There are good things and bad things about the immediacy of social networking.
On the good side, Twitter and Facebook are useful networking tools. Now writers can easily interact with their readers, booksellers, agents, editors, and reviewers.
On the bad side—people who don’t think before they tweet.
If you haven’t read about author Alice Hoffman’s poorly thought-out response to a mediocre review, check out Galley Cat and Gawker for the play-by-play.
Basically, Ms. Hoffman got on Twitter and flipped out. The review wasn’t that bad. No, the reviewer wasn’t wild about her newest release, but praised her past books and stated this one wasn’t up to par with her others.
Ms. Hoffman posted the reviewer’s phone number on Twitter and asked her fans to call the reviewer and complain. For me, the unprofessionalism involved is the worst. The reviewers do their jobs, we do ours. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
I try really hard to remain unaffected and professional with both good and bad reviews. So far I haven’t gotten any real stinkers, but I’m sure they’re coming. If you have any longevity in this business, you should get both over your career. Right now my policy is to post the good ones on my publicity stuff and put the lukewarm ones out of mind as I write.
There’s even a blog called The Worst Review Ever: Feel the Pain. Heal the Pain. Now this is a more healthy approach to getting a bad review…with humor. I’ve enjoyed reading the posts (and readers then rate the review on a scale of bad to horrible.) The idea behind the blog is that they’re looking for the most scathing review ever. Not exactly something I want to aspire to, but fun to read.
And to all the reviewers out there—thanks for reading. Good or bad, these reviews translate into publicity. And writers can’t afford to drum up our own.
Before, this author just wanted a better review. Now she has serious regrets!
I wonder if it’s possible/feasible/practical/wise not to read ANY reviews.
You know, just go about your business and leave the review-reading to your spouse/agent/editor.
I’m considering that approach (although I have a feeling it would last about ten minutes).
I’ve never really had a bad review. Some are better than others. I’ve had some pretty brutal rejection notices, however. I’d like to pretend that I’m above the negative comments. That would be disingenuous. I approach it much the same as you: emphasize the positive, ignore the negative. A mentor once said, “You can usually find a snippet of something good, even in a bad review.”
Ignoring review context in snippet posting might be the best revenge. It tiptoes the ethics edge a bit, but, well, it does, can’t color it up…won’t try. Still, that’s why they call it revenge.
Best regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
If Ms. Hoffman would have remained silent about the review, fewer people would have heard about it. I think she reacted before thinking of the consequences. I agree, her actions were unprofessional.
JaneKennedySutton
Sometimes people act like children. You’ve got to take the good with the bad, and sometimes bad reviews are warranted, well, because the book was terrible. But a reviewer should still use good judgment and not be too harsh.
– Stephen Tremp
http://www.stephentremp.blogspot.com/
Wow. I hadn’t heard about this latest rant. She did something similar recently, although it sounded more warranted, as a reviewer put spoilers in the review and gave away the ending. THAT is not cool. I have an ARC of this book but it somehow keeps sliding lower and lower in the pile of books to read. Things like this make me quickly lose interest before I have a chance to fall in love with the piece. Sigh.
When you rely on your fans for your livlihood you HAVE to self-edit and remain in control (hard as it is). It is a real shame that one’s behavior can make the fans lose interest in the work before they even have the opportunity to see the finished product.
Fair or not, there it is.
Nancy, from Just a Thought…
Ooh, not a good idea, putting someone’s phone number out to the public. Bad karma. The word will get out to other reviewers who might start ignoring her books. Sometimes, even with a bad review, you can find a nugget that sounds good. Use that if you want to, and ignore the rest.
Helen
Straight From Hel
The worst of it is, Hoffman’s book sales will probably go through the roof as more and more readers check out what’s behind the fuss.