Comments on: Should Authors Write Bad Book Reviews?

By: Sean Bai

Sean Bai — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 18:25:02 +0000

I was a reviewer before I was an author.

I leave honest book reviews.

By honest book reviews, I keep it straight to the point. I review plot, characters, etc. I just stick to the facts and avoid personal attacks on the author.

I don’t like book reviews skewing negative or positive because someone was afraid to leave a negative review, or someone didn’t have the time to leave a review of something they liked (though that’s their choice and it’s okay – but that’s a long subject so I’ll stop here).

I don’t owe any authors a positive review if I didn’t like the book. I am a human being and I have my own likes and dislikes.

However, negative reviews that target the author or are mean are not my cup of tea, and I never go there in my reviews.

By: Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 18:06:34 +0000

In reply to Amorina. I wouldn't have made it as a baby writer without mentors, so I take it as a personal duty to pass on what I was gifted. I am happy the post helped and great to meet you!

By: Amorina

Amorina — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 14:20:11 +0000

I realize this was a really old blog post, but I just wanted you to know it helped me in a lot of ways. I’m one of those “baby writers” considering self-publishing, and many people still have such a stigma against it! (I haven’t even been rejected yet, there are just a lot of positives these days). Anyway, I found your blog because I’m building my “brand” as we speak and other writers keep asking me to review their books that are full of errors. Im like you and never left a negative review before this, and would feel even worse doing it when asked to look at a book!

Thanks so much for your kind words and positive inspiration! Your willingness to offer mentorship instead of barriers to others trying to pursue writing is amazing.

By: Writers, Should You Be Reviewing Books? – theunderstatedform

Writers, Should You Be Reviewing Books? – theunderstatedform — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 14:46:31 +0000

[…] Should Authors Write Bad Book Reviews by Kristen Lamb […]

By: Is Perfectionism Killing Your Success? | Kristen Lamb's Blog

Is Perfectionism Killing Your Success? | Kristen Lamb's Blog — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 12:51:58 +0000

[…] a quick side note this is one of the many, many reasons I never leave a review unless I can give it four stars. There is a person on the other side of that review and for all I know it really could just be me. […]

By: Good, Bad, and Something Else: How Do You Review Books? | DMG Byrnes

Good, Bad, and Something Else: How Do You Review Books? | DMG Byrnes — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 11:56:09 +0000

[…] other blog was from author Kristen Lamb where she shares her own reasons for choosing not to post negative […]

By: JAKA

JAKA — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 15:46:45 +0000

100% agree.

By: nancysegovia

nancysegovia — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 21:40:38 +0000

I couldn’t agree with you more. A few months ago, I was gifted a book to read and review. It was horrible, the concept was unique, but the cliches, the typos, the sentence structure, the verb tenses, and yada, yada, yada were so distracting, I gave up after about 60 pages. And, that is to say nothing about the long, long flashbacks that had absolutely nothing to do with the moving the plot forward. I e-mailed the author and asked her a couple of questions, very politely, about style and editing. She snarled and hissed, and we both agreed that it would be best if I would just not review the book because even on a scale of 1-5 it would have been a -6. Bottom line, we are not friends, but at least we are not enemies which we would have been if I have written the honest review I was supposed to write.

By: nancysegovia

nancysegovia — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 21:34:57 +0000

Reblogged this on Nancy Segovia and commented: This is so right on the money!

By: charlottedesouza

charlottedesouza — Sat, 30 May 2015 13:55:12 +0000

I’m late to the party too, but was thinking about this very subject too much recently not to find somewhere to comment 🙂

The same issue that Renee above mentioned was the reason I decided to just list the books I’ve read and only add stars if I liked them. It’s true – other professions stand with each other regardless and don’t pick each other apart in public. But if I think a book deserves four or five stars and are worth a read, it’s always good to say so, I think.

Sometimes it’s hard for someone opinionated to keep quiet, but just because we might have a strong one doesn’t mean it has to be shared. Especially negative ones with strangers. People can always surmise what my tastes are by seeing what I *love* anyway.