Is it right to give a bad review?

Telynor · Post by **Telynor** » Thu September 8th, 2011, 5:59 pm

Certainly you should write a negative review on a book if you had a bad experience. You paid good money for it, after all, and spent valuable time wading through it. The fact that it's published in paperback has absolutely no bearing, there's a lot of garbage out there that hit the stands in hardbound too -- 'My Name is Charlotte Simmons' comes to mind. Just be certain to go beyond the 'this book sucks' comment, and give the examples of why you think it does not meet your standard of what makes a good book.

The Czar · Post by **The Czar** » Thu September 8th, 2011, 6:30 pm

Absolutely. As a reader, I use those reviews to decide what to buy. Obviously, almost every book, even great ones, has a handful of bad reviews, usually poorly written themselves, and juvenile. But I usually read a few of the five stars, and a few of the one stars. If the bad reviews have something cogent to say, I sometimes won't buy the book.

Any author who can't take a bad review should not put themselves out there. Sometimes, what is "bad" to one reader is what i am looking for. For example, I've seen one star reviews that criticized the book as having "too much historical detail." That means "Yes please!" to me!

stu1883 · Post by **stu1883** » Thu September 8th, 2011, 8:22 pm

"I would say that you are writing your personal opinion of a work and that is just what it should be. You're a kind, balanced person Stu and the reviews you write are exactly the kind that will be appreciated by other readers. You're not a sock puppet and you're not a person filled with bile who will diss everything."

Thank you Elizabeth! So very nice of you to say that - the cheque is in the post!!

Also, thank you to everyone who responded - I will review this "book" and I will probably put in a better standard of writing than the author!

stu1883 · Post by **stu1883** » Thu September 8th, 2011, 8:27 pm

[quote=""wendy""]Speaking as a writer, it is perfectly fine to give a poor review if your opinion is fair and objective. No book appeals to every single reader so negative reviews are part of the expected process.
It is not acceptable to give a mean review for your own subjective gains.
So if your future book happens to be on the same topic as the book you dislike, you might wish to examine your true motivation!

Why would any potential writer wish to trash an agent, publisher, copy editor, or publicist in public if they ever want to work in this profession? It does not make the reviewer look "smart" - it just signals that they are likely to be "trouble" - not a good message to send out to future colleagues.

On a persoanl note I believe in karma - "What goes around . . ." and all that. So if I don't like a particular writer's style, I just don't buy their books again. What purpose is served by trying to humiliate them? Their book will appeal to someone out there, even though I may not be the intended audience.

As a reader I take the overly-glowing and mean reviews with a huge pinch of salt. I like to make up my own mind about something as important as my books

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Thanks Wendy, luckily I will not be writing in the genre of the book I am reviewing; I like to read them but only as an escape. I am not being subjective or beginning a smear campaign - the book really is that bad! I appreciate your wisdom, thank you for responding.