by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
For the last few weeks, I’ve been following a thread of posts with interest.
Roni Loren had a post on January 2, referencing a Dear Author post entitled “Is There Room on the Internet for Authorial Interaction?”
The Dear Author post referenced instances where writers had responded to reader criticisms in a post—and these weren’t the really defensive reactions that we’ve seen in the past, either. It was more of the author explaining her position on different characters, the book ending, etc. Although the post mentioned that sometimes this can really illuminate a discussion on a book, it also had the potential for trouble. Authors listed ways that kind of interaction could go wrong—especially that it could make the author look argumentative.
Another part of the post, was also critical of authors who thanked reviewers for reviews. This is where I really paid attention. Meljean Brook was quoted in the post as saying:
In general — unless the reviewer has notified the author directly about the presence of a review and invites a reply — I think that it’s best not to comment at all. We all know that many authors are online, seeking reviews of their work and looking in on discussions; there’s no need to tap the readers on the shoulder and say, “Hey, I’m here,” because it’s likely to have a chilling effect…and for good or bad, the best thing for an author is for readers to talk about her book. Why shut that down?
Roni Loren made me smile when she said:
Now, I’m southern. I say thank you for EVERYTHING. It’s like a reflex. To think that my thank you may make someone uncomfortable kind of took me aback. When I say thank you, it’s simply because I’m appreciative that the person took the time to read my book and to comment on it publicly (which is press–regardless of the content of the review.)
I’m Southern, too, and good manners have been ingrained in me long ago. When reviews of any kind–good or even lukewarm–came up in my Google Reader in the past, I thought about the potential ramifications…then I went ahead and politely made a comment on the blog, thanking the blogger for reading my book (and sometimes for the review…but mostly just for taking the time to read the mystery.) It didn’t seem polite not to acknowledge the review. We authors aren’t in ivory towers, after all. If the reviewer wasn’t wild about the book, I just ignored that fact and still thanked her for reading the mystery.
But then, Roni had a guest post from writer and forum reader Amber Skye which made some excellent points. Excellent enough for me to completely change the way I treat reviews. I recommend that you read the whole post, but here’s the gist:
Amber Skye’s points:
Reviews are for readers. When authors respond to reviews, it can be disconcerting for readers on a variety of levels. When an author comments on a review that might have negative elements to it, the author’s comment might unintentionally come across as passive-aggressive or hurt.
A book is a product and consumers have a right to either praise, complain about, or even disagree on, the worth of the product.
The primary way that authors should interact with readers is through their books. Write more books and provide your readers with more stories if you really want to effectively communicate with readers.
Keeping this in mind, I came up with a new policy for my own interaction with reviewers online:
If I really, really feel the urge to be polite, I’ll email the blogger directly.
If the blogger shares the review on my Facebook wall (which sometimes happens), I’ll comment on that Facebook post (but not on the blog post).
If the blogger and I have set up a special interview/post/review type promo thing, I’ll of course thank the blogger in my interview or post for reading the book (regardless of the review and whether it was positive or negative). That’s a different type of set-up…pre-planned promo.
If the blogger invites me to comment on a review, then I probably will…with caution.
If I’m invited to take part in a book chat online or a book club talk, I’ll do it but be especially careful to be very neutral during the discussion.
There’s part of me that still really wants to say thanks for reviews…but after reading some very valid reasons not to pop in uninvited on review sites, I think I’m just going to keep my distance.
How about you? What are your thoughts on author intrusion in the reader community?
I think this all seems very logical to me. My grandma used to say, “Don’t go looking for trouble”. Sometimes people want to critique just to complain. It gives them the attention they desire. I doubt if they wanted the authors opinion in the first place.
I’m with you on this.
Teresa
Elizabeth – You make such a good point about letting readers interact with each other. It’s not something that I’d thought deeply about as, like you, I’d always been taught to be polite. To me, that meant thanking people who took the time to post about my work. I may have to think that over…
Hi Elizabeth!
At first, I was with you and the southern gentleman who said he found it rude not to say “thank you” to a review. However, after reading this post through, I can understand why it would be best in most situations to stay out of the way and allow the readers to converse among themselves.
Thanks for posting this!
Jen
As a reviewer, I’ve never felt like a thank you from an author was an intrusion and I don’t think the readers of my blog did either. However, the nicest and most appreciated messages I’ve received from authors have been private e-mails.
Tough call, because we as authors are also readers. I guess I haven’t seen many reviews of my books that weren’t “invited”. If I see a good one on a review site, I’ll click the helpful button or something to that effect. But I don’t think I’d get into a discussion of the whys and wherefores.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
I’m a retired minister. I learned long ago that you can’t expect everyone to like you.
I did not respond to reviews of my book. As someone who writes comments about books, I don’t expect authors to respond to what I write.
That being said, I have received an email or two from authors I admire. I recall one especially from Kwei Quartey. I so admired his book CHILDREN OF THE STREET, and I was pleased to know he had read what I had to say about it.
So I agree. If you want to be in contact with a reviewer, write an email. And only write the email, not to promote or defend your book, but to make a sincere comment or have an honest conversation.
As someone who reviews books and interviews authors, I agree that email is the best place to show your gratitude if you liked the review.
I’m still torn. I’ve always thanked the reviewer with a comment. I still think that shows readers that the author is considerate and paying attention.
This makes great sense – and is something I’m going to keep in mind. Remember, I’m Canadian and we say “Thank you” and “excuse me” to everyone. If our grocery carts bump into each other, both of us apologize. It’s our way.
Such an interesting set of stuff to keep in mind! I think your former approach (thanking EVERYONE for reading) seems totally neutral, so I think before this, that would have been what I thought was smartest, but I do see the point–how critical people might not feel comfortable chiming in when they see the author is watching. And that DOES sort of stop any potential discussion. Looks like you have a good plan.
I’m glad you wrote this post before my first book came out. I like your idea of just email the writer/blogger with a thank you. I’m going to share this post.
Thanks for linking to my posts, Elizabeth. My policy is now similar to yours after learning all I did last week. It still makes me a little sad, but I understand the points. I’m just going to handle the thank you think on a case by case basis, and will thank privately and not in the general discussion when I so say thank you.
Journaling Woman–Your grandma was a smart lady! And you’re so right–in the book blogging community, they’re usually looking for other *readers’* insights on the book.
Margot–I’m still planning on thanking…but I’ll definitely be doing it in private now.
Deb–Thanks for weighing in!
Diane–That’s what I’ve done, too. One of the other arguments, though, that I didn’t mention here was that some bloggers worry it makes it look like they’re in cahoots with an author to provide a good review (if it was.) I didn’t really think about that possibility, either.
Hart–Hope so! I think I’ll be holding myself back for the next couple of months!
Clarissa–Thanks!
Jen–It seems like it could be really disruptive to the reader ecosystem (using Amber’s words.) I didn’t see it before, but I do now.
Roni–That really seems to be the best course. Each blogger is different and each blog is different…and I don’t want to create waves when I’m not sure what the right approach would be. Better just to keep all thanking to emails.
Hmm… I actually had not thought of this quite yet. I don’t suppose I would ever comment on a review unless it was from someone I knew specifically. In that case, it would probably be a private “Thank You.”
I guess this is because I would want to maintain that whole “mysterious author” thing and I wouldn’t want people to be scared of offending me.
Crap, I just commented on a review of my next book this morning…
I like the idea of a private email saying thank you. These are excellent points.
That’s interesting. I don’t have a book out yet, but I always assumed I’d thank people for reviewing (southerners aren’t the only people who’ve had politeness drummed into their heads! Heh!). Now I’m worried about thanking people. Oy.
It’s all part of how no one realizes just yet that nothing on the internet is private – including your comments on the book you just read, or what readers are saying about your books behind your back. It’s disconcerting to discover who’s listening and who’s whispering.
I’m very new to Review World. The very first review I posted, I received a thank you from the author. So I thought that must be how it’s done. I’ve now posted two other reviews and received nothing from the authors. I think I like not receiving an acknowledgement better. And I think when I have a book out I will not acknowledge reviews. I reserve the right to change my mind – I learn best from experience.
You said it…”Author intrusions in the Reading Community”!
We authors, especially Self Pub’d Authors, are interacting with our reading community in order to promote our books, and engage our audience. I agree that we should only engage them in the places where they directly communicate with us, however. The only exception I have for this rule is when someone posts a review of my book, but doesn’t have any online persona and obviously hasn’t read the thing – I feel this is a dump review designed to probably spam me or try to promote another book, then I’m commenting – not aggressively, of course!
Great observations, Thanks!
Quite interesting. I think your approach is modest and wise. I’m from the cold north, so I’m probably not very polite >;) but anyway, I’m trying to be nice and constructive when writing reviews (of both science papers or fiction. Being rude and aggressive doesn’t bring progress >:)
Cold As Heaven
I am inspiring author, so I found this really insightful. In some cases I think it’s all right to comment on reviews. But for me this would only be in the case where someone has blatantly misunderstood key points. I would never correct someone’s opinion, though. Everyone is entitled to that, whether it be a review of a book or of a company.
I’m a northerner — of French Irish, old old-time Yankee (as in New Englander) descent. (A rather feisty group.) Social obligation probably doesn’t mean as much to me as for Southerners, and yet….
There is never anything wrong with saying thank you. I would not feel an obligation to, though. (Also I would be aware that too friendly a response might call into question the honesty of the review.)
The problem with author responses is that there are so many bad apples out there, so it is good to build your own social “fence” between your behavior and those who try to hide behind pretend politeness.
My own rule is to think through a few questions:
1. Is it an appropriate venue? That is, if the review is a formal one, I would be more likely to send a private note. If someone mentions or reviews my book more casually, say on their blog, I would be more likely to post a response.
2. Do I feel a compulsion to respond? If so, it’s probably coming from some irrational part of the brain. Even if I manage to squelch any defensiveness from my answer, and just say something upbeat, it’s still a defensive reaction, and I should not do it.
3. What’s the overall atmosphere of the venue? Is it a conversation I’d want to be a part of even if my book were not involved? If so, I feel free to post, being careful not to make that post about me. “Thank you for mentioning my book. It’s so great to see a blog about kumquats!” And then say what you would about the blog if they didn’t mention your book.
3b. Don’t respond to the post with your book mentioned, but do respond to other posts or discussions.
4. Respond on my own blog. (Keeping #2 in mind….)
Hmm? Might be worth asking the reviewer whether they would like author input. Some good points raised here. :)
Barbara–Thanks for this! And the nice thing about an email is that it’s private. That way the blogger doesn’t have to worry about the author effectively shutting down the discussion.
Olene–I hate to think that someone would worry about me being offended. And I think that’s probably a worry many bloggers have about authors. Really, I guess we shouldn’t figure into the review equation at all.
Terry–The “like” button? Now there’s an idea. So that way the blogger also gets a higher rating on the post.
Alex–Oh, I know. I’ve commented a ton of times. Lots of my comments floating around out there…ha!
Karen–Thanks!
Joe–Good reminder that we can’t chase approval from readers.
I do appreciate hearing from bloggers that they’re not expecting author comments. I think that’s something most of us just weren’t sure about.
Thanks so much for weighing in, Joe. I think emailing is really sounding like the best policy.
Elspeth–Too polite! Yes. And afraid of hurting feelings, too. (Too funny about the shopping carts!) I think that’s a part of why I want to acknowledge reviews–as if, for some reason, the *blogger* is expecting it. And they clearly aren’t! :)
Cold As Heaven–Constructive reviews are wonderful to come across! You’re good to write those.
Keelytm–They are definitely entitled. And, as a lurker, I usually find the different points of view interesting. Particularly readers’ thoughts on characters.
Nicole–I know…like we had nothing else to worry over! Ha!
Sheryl–Asking the reviewer is another good option. Or maybe if the book bloggers created a policy for author visits on their book review policy page.
Glen–You’re so right–it’s all open. And it’s not only open, it’s all permanent.
Carol–I think you’re wise to say you might change your mind on this. The online world changes so quickly that etiquette changes, too.
MommyLovesToChat–Those types of reviews are very frustrating. I’ve seen some where the reviewer has complained about the book’s delayed shipping (and gave the book 1 star because of the delay.) Bleh.
I’ve done book chats where I was invited to discuss my book with readers…and I was just super careful.
Very interesting discussion! I’m a poet and blogger and review quite a few books on my blog and have a book out that has been reviewed by several people I know as bloggers.
I leave blog comments to say thank you where I know the blogger. It would seem strange for me to not comment on a review of my book on a blog where I regularly comment!
Where I review books by people I know, they usually comment on the blog post, for similar reasons as I’ve given above, I guess!
When I’ve reviewed books by people I have no connection with only two of those authors have contacted me. One author sent me a lovely email to say howmuch she enjoyed my review and how pleased she was that I had enjoyed her work. Another author wrote a long piece on his blog about what he had learnt from my review (which had been negative in a couple of points). He said he was very pleased to have had my response.
I think one negative aspect of authors commenting on too many reviews is that it can look like they’ve nothing better to do, I’m sure readers would prefer our time to go into writing the next book!
The Daring Novelist–It’s good to be feisty in this business!
Yes, being *too* friendly would smack a little of a set-up review instead of a random review and might make the blogger uncomfortable.
I think that badly-behaving authors messing things up for the rest of us was mentioned in one of the posts somewhere. Sigh. It’s a shame, too…a couple of bad apples making bloggers gun-shy.
Good point about examining *why* we want to comment on the post. Because that compulsion could mean that we *shouldn’t*, depending on what’s behind it.
Responding on your blog is a good way of handling it. Or maybe mentioning the post on Facebook (if we haven’t already got a lot of self-promo-type stuff on there.)
Crafty Green Poet–Thanks for coming by!
There are 2 book review sites that I can think of where I’m a regular visitor and my silence on those sites would look sort of odd!
Interesting that only 2 of the authors made mention of your review and contacted you! I wonder if this has to do with them keeping to a non-intrusive policy, or whether it’s because they just don’t have Google Alerts set up for their name or book name?
I didn’t think about the time aspect! Ha! You know, I’ve thought that before when I’ve seen my favorite authors on Facebook…why aren’t they working on the next book!
Another Southerner here! I could really relate to the ‘thank you’ being nearly a reflex! I appreciate the perspectives here though. Much to think about.
I’m a nonfiction writer, but we have similar problems. I really, really try to not comment on reviews of my work in public.
But I always send the reviewer an email thanking them for taking the time to write and post their review. If the review is negative, I’ll say something along the lines of “I’m sorry it wasn’t to your taste.”
That’s polite. And it might make the reviewer more favorably inclined towards your next book. Even if they don’t like the next book, perhaps they’ll be kinder.
For the record, I’m from Detroit. We have manners up here, too. Some of us. A few of us. Oh, never mind…
I think what you’ve decided sounds like a plan. You just can’t tell how people interpret what’s in a short text/comment.
Mary–Another good point. Readers might have a hard time figuring out our intent with our comment.
I don’t think authors should comment on reviews. This was such an issue for me last week, I posted my longest ever blog post about it yesterday.
Maria–Nice to meet you! And, yes, lots to mull over, isn’t it?
Michael–With nonfiction, I think it would be even tougher. You’d feel like you needed to defend the integrity of the work and your research, I’d imagine.
I think that’s nice. In a way, it’s networking, too, but in a very quiet way.
I’ve met some lovely people from Detroit!
Suz–Have you got the link to your post to share? I’m interested in reading it. Blogger has turned all our profiles into Google+ profiles and now I can’t figure out how to find everyone’s blogs from comments anymore!
I’m sort of hoping this doesn’t fall into quite the same category, but a couple of people posted reviews of something of mine on a discussion forum and I then posted in the same thread thanking each of them (very concisely – fortunately both reviews were positive so I was able to say something like ‘Thank you very much and I’m glad you enjoyed it’).
I *think* this happens all the time on this particular forum as there is a lot of interaction between readers and writers there. So I’m hoping it doesn’t go against what most people have been saying here – which mainly I tend to agree with.
I thank everyone, all the time. I never thought it might be scary! Great post, Elizabeth, which much food for thought.
Sheila–I think some forums and some blogs probably have different rules of engagement…if it happens all the time, you should be good! (Lord knows that I’ve thanked people for the past few years now…so, oh well!) :)
Roz–Me too. Then these posts gave me an epiphany! Thanks for coming by.
Elizabeth, you make some excellent points. I tend to be a “thanker,” but usually in a private e-mail. I hadn’t thought it out in quite this way, but I think you’re right. Commenting privately does seem less intrusive than joining the public discussion. Great post!
Thank you for this and the links to the original posts that sparked your new policy on review comments. I, too, was raised on ‘the niceties’, please, thank you, excuse me, and my natural inclination would be to leave a note thanking them for their time.
I never would have thought about it coming across as passive aggressive or negative in any way.
I like your guidelines and will adopt them for my own use.
Thank you.
This post couldn’t have come at a better time. Great tips.
LJCohen–The links were interesting, weren’t they?
I do feel a lot better with the new approach.
Janice–It’s just a very quiet way of showing appreciation. :)
Bea Sempere (Denise Baer)–Thanks for coming by!
Sounds like some really good rules to follow. I’m glad I found this so I don’t make a future faux pas!
Thanks Elizabeth–I love learning from you. :)
Angela
If someone tags me on Twitter or something, I typically reply with something like “Thank you for reading X and sharing your thoughts” in a tweet of my own.
I’m reluctant to ignore it altogether because (a) they reached out to me and (b) I’m a children’s-YA author, and in case it’s a young person reaching out, I want to validate them as readers per se.
But I don’t comment on the review, unless the notification comes with a question (i.e,, “are there more books in series?”), in which case I just answer what’s asked.
This is an issue I am torn on. I am a reviewer and love it when the book authors actually take the time to read my work. Leaving a comment on the review lets me know that they have taken the time to read my work. But I can also understand how it would change the perspective of someone else if a conversation was insuing. But on most review posts, other people rarely comment on the post unless prompted. So if there isn’t a prompt or tag, I would love to hear from them. I guess it just depends on the person.