I personally love it when authors comment on my reviews. Now I admit I think of the authors when I write reviews and if I write something negative, I definitely give a reason to back it up. I don't take pot shots at authors and I believe most if not all bloggers behave the same way, we are not vindictive and we are caring. All of the blog reviews I have read from the 1 star to the 5 star have told what they liked and did not like and if they did not like something they gave a valid point. I also usually caveat a "do not like" with this is my opinion. One such review was one last year and it was a book a lot of people loved, and it did not click with me. Did I hate the author? Nope, in fact since others loved her so much I have her next book on my tbr pile.I have seen some discussions about this online and authors get really confused. Inspired by the 3 Stars Rating Event, I decided to create this as an opportunity for us, book bloggers and reviewers, to write our opinion and let the authors know what we expect from the authors when we post a review of their book(s). And don’t forget to answer the following question:Should Authors Comment On Reviews?
So I think I got off of subject, but since I tend to be polite in my reviews, I expect authors to polite in their comments and so far all of the authors that have responded whether in comments or in emails have been wonderful, even when I didn't give them a 5-star review. One thing I don't want to see is an author talking about me somewhere else. We all know it does happen, thankfully never to me and like with bloggers I believe 99% of authors would never do this. So authors if you have a problem with my review email me, let's talk. If I missed the boat about what you were trying to get across let me know in email or in the comments, but do it in a nice way. If you feel I have been "not nice" as my kids would say, let me know that too. I don't want to be this way and trust me I wouldn't mean to be like that.
So authors, comments are appreciated and loved, I love hearing from you. I have lovely fan-girl moments when I hear from one of you. It makes me feel special and loved. If you asked me to review your book, it would be nice if you took a moment to at least acknowledge you saw the review. And almost all of you do, so thank you wonderful authors, I love working with you!
Make sure you check out the other blogs participating by clicking on the banner above and let me know what you think as well.
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5 comments:
Hi Crystal,
Thank you for all you do to promote authors and their work. You are very much appreciated. And yes, I believe authors should take the time to comment on reviews but as you say, do it "nicely." I've only had one hostile review, and it was on The Macgregor's Daughter. The reviewer actually liked the story and said she would've rated it higher if not for the difficult Scottish dialogue. For this reviewer, it was one of her pet peeves. Nevertheless, I thanked her for her honesty and apologized for the difficulty. She actually replied in a very positive sort of way and reiterated that she really liked the story. I believe we both came out of this feeling better about the review.
I don't think you got off subject at all. Great points too! I like the back up your reasons in a review. I always try for this, specifically because what doesn't work for me may be just your preference in a book. It all comes back to opinions.
Hi!
Stopping in from the hop!
This was very insightful -- like you, I think it's important that reviewers back up their opinions with concrete reasons.
And I like that you put one author's next book on your TBR even if you didn't like the previous book -- I think it shows, very clearly, that reviewers are dedicated to the books and genre that they read.
"One thing I don't want to see is an author talking about me somewhere else. We all know it does happen, thankfully never to me and like with bloggers I believe 99% of authors would never do this. "
Yeah, if you have a problem, solve it privately and don't take it personal, authors!
Thank you for being a part of this event!
Hi,
Been following this thread with interest and I must confess I do agree with most of what's been said. However some reviewers can be unnecessarily harsh.I remember a lady who told me she hadn't read my book and couldn't be bothered to because she could tell from my name and email that I wouldn't get far! IMHO that was just rude! Good thing I have thick skin and I write cos I love to.
To be fair though I have gotten some lovely reviews, valuable ones that also give one a hint about stuff that might need tweaking and I do thank my readers at every opportunity. :).
Cassandra DeBrown, author of legitimate issues.
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