I have a confession to make. I love reading reviews for my book (soon to be books). Yes I know that I shouldn't obsess over them, but I LOVE it. Yes I even enjoy the bad reviews on some level. The good ones make me feel all warm and fuzzy, and the bad make me think and try harder. Actually the good ones make me try harder as well because I'd hate to disappoint a reader who's willing to pick up another book by me and then hate it. That would suck, knowing someone gave me a five star review for one book and gave my next one a 1, 2 or the dreaded DNF. I have nightmares about that. If you've ever watched the movie Spice World there's a scene in it that describes this feeling perfectly (yes I was a Spice Girls fan and I even own the DVD. . . don't judge me). Anyway in this particular dream sequence scene a judge (played by Stephen Fry), says the following:
Judge: Emma, Victoria, Melvin C., Melvin B., Geri. You've been charged with releasing a single that is by no means as kicking as your previous records. Nor does it have such a dirty phat bass line. You are sentenced to having your next record enter the charts at 179 and having it fall completely out the following week.
[bangs the gavel]
Judge: Call Hootie and the Blowfish!
Seriously. . . funniest freaking scene. This movie is entirely under appreciated. . .
So anyway, back to my post-I like to read reviews. I think this stems from the fact that I also LOVE drama so not knowing whether I'm going to check amazon or Goodreads and want to smile or cry is somehow a delicious feeling. Yes I know that's sick, but again. . . don't judge me.
But sometimes I have a surprise reaction to reviews. I don't laugh, I don't cry, I just scratch my head in confusion (and smile a bit I admit). These are the reviews where I wonder whether the person read the same book I wrote. Sometimes the reviewer will state something they learned from the book that is so nothing I intended to even imply, that I just have to smile. Its like claiming the movie The Labyrinth was a treatise of sexual exploration with in the teenage mind. However after reading this article I can kind of see how some people may think that.
The point of this longer than anticipated post is that sometimes I read reviews, for my own work and for others that just leave me saying, Hmmmm? I was looking for books to add to my To Be Read pile this weekend, and was checking out reader reviews. There was a steamy novella that I found on Amazon (in the short stories section mind you) and one of the reviews was three stars. When I read further the reviewer stated that they loved the book, but were upset that is was too short. . . Yes this was a scratching head moment for me, because the book had the word novella in its subtitle and was in the short story section so yeah, the review confused me. It was like reading a review for The Terminator that stated the movie had too many robots and it was upsetting. I did end up purchasing the book, and it was very good actually. The reviewers comment about its length actually convinced me to buy it, because I wanted a quick short read to get me through a few hours of blah.
Have you ever been looking through reviews either as a reader or writer and wondered Hmmmm? or just plain WTH? Like I mentioned earlier I love them all the same but some just leave me scratiching my head.
Talk to you soon,
Laurel
Hi Laurel, I like to read the negative reviews of other people's books. Like you, they sometimes convince me to buy a book. For instance, I've noticed many readers seem to hate books written in first person, but I like them. As for my own reviews of my own books, I read them too just to keep in touch with what readers want.
ReplyDeleteOh, and when are you coming out with another book?! I've been waiting since last year!
Hi Thayer, Thanks for stopping by! My next book will hopefully be out soon. I decided to submit it to a publishing house so I'm just waiting to hear back. I'll keep you updated :)
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