by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
One of the most awkward things about being a writer is handling reviews and reader comments.
The rule of thumb is to never reply or comment on reviews: good, bad, or indifferent. In many cases, this is my own personal policy (I list exceptions below). Reviews are for other potential readers, not usually intended for the author. Responding to reviews is a special kind of author intrusion. And authors, especially responding to a poor review, can come across as argumentative.
But a recent post by Crystal Otto on the Women on Writing blog made me reconsider my policy, at least in terms of book bloggers.
In the post, she states: “Feedback is so important. The best way to say thank you to an author is to leave a review. As authors we can encourage this behavior by in-turn thanking the reviewer. I often receive a thank you or a ‘like’ on Amazon after reviewing a book or product. Do you make this a common practice in your writing life?” (Emphasis hers.)
She wrote a thoughtful post with many good points. I try to practice gratitude both professionally and personally, but her article was an excellent reminder.
Customer Reviews on Retail Sites
My policy for customer reviews on retail sites is usually to leave them completely alone unless the reviewer is asking for a comment from me (in which case I carefully consider my options).
I collect especially-day-brightening reviews in my Evernote folder for tough writing days. And I learn from the critical ones.
Book Blogger Reviews
In the past, if I’ve had a book blogger ping me online about a review they’d written, I’d thank them on social media and share it on my Facebook page.
If I wasn’t pinged, I usually a) didn’t know about it (unfortunately, Google alerts pick up a lot on me because I’m active on Twitter and I don’t have time to comb through it all) or b) didn’t feel comfortable responding if I did happen across it. Again, I feel as if blog reviews are from book bloggers to readers and not to me. But I’d share the post on social media and thank the reviewer (just not on their blog).
Crystal Otto’s post is making me reconsider this policy, though. If I leave a comment, I’ll keep it to a standard “thanks so much for reading and reviewing my book,” whether it’s a good review or a bad one.
Reader Comments on Reading Platforms Like Wattpad
Sometimes the comments in Wattpad are almost like marginalia…they seem intended for the reader by the reader. They’re personal notes.
Sometimes the comments seem directed to other readers.
But the comments that are directed to me, I always respond to: Wattpad is an interactive writing and reading community.
Comments on Social Media
Goodreads: Unless it’s an Ask the Author, I leave it completely alone. This is not a community that handles author intrusion well.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. : These are the places to be chatty with readers. Just very carefully chatty. It’s easy for comments to be misunderstood online, even with the use of emojis. And things we write online are forever. I frequently ask myself if a comment is something I’d be happy with my future grandchildren or great-grandchildren reading. Because it’s there for the long haul.
Emails
The only time I’m 100% comfortable responding to readers is through email. I’ve carefully responded to readers who have written me to both criticize and praise my writing (sometimes in the same email). I’ve given estimates as to when I should finish my next book (and remind them it’s easy to sign up for Amazon’s author updates and/or my newsletter for future updates).
For me, this has been the safest approach to handling reviews and reader comments. But I’m curious to hear from you. How do you handle reviews and comments on retailers, book blogs, and social media?
Responding to reviews, comments, and more: Click To TweetPhoto via VisualHunt.com
Hi Elizabeth – great recommendations here … as I’m not in your league re publications – I can quite see … being safe rather than sorry, makes sense – cheers Hilary
I think being especially careful online can be a good thing. Hope you have a great week, Hilary!
I’ll thank reviewers by email or on their blog. Amazon or Goodreads – no way. That’s just opening up a can of worms to respond there, good or bad.
I’m with you. Amazon and Goodreads are places where I keep quiet.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this question, Elizabeth. I do see your point about not responding to certain reviews in certain places. I don’t, either. But I’ve found people really appreciate it if I respond politely to an email, are pinged in a review, or something like that that’s directed specifically at me. It’s a way of reaching out to readers and letting them know, as you say, that I appreciate them. To me, it’s simply being courteous.
I think they do really like being acknowledged and thanked. It can be tough for writers to know what to do, but as long as we remain courteous, I think we can keep most interaction pleasant.
My only comment about a review, good or bad, (for folks I don’t know) is a plain and simple “thank you” if there is a way to contact them. Many reviewers are “invisible”
Hank–True about the invisible reviewers!
Hope you have a great week. :)
Thanks for this topic, Elizabeth. The etiquette of responding commenters and reviewers is really touchy, and it makes me uncomfortable because there’s a fine line between gratitude and author intrusion – that line is different for different people and, as you point out, in different forums. I find Facebook the toughest balance because it’s a platform that intended to be personal and for authentic interaction.
That’s exactly why I’ve always been so uncomfortable with it. Different formats and platforms, different expectations.
Facebook is alarming sometimes. I’m frequently asked about book progress there and it makes me a little anxious to put it out there publicly, since progress can always slow down…
In life, I tend to praise those who are positive while leaving the others alone. Sometimes people are just mean and would write a bad review just because they can and/or they want attention. The internet is a great platform for elating those who seek attention in negative ways. With that said, I think we can learn from even the naysayers, but we must never let them rule our writing, how we live or our hearts and minds.
Teresa
Words of wisdom! Yes, if we can maintain a filter and be purely analytical when assessing our negative reviews (hard, but easier with practice, I’ve found), we can glean some helpful information.
This is an interesting post. I’m seeing a lot of book bloggers moaning about not getting thanked for featuring a book on their blog. They seem to want to be recognized and thanked for the effort.
Most of them, I think, don’t know or realize that authors generally avoid review spaces. Even if you tag me in your review, chances are that I probably won’t respond.
DL: I think you may be right. Authors could come across as rude for ‘ignoring’ reviews when in fact, we’re aware of them but worried about responding. So much can go wrong for authors…it’s much more of a risk for us.
I once posted a 5 star review on Goodreads for a book that I really thought should be required reading for everyone and the author (a quite famous author) liked my review. I was chuffed that she went to the effort of reading it, let alone liking it. It felt like two-way communication instead of the one-way street that reading can often be. I say don’t be afraid to engage with people who like your work. It shows you value their feedback and appreciate that they got what you were trying to achieve with your writing.
Thanks for providing a reader’s point of view on this, Louise! I know many writers want to connect with readers (hopefully not merely for marketing), but the world of reviews is pretty scary. Nice to hear that it was such a positive experience for you. Thanks for coming by!