A bit of an unnecessary mean take but I hate it when someone says, ‘oh but the author worked so hard/so long on this book. There’s no way I can rate the book low or criticise it even if it’s constructive!’
Some books are so poorly written that some times I can’t help but feel, “Oh it took you (insert amount in years) to write this book but you didn’t have a single moment to get an editor or a beta reader to tell you that your plotting is all over the place, your characters make arbitrary decisions that’s not even intentional or meaningful in any way to the book and you have lots of unnecessary exposition?”
Especially at the rate how trad publishing is going for blind over publishing for content, I think books should be constructively criticised.
I also heard many great book reviewers on booktube having stories where an author was upset that someone gave them a bad review and/or kept aruging about it with them. Even though it was constructive. That shits not okay.
If you’re putting something out in the world in which people are investing their time or money in, they will say something about it. Now it’s one thing if they’re being abusive with their language, that’s not alright in any way or form, neither should it be tolerated. But authors can be problematic or have faults. There’s nothing wrong with having open discussions about it.
I agree that reader can be obnoxious (especially ones like me) but authors can be like that too. So let’s not put authors on a pedestal here.
by Lost-Yoghurt4111
35 Comments
This is why I feel like it’s understandable to read other people’s reviews and have the ability to “like” or find them “helpful” on places like Amazon, Goodreads, etc, etc. I mean yeah, I know authors/ or other content creators took time to make them. But it’s also okay to not like them. Especially if there’s a good reason to not like them.
Sometimes I’ll put into my own reviews that there were formatting/ editing issues, to make people aware of them pre-purchase. But I won’t always mark them down for it, if the issues are minor and the book is still readable. Like if there’s one or two grammar mistakes, that’s fine for me. But if it’s huge errors, like sometimes when it will be missing content, I’ll definitely mark it down. Or sometimes where there’s misinformation, I’ll note that as well. (One key thing for me is when there’s cookbooks with misinformation; and misleading stuff.)
For me, I definitely try to be constructive, and sometimes even leave page numbers/ areas where it happened. But what the author(s)/ editor(s) choose to do with the information is up to them.
It doesn’t need to be a mean take. If you only leave positive feedback, it ends up meaningless. So that people can’t tell which books excel and deserve attention. And it’s unfair to better authors – who worked just as hard, or harder.
Once art is put out into the world the artist agrees to open themselves up to criticism. Without it the experience as a consumer of art would greatly suffer.
If an artist decides to engage in their criticism, which is more for readers than them, that’s their own fault.
This seems to be a problem everywhere not just with books. I got some people over on etsy reddit mad because I said I hated 5 star reviews.
What people don’t seem to understand is the reviews become completely pointless if you give them all perfect reviews.
It isn’t school – you don’t get marks for effort. The only way to evaluate any creative work is by assessing the finished product. Whether it was knocked off quickly and easily or took years of intensive labour is irrelevant – it is the final product that counts and must be assessed for what it is – not how it got there.
I see similar things happening on some of the art / painting / drawing subreddits. People post stuff and say “it took me two weeks to draw this”. For me , that is irrelevant. Some artists can quickly sketch a few lines and produce something stunning and full of vitality, others can work on something for months and the end result is still a daub.
I do not see it as mean i never actually give scores that low because if i was hating i would just quit the book. And personally i will not review or rate books i did not actually finish. I do look at low reviews while many do not seem like they were written in good faith i take into consideration the ones that seem to be a honest personal review.
In my limited experience authors, especially new ones, do want constructive critiques, and so do readers. I by default never read 5 star reviews myself. Perhaps explain to these people that they do the community a disservice by not being honest.
I just rate them honestly. My review is a drop in the bucket. Why lie? If the author can’t be professional and accept criticism, there are plenty of other professions.
I approach my reviews as the star ratings on goodreads describe them. There are many many 3 star books on my profile that I enjoyed. 3 stars means I liked it!
This has never had any negative consequences for me. In fact, author Ross Jeffrey liked my 3 star ranking of his short story collection.
These sort of negative reactions are not regarded well within the lit community. There’s an indie horror author named Matt Shaw who went kind of scorched earth on a youtuber who didn’t like his book, and he’s basically been ostracized by the larger community of horror writers as a result.
It is an unpleasant fact of life that no matter how hard you try, how much of your heart and soul you pour into something, you may still fall short. Sometimes your best is just not good enough. This applies to all of us, not just authors.
This isn’t a mean take. As a writer myself my feelings are basically: If you don’t want your work to receive criticism, write as a hobby and not a profession. Publish your book for free on ao3, or just pass it around to your friends. If you absolutely must publish and charge for your book but it hurts your feelings to read negative reviews, don’t look at them! Goodreads is for book fans, not their authors.
I go for truth with a sprinkle of “benefit of the doubt.” If there’s a 5-star raring and I feel the book got 2.5, I’ll give it a 3. And regarding truth, I think it’s important to do two things: A. Be honest in a review (but not passive aggressive or mean-spirited), and B. Remember there’s another person on the receiving end of the review, criticism, or critique.
I see value in telling an author what could be improved, what one didn’t like, what one did like, and feelings on the work.
However, I see no value in one-starring a book that’s “ok” and writing “OMG this author needs to STOP WRITING because they’re literally the worst!!!!! I hope all their books get burned because ahhhhh my eyes I can’t read another single damned page of this trash heap garbage dumpster fire!!!”
I’ve seen “reviews” like that, and they help no one.
Never actually heard someone with that take. But the counterpoint is that the people who buy the book have worked hard for their money too and gave their free time to the author. Who is more important?
I just want reviews to be honest. A low rating isn’t about being mean. It is simply my view on a book and what did it didn’t work for me. I write reviews for potential readers, not the author. If they read reviews it’s up to them but it isn’t my job to provide either constructive criticism (hire a beta reader and editor for that), or to stroke their ego (go to their friends for that).
If no one were to give critical reviews because “it’s mean”, or they didn’t finish the book, then terrible books will get unfairly high ratings. Which isn’t fine, because what about the books that actually deserve those ratings? Those authors worked just as hard. Plenty of readers choose their books mostly on ratings, which may be wrong-headed, but there it is. It’s helpful to rate and review even books that you didn’t finish, as long as you say how far you got. Then if someone feels that x pages isn’t enough to trust your opinion, they can ignore you. Think of your 1* and 2* reviews as counterbalancing the suspiciously enthusiastic 5* reviews. Also, any author who genuinely wants to improve would welcome helpful criticism.
I posted my goodreads ranking strategy on this sub before as a comment and got so much hate.
1* = horrible; 2* = this was lackluster for whatever reason, I wouldn’t read anything by the same author if I spotted more books by them unless they really sounded appealing; 3* = I enjoyed it and would read more by the same author if I have nothing to else to read; 4* = I really liked it and I’d read more books by the same author if I came across them before other “to be read” books: 5* = superb and I’d go out of my way to read anything by the same author.
People said I was “actively harming authors whose books I liked by giving them 3*”. They said I should always rate 5* if I like a book, and keep an excel (or something) of authors that I’d otherwise give 4-5* to using my system. Turns out, ‘my system* matches the official goodreads rating system perfectly. I’m using it exactly as intended. From the GR site,
> 1 star=”did not like it” 2 star=”it was ok” 3 star=”liked it” 4 star=”really liked it” 5 star=”it was amazing”
I think this is an issue with social media. With authors being out there and so accessible they have a window into their lives and can almost feel like friends with them. Especially if they’ve had any sort of online interactions with them. So they will give them the benefit of the doubt because they were able to see the author talk about the process all the way until publishing. It’s good for engagement and keeping fans up-to-date and engaged with your work, but it can cause a little bit of “blindness” to constructive criticism.
I totally struggle with that sometimes. Struggle might be a big word for it I guess. I’m just the audience, but I get it when you see a work of magnitude that you maybe didn’t enjoy, I at least have to put some props down for the devotion to the craft. Making is hard. Sitting down everyday and pushing that boulder up another half mile isn’t without merit. Nobody puts pen to paper trying to make something un-engaging.
I suppose that I’m not adding anything to this but I found your observation stimulating and relatable.
Sometimes it’s a hunk of crap because the author didn’t do what they were supposed to do: which is edit. (just like you say) They lied to themselves or refused to find a better way around and they milled out a rough patch. It’s difficult to resist especially when the magic doesn’t strike. But what makes you a good author is that you revisit a bridge. Re-test it. It’s hard work but it’s what makes you a great writer rather than a good one.
Looking in the mirror is hard. But where I think I feel most in parallel with your thinking is in books that are ‘stunts’ like House of Leaves or S. They’re cute puzzles but after a while they’re so intricate that it all greys itself out. The craft is lost in the density and it all sort of greys out.
Although have you ever found yourself on the fence? Is there a novel that maybe you cannot find yourself enjoying- but do appreciate?
It’s not a mean take. I always take constructive criticism to heart when I’m writing. It helps me find weaknesses in my own abilities and focus on boosting them up. If someone says they don’t like my writing, that’s okay, it’s not for everyone.
A mean take would be, “I had to give this book a 1-Star review because it wouldn’t let me give 0-Stars. If the author cared about saving everyone the suffering I went through, he would buy every copy of the book back at double retail price as an apology to the poor souls that made the mistake of purchasing one, light them all on fire, then throw himself in the flames.”
I work hard on my writing, I do, but someone tells me that I’m using the word “Grinned” too much, I take that seriously and go back to make changes. Someone says there’s too much sex and murder, that I might not take as seriously since that’s probably a big plot point, and their criticism is more likely due to personal preferences than it is a legitimate critique.
My point is, everyone isn’t going to like everything, and it’s the author’s duty to weed out specific criticisms of his work from the criticisms of those who read something that just didn’t sit well with them.
I’d be happy to get *any* reviews on my book. Couldn’t even find any betareaders so I just ended up relying on my own judgement for edits. I still have no idea how it turned out.
I rate honestly. If it’s just okay then it gets 2 stars. If I really did dislike the book I’ll give it a 1. I give out a lot of 3 or 4 star ratings.
I hate it when people post ratings for books they haven’t even read.
Sometimes I don’t think the author worked hard lol
Some people just don’t like saying anything mean tho.
Not saying I disagree, people should rate based on however they actually feel.
All I can say is a amateur writer myself it’s opinions like this one that make me terrified to ever release my writing to the public. I see so many posts on /r/books and other places online saying “How is this book popular?? It’s written so poorly!” and I can’t help but think to myself that if really successful authors are getting absolutely demolished online, how would my writing be received?
Anyway none of that is on you, it’s just my own insecurities, but that’s just how I react to posts like this.
I agree, unless the “review” is literally just “this author should never write again, they should lay down and die.”
“They worked hard on it.” So? Lots of people work hard every day and fail. Lots of people work hard every day for things that are bad and they should feel bad for. That is life. The world doesn’t owe you an A for effort. Even little kids in lax schools don’t get As for effort; if they tried hard but their work was bad, they get Cs and Ds.
It’s art for public consumption. If you don’t want criticism or to be faced with the fact that some people don’t like your book, publish a couple copies for yourself and your mom.
I think it’s partially about audience and intent.
If you’re releasing and sharing writing because you just want people to know you released work, there are appropriate places to do so. Show it to your friends on Discord etc.
If you’re releasing and sharing writing on platforms that specifically solicit user reviews…You’re gonna get reviews.
I feel like it’s partially on the author to determine how much they want to interact with feedback of any kind. It’s a calculated risk to want people to celebrate your work while potentially exposing yourself to people who don’t feel celebratory.
We used to have 4hr long critiques when I was in school. They were *brutal*. And I’d work so so so hard and feel so deflated. However, feedback never stops.
I’d advise any artist who ends up with their work on display to not stand next to it while people dissect it. It’s not good for your self-esteem.
The best course of action is to just keep working.
People need to realize that criticism is important. Having said that, those giving criticism need to know what they’re talking about.
“It’s bad/boring.” Isn’t constructive. It doesn’t tell the writer anything.
Going into detail why you think something is bad at least gives them an idea on what to improve.
I think a book should be rated low if it is not well made but not if I don’t like it, unless I don’t like it because it’s not well made.
Lying is lying, whether you call it out or not. Writing novels is hard, but that doesn’t mean you’re owed anything beyond yay you wrote an entire book. I’ve written an entire book. A lot of people have. Some of them make a living writing entire books, although most writers have a working spouse and/or a day job. In other words, book income is very rarely sole author income.
In other words, when you write a review, you’re reviewing a product, not a person, AND, reviews aren’t for authors. They’re for readers.
So, the job of the writer is to sell us entertainment, or information if it’s nonfiction, and that’s what I’m reviewing. I will never read a specific author’s work is if said author comes after reviewers for posting “low” star reviews. That’s bullying.
As for low star reviews being universally bad, **NOT TRUE**. On sales sites, every single review counts toward ratings, not against. Every one. It’s attention. They want attention. I have *not* posted a very bad review on amazon because I’m aware it’s helpful. Very bad books get zero support from me, I just warn other readers on sites like goodreads and storygraph and bookbub.
I used to feel incredibly guilty about rating a book below 3*, but then I read some truly awful books and I was angry my time was wasted and now my 2* and below are for my friends to let them know I don’t recommend it
The degree to which someone worked is irrelevant.
If their work is bad, it’s bad.
That’s why I put my 4 year old nephews art in the bin instead of on the fridge. Little guys shit at art.
When I give a rating to a book I consider it as a measure of how much I liked it, not how much it’s worth.
I sympathize with authors, as someone who has busted *my* ass to write a book.
I am always going to treat them gently but fairly. If someone asks me what I thought of the book, I will say what I think, but I will not be harsh and shitty about it. I will not say “your plot is trash,” I will say “I think your plot is a bit scattered, if you cut X and Y subplot, it’d be much tighter.”
Surely that’s only said by people online? Because in the real world you wouldn’t be able to criticise anything if you had this view. Pretty much everything has involved someone working hard on it. For example, you couldn’t complain about traffic jams because a lot of people worked really hard to build those roads!
You put your work out into the world with the understanding that not everyone is going to like it. Authors should expect criticism. However, there is a difference between being honest and being mean. Very often it comes down to how the criticism is worded.
i don’t think this take is mean at all! i agree with everything you said even though i struggle to rate books on the 1-5 scale! i will DNF and not rate if i don’t enjoy a book unless i absolutely hate it or find it problematic