Friday 28 February 2014

To Post or Not To Post: Negative Reviews

I got back from vacation last week (happy birthday to me, I got a gorgeous tan) and I returned with a crazy long list of books to check out as well as a finished novel sitting in my lap, waiting for a review. Admittedly I was in a state of shock which is why I haven’t actually written a review yet.

I didn’t like the book.

No, that’s harsh; this was the first time I had finished a book and found myself struggling to find enough positive attributes to not sound bitter when I talked about it. 

I’m still debating if and where to post the negative review brewing in my head which is why I wanted to reach out to my darling readers and ask you this question:

Do you post bad reviews?

I can imagine that it might have a yes or no answer for some of you but I think it might be more complicated than that. How diplomatic do we have to be if we want to tell the world (well, a tiny pocket of the internet) that we don’t want you to read a certain book? Can you post it to Goodreads and Amazon without sounding like a troll?

This is new for me. I’ve never read a book that I didn’t enjoy (or at least could bullshit my way through).

What are your thoughts on bad reviews? Do you think they are welcome/unwelcome? How far is too far?

I know I’ve got readers, writers and everyone in between hanging around here (and I love you for sticking around) so please feel free to chime in:

Where do you stand on bad reviews?

2 comments:

  1. I think you need to post the review. Clearly state your opinions, and then we readers can take it from there. If at all possible, include a constructive point for the writer to consider. That way, the bad review isn't necessarily negative.

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  2. I agree with Theresa. As long as it's constructive criticism for the writer to consider don't feel bad about writing a bad review. Don't blast them, by any means, but constructive criticism is sometimes needed. You may also want to contact the author personally, if you were asked to review the book by them, before you post it, just as a courtesy so they're not blind-sighted.

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