliver. When
you write a review, you have to think of the readers as your friends.
They deserve the whole truth, too. One
of the most important treasures a writer can accrue is readers’ trust.
Falsely praise a sub-par book and you’ll blow that trust. Of
course, some reviewers have opposite agendas: Because of a personal bias, a past
snub, a desire for revenge, or outright jealousy, they get a thrill from the
power they have to pan a book—even if the book is excellent.
That’s equally unfair to readers.
Again, remember that your review is not meant for the author: It’s
meant to help readers make decisions. If
you can’t read the book with an open mind and an unbiased standpoint, you have
no business reviewing it. My
point is not that reviewers should seek out the negatives or nit-pick every fine
detail, but simply give an accurate impression of their overall feelings about
the book. Was it an engaging read
from beginning to end? Which
readers would benefit the most from a book like this?
Were there major holes in the plot?
Were there many pieces of advice you found fishy?
How was it different from other books on the topic?
Was it worth the money readers would pay for it? If
you are not in the book’s target market, your job is to think as if you are.
Maybe you’re reviewing a book about parenting and you’re not a
parent. You must do your best to
put yourself in the shoes of the book’s target audience and review it with
them in mind; if you were a parent, what would you think of this book? There
are certainly ways of conveying the book’s negative points without personally
bashing the author. This may be an
acquired skill; reviewers should keep in mind that honesty doesn’t have to
mean cruelty. Writing “The book
tended to be repetitious” conveys the same idea as “What, does the author
think we’re idiots? We got the
point the first 20 times he mentioned it!” without the venom. Save the unconditional love for your family and the unconditional hate for journal fodder. As a reviewer, your opinion can wield great influence. The best reviewers cherish the readers’ trust, and they understand their responsibility to earn it. Jenna Glatzer is teaching a writers' workshop at the Omega Institute in October, 2004. Learn all about it at http://www.jennaglatzer.com/omega_writing_workshop.htm. She's also the author of Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer, which comes with a free editors' e-mail "cheat sheet" directory! Check it out at http://www.jennaglatzer.com. This
article may be freely reprinted as long as the bio remains in tact. |
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