If you’re involved in the YA book community and haven’t noticed any of the recent dustups over reviews, well, you’re probably lucky. So let me fill you in a bit.
Since January 1, there have been 8 separate incidents in 2 weeks between (mainly new) young adult authors and book bloggers who post reviews on Goodreads.
Timeline of the meltdowns:
Update 1-17-12: It seems the drama continues with a rebuttal from YA author Maggie Stiefvater in her post The Only Thing I Am Going to Say About Bloggers in 2012. So we had 8 fiascos before. Add in another one and that makes . . . that makes . . . maybe I should ask Count Von Count for help.
You can see more about each hullabaloo in these 3 roundup posts & articles:
The First Five Days on Goodreads: CuddleBuggery comments on 1) Tempest tempest; 2) Carrier crisis; and 3) Not so Beautiful Disaster part I.
Wank Fest Continues: A later post by CuddleBuggery details 3) Not so Beautiful Disaster part II; 4) Don’t Stop sniping Now and 5) the satirical #occupygoodreads debacle.
YA novel readers clash with publishing establishment: The Guardian discusses 1) Tempest tempest; 6) The Selection invection; and 7) Things are getting Blood(y) Red Road.
I find it frustrating because I have a foot in both worlds and know great people on either side of the argument. But it seems that each group is so entrenched in their views and aided by their supporters that no dialogue is happening. They might as well be shouting into thin air.
I don’t know if I can do anything, but when the traditional media picks this up, it’s time to stop the foolishness. A few are ruining the reputation of the many. YA authors already deal with enough stigma writing for teens. If the Young Adult movie is any indication, the general public think we’re all immature adults who live in our teenage glory days and don’t want to grow up. All that the recent drama is doing is proving that point. We might write for teens, but that doesn’t mean we get to act like them.
So this is what I propose: Instead of shouting to see who can be loudest at declaring their view, we need to have an honest, open, and respectful discussion. It can take place here, on Twitter via hashtag (perhaps #goodreadswar), or in another forum. The key, however, is listening. There is no way this issue will be resolved if everyone talks but no one hears.
These are the major issues as I understand them from all the comments and tweets I’ve read over the past few weeks:
Authors
- Bloggers shouldn’t be snarky as they tear apart my book, which I put so much of my life and soul into creating.
- Bloggers shouldn’t attack me or any other author personally in their reviews.
- Rude comments to reviews are just as bad—and often worse—than the reviews themselves.
- Bloggers shouldn’t gang up on an author and all read her book so they can tear it apart en masse.
Bloggers
- Authors shouldn’t be commenting on my reviews. It makes me uncomfortable, like they’re breathing over my neck as I read their book.
- Authors shouldn’t sic their friends on my reviews to defend their or their book’s honor.
- Authors, editors, and agents have the power of publishing behind them, which makes any interference unbalanced and intimidating.
- Publishing professionals shouldn’t intimidate bloggers who want to be writers by implying that posting bad reviews means bloggers have ruined their chance of ever having a writing career.
- Authors shouldn’t blog, tweet, or email nasty things about reviewers. We always hear about it, and it’s really hurtful.
- Authors shouldn’t even read reviews of their books on Goodreads if they can’t control their tongues in public. If they get upset, complain to a friend in person, but don’t take it out on us.
- If a book is crap, we’ll say it. The author shouldn’t take offense; instead, they should listen to the criticisms to help improve their next book.
- Authors need to grow thicker skin. They put their book out into the public and should expect criticism.
Looking at these issues, how can each side’s concerns be addressed so that we can all have a good working relationship going forward? What other concerns do you have that weren’t listed here? What are you willing to do to make the blogging/reviewing process beneficial for everyone?
As I’ve said before, Goodreads is not the enemy. Neither is the author. We are all working toward the same goal: sharing good books with others. So let’s stop the bickering and figure this out. Now.
A few misconceptions I want to address before we move on to the discussion:
- Authors are public figures, which in communications law means that criticisms of them and their work is allowed pretty much without penalty. Proving libel or slander is incredibly difficult for a public figure. edit: This basically means that authors have to accept they will be criticized and there’s pretty much nothing they can do about it.
- Yes, authors should be tough and not respond to criticism, but the cruelty shown in some reviews is unnecessary. Respect and courtesy are important for all sides of this debate. edit: I didn’t express my sentiments clearly here, as some have pointed out in the comments. I just meant that it would be wonderful if everyone involved would be civil to each other.
- If a book is (in the reviewer’s opinion) terrible and he couldn’t get past 150 pages before giving up, it does not invalidate his opinion or review if he details the major flaws that caused him to stop reading.
- Similarly, if a reviewer hates a book but continues to read the entire thing, it does not mean that her review is solely meant to trash the book for no good reason. Sometimes she’s hoping for a great second half, and other times she wants to read the whole thing to better form her opinion.
- Neither of these are good reasons to discount a reader’s opinion or review.
- Reviewers generally aren’t out to hate authors. They want to find great reads, and are frustrated when book doesn’t live up to their hopes or expectations. How some express that disappointment is through snark, but rarely have I seen a review that trashed on the author as a person.
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Absolutely. This is gone way beyond ridiculous.
I’m only aware of the details of two of the specific incidents. In both of those, I saw nothing wrong with the review, though I’m sure it stung (a lot!) for the author. We have to be ready for that when we put our books out there. The inappropriate responses, however … *sigh*. No words.
There does need to be some kind of dialogue. I’m still in the “aspiring” category of writer, so I have a lot more experience/knowledge from the “reader” angle. I don’t review books online, because if I only review those which I like, I have too many friends (self-published especially, but traditionally, too) who will wonder why I didn’t review theirs. And if I review the whole spectrum with honesty (and without mean-spiritedness), that tight-knit community of authors—which is such a wonderful thing most of the time—may decide that I don’t belong among them.
And that kinda sucks.
That’s bad enough, but even worse to go after straight-up readers who call it like they see it. Integrity should be valued, not threatened.
I’m going to go catch up on those re-caps now.
Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you. This is so true. I freely admit that when this began (about a year ago) with the Be Nice blowup, I kind of jumped on it because I’m a pretty confrontational person and I was too angry to care about consequences, but as it has dragged on over the past six months and particularly with the vicious things that kicked off 2012 I am just sick and tired of this debate and how it is conducted. I honestly can’t think of a way to civilize the discussion short of it just stopping because there are so many hard feelings now.
Anyhow, this is a great blog post and a good summation, and hopefully there can be some of that civil debate you ask for, with people actually listening.
Oh my gosh YES. You are a genius.
YES YES YES YES YES.
Oh yeah, and I meant to say you are a genius in keeping track of the events and making them clear for everyone else to see. But I definitely agree with Cassi in the comment below.
The main problem with all conversations is that authors feel like they should dictate how a reviewer writes a review. I think the YA Highway post said it best. Some people’s writing style is snarky and there is nothing wrong with it. Writers should understand more than anyone that you can’t change writing style quite that easier.
The only real rule I see there being a place for “Is not to make it about the author but to keep it about the work.” But in all the instances of drama that I’ve encountered, none of the reviewers insulted the author in a personal way. They had strong opinions about the book which they expressed in their usual reviewing style. On goodreads you choose your friends, choose who reviews you follow. A couple of the people caught up in this author/reviewer drama were my friends, and they actually have what I consider very different reviewing styles yet both were attacked in similar manner.
The problem is what is “cruel” to one person may not be cruel to another. You can’t quantify that. Reviewers are readers and the only control you have over how they experience the book, is how you write the book. Once it’s out in the world it’s out of your hands.
Also I’m not sure what your trying to say about libel. Journalism major here and we had to memorize the definition. “Libel is a false written or printed statement that harms a person’s reputation.” I don’t think anything false has been said about writers. Nobody is saying ” Susy Q Author is a murderer” and thus there is no libel. And you are write, libel is nearly impossible to prove because you have to prove both harm and intent.
Readers and reviewers both want to enjoy books. That’s why we spend our time doing that. But it’s our free time and our money. It’s not something than anyone can really ever control.
As far as I can tell, by my standards none of the reviewers behave unethically. What would be unethical is letting fear of retribution by publishers/authors influence their reviews unfairly. The reviewers main obligation is to readers, and that obligation is to tell the truth as they see it. The problem is always going to be that the world is filled with different people who see different truths.
Cassi, you basically said what I’d meant to regarding libel. (doh!) I just went back and clarified it a little in the original post, but what I intended to say was that authors should expect (potentially very harsh) criticism of their work, and they have no legal recourse. Their book is out in the public for discussion, so people will discuss it.
As for “cruel,” that might be the wrong word. Perhaps more like “hostile” or “overly harsh.” My point is that, although people have a right to say whatever they want, nastiness isn’t generally the best option. While I agree that the reviews in question weren’t anything near harsh, a few of the later comments were, and some stepped over the line. I would even say the comments were as bad as, if not worse than, the tweet that started the kerfuffle. Some examples:
“What a pathetic piece of SHIT. I’m sorry, but if I see one more thing like that I am going to lose it. I’m actually going to track them down and punch them in the FACE.”
“she’s a bitter woman. i . . . followed her on twitter until i realized all she did was bitch about her sucky life.”
I will say that the majority of people on all sides are acting respectfully and responsibly, but it’s not just authors or only bloggers who caused the current dilemma. No matter who started it, the issue has escalated past the point where blame will fix anything. We all need to evaluate how we’ve responded, and I most definitely include myself in that. In the past I’ve reacted to situations in a way that I’m not proud to admit. I took a hard look at some of the things I’ve tweeted or commented, and I realized my responses did nothing to improve the situation, probably making things worse. Since then I’ve worked at changing how I interact online. I hope I’ve gotten better at it.
That’s really what I’m getting at: we all have to tone it down. I don’t care who started it. We need to end this together. Yes, I am a bit idealistic, but honestly, this is a hostile environment for any profession—especially since we’re writing and reviewing books for teens. We should be better than we are right now.
Comments are not something that are ever going to be polite or controlled. I’ve spent too much time on youtube (where I have a lovely collection of haters who give me rude comments daily) to ever expect that. Some comments are also highly hyperbolic, especially in instances where people mention violence of any kind.
Should people be threatening violence, no. Was that any of the reviewers who were initially attacked? I don’t think so. Some comments reactionary and some wrong, but the rules you are trying to establish are not for commenters but for reviewers. And I want to reiterate that I still believe these reviewers have done nothing wrong.
There are things nobody should say. I’m personally against the use of the word “bitch” in pretty much any context. But that’s my choice and my words, and those are the only words I can control. I have no expectations that everybody’s going to jump on the “Bitch implies something is wrong with being female” bandwagon.
Bloggers/reviewers/readers are not professionals. At best we are hobbyists, at the very least consumers. Do restaurants create rules for people who post google reviews? Do hotels have any recourse if people give a bad review based on one tiny detail?
The problem is that the authors/agents are supposed to be professionals. To expect your readers to be professionals is an unrealistic stretch. I worked at a rafting business that had a few bad reviews online. All they could do was say “If you like us please review us” on the facebook page. Did some of the bad reviews have valid points? Yes. Were some of them just mad because their raft flipped? Yes. Did some of them just dislike the owner because he was a grump? yes (and yes he’s a grump).
Maybe I’m too much of a realist, but I don’t think a business can dictate how their customer reacts. I think they can only do their best to give said customer a good experience.
I see your point, Cassi, and I agree with you. No one can control commenters. The thing I noticed, and what irritated me, was that the further the discussion progressed in comments, the more inflamed and harsh it became.
In this situation, it’s probably best if everyone calms down for a bit until some of the rancor settles and the whole thing starts to blow over. Tensions are so high at the moment that’s it’s difficult to have reasoned and open discussion without hurt feelings coming into play.
I suppose it is unrealistic to hope that all reviewers and bloggers will remain civil, at least toward an author and her personal life, but I’d love if that discussion could happen in the book bloggosphere. What can I say? I’m an optimist at heart. :)
But I see your point that the onus isn’t on the reviewer or blogger to keep confrontations like this from happening. So maybe the larger issue is one that should be discussed within the publishing community, and not necessarily with the involvement of bloggers/reviewers.
Regardless, the YA publishing community needs to address the recent blowouts. For now, I see a few points of action.
1. Authors need to completely back off from Goodreads, because nothing they say at the moment will help the situation.
2. Bloggers also need to step back from the argument for a bit until the situation cools.
3. Authors need to have open discussions about their interaction with reviewers, bloggers, and readers in general—without casting blame or playing the victim card.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that we can’t control how others act; we can only control ourselves. So it’s time to stop dwelling on what others have done to hurt us and instead focus on what we can do to make the situation better.
(Sorry for the rambling. Writing this out is helping me think through it all.)
I said over at Wendy’s thread but I’ll say hear. Some of us have discussed how authors need a little bit of PR 101 when they start. They also need to understand the websites readers use, twitter and how social media really works. Some training on that could keep them out of a lot of trouble.
I’ve thought more about the comment issues. I think the problem with the comments is they are mostly reactionary. Think about this scenario: Me and a group of friends are sitting in a coffee shop talking about books. Suddenly some one comes up and calls my friend a bitch. Among the friends your going to see myriad of comments in order to reassure your friend that she’s not a bitch and that the other person just sucks. It’s just a natural reaction when somebody insults someone you care about.
You do bring up some valid points that need to be thought about. I particularly liked that you defended the Did Not Finish review because I REALLY believe in them, especially if you tried as hard as Wendy did and took notes and everything.
This has been an interesting conversation. I enjoy discussions that remain civil and respectful.
Cassi, I could not agree with you more.
Frankly, I don’t think it is necessary for reviews and authors to have a conversation. What authors seem to be forgetting is that Goodreads is a *free* and *public* site. The majority of the people who use it are simply bookworms who are excited about reading, discovering and discussing books. End of story.
Goodreads users are students and stay at home parents and people with full time jobs ~ simply put, the majority of the people who use Goodreads are not vested in the publishing world, they are people who read as a hobby. And perhaps review books as a hobby. To say that a reviewer needs to hold back their insults or snark or whatever is ludicrous. Yes, some reviews can be immature and snarky and downright mean. But no matter how painful a review is, or even how inarticulate or even unfair a review is… who gave the author a right to censor another person’s reaction to their novel? Since when are positive reviews the only valid ones?
Personally, my interaction on Goodreads has enhanced my reading so much more than I can ever express. Traditional book reviews always seem to find something positive to say. In fact, when reading book reviews in magazines or hearing them on NPR have you ever noticed that they are all *positive*? They aren’t reviews so much as recommendations. Even sites such as Amazon feature mostly positive reviews. The beauty of Goodreads (nasty reviews and all) is that it features honest opinions. When searching for a new book or author, I find it helpful to read both positive and negative reviews.
What certain authors (and agents!) seem to have forgotten is that they cannot control the reader’s reaction to their book. So, if I read a book that I think is a piece of dog shit laying in vomit and decide to write a critical review in my spare time, that is my prerogative. And if I simply wish to post a picture of dog shit in my review… well, it’s a free country.
I had been out of the loop w/ familial concerns and missed the brouhaha, though it seems an argument revisited often. This was a very well-thought-out post, very helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to inform and to encourage a deep breath and constructive communication.
~L (omphaloskepsis)