Reviews and A Plea for Kindness

TL/DR
Recently, one of my favorite authors posted the following. Please note that she's an amazing woman and award-winning author who struggles with many health issues.

What she describes is way too common. I don't understand why some people go out of their way to tear down artists.

"Had time to write this morning but haven’t managed a single word. The doubts I carry, that have only grown over the years, become really loud when people go out of their way to tell me directly that my books suck. They drown out the whispers of creativity and the desire to keep doing this, knowing it will lead to more moments of being unexpectedly on the receiving end of an unasked-for point-blank firing squad of criticism.

Be kind to authors. We are human beings with feelings who are doing our best."

An online friend said he has read some books that were so awful it would be a crime not to trash the book and encourage the author not to write anymore. And I'm sure there are a lot of people who agree. If you've ever visited the reviews on Goodreads, you'll know what I mean.

But writers grow and improve the more they write. No authors I know who've written for very long don't look back on their early works and cringe a little. Sometimes a lot. One even went so far as to purchase from her publisher all the remaining paperback copies of her first book--and she fueled a bonfire in her backyard with them.

Yet, that book had once been considered worthy of publication by a publisher.

What if someone had ragged on that first book and encouraged her not to continue writing? What if she had listened to the disheartening message that she was not now and could never be any good at writing? What if she hadn't pressed on and learned all she could and subsequently become an award-winning author beloved by her readers?   

Here's my take on reviews:

Reading is such a subjective experience. I may absolutely love a book while my best friend is bored stupid with it.

Example 1: Mockingjay (the last of The Hunger Games series). Ugh. I loathed it! And many people did too. But just as many people loved it.

Example 2: Audiobook for my award-winning book Torn Canvas. The guy who did the narration was my dream narrator. When he reads the story, it sounds just like it did in my head as I wrote it.

• One reviewer panned his performance because it was "melodramatic."
• Another reviewer dissed it because they said he was "monotone."

Melodramatic.

Monotone.

The same book but an opposite reader experience. Neither is invalid. Readers experience what they experience.

But, because I understand this, if I cannot give a book at least three stars, I won't review it.

I recognize that I may have had a "melodramatic" or "monotone" experience with a particular book, but that doesn't mean the next person who reads or listens to it won't have a 5-star experience.

If I trash it, they may pass it up and miss out. This is my personal philosophy.

And for a second witness, below is a link to author Beth Revis's humorous blog post about it and puts it in perspective--and helps wounded authors recover from hurtful reviews.

And there are always bad reviews for ANY book no matter who the author is as Beth cites in her post.

Beth Revis' Take on Review

Happy New Year!