tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post4390648074487505807..comments2024-03-28T10:41:26.999-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Beware of TrollsDanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-48274910997761057812014-10-07T08:03:11.844-06:002014-10-07T08:03:11.844-06:00I was also advised against responding to reviewers...I was also advised against responding to reviewers (unless they're corresponding with you directly), because readers prefer to feel that they can "speak their minds" without thinking about the author. I do read mine, but after 14 books, I've learned to let the less than glowing ones go. It does take a while, but I trust those who look at reviews are picking up whether it's relevant or simply nasty. <br /><br />Reviews are a necessary evil if you want to promote your book; too many advertising/promotion sites require X number of 4 and 5 star reviews. Terry Odellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610682530545306687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-80168505301264160182014-10-07T00:31:14.154-06:002014-10-07T00:31:14.154-06:00I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who said, "Y...I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who said, "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." By extension, you cannot please all the people all the time. Bottom line: some folks just plain won't like what we write. Unfortunately, it seems the complainers are a bit more prone to comment than are those who love our work. Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16056682992943171805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-76226954447537894432014-10-06T15:27:33.089-06:002014-10-06T15:27:33.089-06:00As a tech writer, one of my favorite reviews ever ...As a tech writer, one of my favorite reviews ever read, "This one paragraph reads as smoothly as a pig walks on stilts." Granted, that was a pre-publication comment and quite fixable, but it was fair and humorous and for some reason still makes me giggle, a decade later. If the criticism's fair, you take your knocks with good grace. If it's not, then just remember it's not about YOU - it's about the reviewer. I think MOST potential buyers can see through the average troll.Holly Jahangirihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08034708581256314628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-29481640686443279352014-10-06T14:27:15.152-06:002014-10-06T14:27:15.152-06:00Not reading reviews sounds like good prevention to...Not reading reviews sounds like good prevention to me. I have noticed that the most popular books tend to have mid-range ratings because so many people hop on board that bad reviews and troll reviews pull the average down. So I always tell myself to look forward to the day when my average stars are no longer in the five-ish range, because that may mean I've arrived.Carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04051728774050516027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-9314109867924526442014-10-06T14:15:45.630-06:002014-10-06T14:15:45.630-06:00That's funny, because I was always told to nev...That's funny, because I was always told to never respond to a review, positive or negative. The advice I was given was that reviews are for other readers, not you, the author, so it really isn't your place to comment on them. Although I did reply nicely to that horrid review.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14109188820719574677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-60234936342488698122014-10-06T09:43:24.307-06:002014-10-06T09:43:24.307-06:00Sorry to hear of your poor experience with Goodrea...Sorry to hear of your poor experience with Goodreads, Diana. I've not suffered there; in fact, I find it a very useful site with many really keen readers. Perhaps it was just the genres you engaged with? I know what you mean about some genres you'll never like. And I had a father who believed the same as your granny.stuartaken.nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05695584662320617659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-91788174904393013812014-10-06T09:41:07.788-06:002014-10-06T09:41:07.788-06:00Agreed, Holly. I review everything I read, unless ...Agreed, Holly. I review everything I read, unless it isn't possible to be positive about it, in which case I simply don't review.stuartaken.nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05695584662320617659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-56716619633855460872014-10-06T09:39:40.915-06:002014-10-06T09:39:40.915-06:00Absolutely spot-on, Maryann - never, ever, fall in...Absolutely spot-on, Maryann - never, ever, fall into the trap of initiating a conversation with a reviewer. It will always end badly.stuartaken.nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05695584662320617659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-25695561519591900772014-10-06T09:07:40.436-06:002014-10-06T09:07:40.436-06:00I had my run in with trolls early on. I don't ...I had my run in with trolls early on. I don't mind an honest critique and can actually laugh at other people's visions for what my book should have been. But the trolls, alas, they are everywhere and usually cannot spell or articulate a cohesive sentence. That is the main reason I quit Goodreads. Too many immature people who lurved books I couldn't stand, giving one star reviews to books I loved. It's an ego-trip on speed for trolls. For once they feel mighty and important, if illiterate. If I read a book and don't like it, I don't comment, or review, or promote it. I let the silence speak for itself. I also rarely agree with critics. The books that rise to the top of the NYT sellers list rarely interest me. There are some genres I will never like. But like my granny taught me, if I can't say anything nice, I don't say anything at all. But if I love a book, I will tell everyone!Diana Hurwitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18216220574149672733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-9555037932791787092014-10-06T07:54:15.773-06:002014-10-06T07:54:15.773-06:00It also helps to keep in mind that tastes differ a...It also helps to keep in mind that tastes differ and the point of a review is to tell readers WHY they might enjoy or not enjoy the book - not to help the author improve an already-published book. Not every 1- or 2-star review is written by a "troll" or by someone reading something into the work that isn't there. (Some certainly are - and those are the ones that focus an unhealthy amount of attention on the writer, personally, or are written in a hostile, insulting tone rather than a critical one.) But we all need to develop thicker skins, and not reading reviews is probably a GREAT idea until that happens! Reviews are not for the author, anyway - they're for other book buyers. If your work is published - SOMEBODY liked it.Holly Jahangirihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08034708581256314628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-89680127020700528752014-10-06T07:52:53.301-06:002014-10-06T07:52:53.301-06:00Meant to add that you make an excellent point abou...Meant to add that you make an excellent point about how a story can resonate with some folks and not others. Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-56522467724503699992014-10-06T07:51:43.264-06:002014-10-06T07:51:43.264-06:00Very helpful post, Merry. It is so hard for us to ...Very helpful post, Merry. It is so hard for us to adjust emotionally when we have been slammed like that. I do read all my reviews and try to respond to them, even the one or two star ones that are more of a rant than a review. I thank the person for reading my book and taking the time to write a review, and then I move on. I don't enter into any kind of debate with them, and I don't try to defend myself. The review still stings, but I can at least console myself with the knowledge that I did not stoop to their level.Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-49811848685583854692014-10-06T02:00:25.046-06:002014-10-06T02:00:25.046-06:00You're right, Merry, trolls are everywhere. Th...You're right, Merry, trolls are everywhere. They're destructive untalented morons whose only purpose is to bully anonymously. Sick minds of cowards. And your decision not to read them makes the most sense.<br />So far, I've managed to avoid them. But, amongst my 5 star reviews for one book, lurked a 2 star one that I read. It quickly became clear that the writer wasn't a troll, merely a reader who had layered their own fantasies on top of my fiction. I have a rape scene in the book: it's most decidedly a crime and something very disgusting and foul, and the writing avoids any suggestion of eroticism. But this reviewer accused me of making the scene erotic. As this was the only one of the many readers, most of them women, who saw it this way, I knew that the fault lay not in my writing but in the mind of the reviewer. Still an unpleasant experience for a writer who is passionately against sexual exploitation but one that I can live with, fortunately.<br />Thanks for sharing your experience, Merry: it should help others to overcome or, better still, avoid such morons in the future.<br />stuartaken.nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05695584662320617659noreply@blogger.com