Why you should never grovel for a great review

[nesaauthor]

I have recently joined quite a few Facebook groups over the past few weeks. A few have been random author groups, but I have also found some review groups that I thought would be fun to hop on as well. I think any chance to meet some fellow authors and introduce myself to new readers is great publicity for me, but I have become a little bothered by a request I received on one of these pages.
Now, do I expect everyone on these pages to buy my books? Well, yea, I kinda do…..Ok, not really, but it would be really cool, don’t ya think? What I don’t expect, however, is a stellar review if you did not like my book (blasphemy in my opinion), but I know that not everyone may like it (it hurt just to even type that). I give fair and honest reviews of books that I read, and I expect the same in return. I recently got a message from a certain author literally asking me for a 5 star review… I was shocked, to say the very least. Who would have the nerve to do that? And before I even read the book, no less.
I started reading the book and I actually liked it as far as the plot and storyline were concerned. What I didn’t like was the editing (see my previous post about the need for a good editor) and it was the horrible editing that threw me off from wanting to finish it. How could I possibly give this book a 5 star review? The answer is simple – It just plain wasn’t going to happen. I took a different approach and decided to message the author back and “privately” say that the editing was a little hard to get past. What she said next left me speechless, and for those of you that know me, that is extremely hard to do. She told me that her husband edited the book and that she was happy with the way it was. That wasn’t the part that shocked me. What got to me was the fact that she still asked for a 5 star review even though I hadn’t even finished reading the book. So, I got to thinking how many of those “5 star” reviews on her Amazon page were actually legit. What would make an author sink to such low levels just to get a good review for their book?
Maybe her readers really did enjoy the book and loved everything it had to offer. I am in no place to argue that because I did not finish the book. But maybe, just maybe, she messaged all of those other people as well asking for a great review to make herself look good. That bothers me…and more than just a little.
I would never message a friend or relative, let alone a random reader, asking for a great review. Now, will my friends give me a better review if they liked it? Absolutely. That part is beyond my control. But I always ask them personally what they thought of the book after I read their reviews. Do I like seeing 5 star reviews? Again, absolutely, but not at the expense of me being made to look like a fool further down the line just because I begged for that amazing review. As an author, I am extremely humbled when I see a good review for my book. It is a feeling like no other to know that someone liked what I worked so hard on and put out for the world to read. The flip side of that, is that no author will ever get better by having reviews fed to them on a silver platter.
Maybe that bad review you get (knock on wood that doesn’t happen) makes you look at something and say “Hey, maybe that does make sense. I can look at that when I’m writing the next book”. The review may not make sense to you if you disagree, but maybe other readers have thought the same and just not commented on it. I am a firm believer that reviews, good or bad, are there to help me as an author. I want people to buy every novel I put out there. If I take constructive criticism as just that – constructive – then my work can only get better. That’s not saying I will take every review to heart and change every little thing that people may not like, but it is a small stepping stone to get more people interested in my work.
We aren’t going to please every reader no matter what we do. There has never been a book that everyone has liked. So, it is pretty safe to assume that not every review we get is going to be positive. What we do with those reviews is what will separate us from the competition. Having meaningless “support reviews” from friends and “forced reviews” from readers will do nothing for you as an author, except to hinder your rise to the top.

[moderntimes]

Agreed. Meaningless "friend-sponsored" reviews are another word for masturbation. Fun, maybe, but really, really self-indulgent.

I've been lucky to receive 5-star reviews on Amazon for my recent novel, and also I've had to take to heart any negatives. Some reviewers simply didn't like the genre of my novel (modern American private detective) and spoke ill of my book accordingly, apparently wanting it to be yet another namby-pamby Agatha Christie pablum story instead of being gritty and street-smart as the PI genre dictates. Duh.

Some criticism however has been spot on, and I've tried to gain from it. I was criticized about some weak spots in my 1st novel (I've so far written 2 novels in the series, both sold and published, the 3rd in progress) and I really took those comments to task and tried to make it better in the 2nd book. We learn by doing.

I also write mystery reviews for a website, and I try my best to be as honest and forthright as I can. Some books I've reviewed have been a real delight and I was happy to recommend those to the readers. Others were "okay" and I tried to offer constructive criticism and also praise the "good bits". And some books? Awful. Those I tended to parody and poke fun at, rather than hit between the eyes, hopefully providing at least an entertaining review.

I've just had my 2nd novel reviewed here and anticipate the results. I was given the opportunity to deny release of a negative review but that's something I'd never do. I think my novel's pretty good and I'll stand by it, thank you. And I'll try to accept any commentary as constructive.

[hopeingod]

Any publicity, I've read, is good publicity. One of the worst books, in regard to adding to the nature and advancement of mankind, was stellar rated by an antire nation, Mein Kampf. It's where the minds of the people tended to be, the influences that bent their consciences, that created such success.

But then, you've not written an autobiographical manifesto, similar, I suppose to the Unabomber Manifesto, have you?. No, you intended, I suppose, to merely provide an escape, some smiles, surprises, and a bit of learning, wrapped in a story. I'd love to read one of them, autographed of course, and I promise you five stars. (kidding) So, what books should I be looking for? Titles are all I need.

[moderntimes]

Well, of course, bad books can easily become "best sellers" due to political slant -- Mein Kampf, Mao's Redbook, DaVinci Code, etc. (ha ha)

Thankfully my editors never made the slightest effort to dampen or otherwise alter my reviews. I was given complete freedom to say what I wished, and it was published.

One review did however have interesting consequences -- at the time I'd been writing mystery reviews for a newspaper (I won't say which, but it was the regular, daily main newspaper for the city where I lived). And I pretty much savaged this awful mystery book based in modern Dallas. I poked endless fun at the book's goofy nature.

Well, the book's author phoned the paper and threatened me! He actually said he would drive down to xxx where I lived and beat me within an inch of my life. This amazed my editor and also caused not a small amount of interest by the police in both Dallas where he lived and where I was, too. My initial reaction to his threat was "Come on down!" (I'm a pretty good shot) but my editor begged me off, and the matter was quashed after the author was admonished by the Dallas cops that threats to a newswriter were not taken lightly. Just to check, my editor read the book in question and agreed with me that the book was terrible.

Fans are also an interesting matter. Now although both my mysteries have been sold and published, this was via a fairly small house and although I got nice reviews the book was only modestly received. That's how it works -- you get your first stuff sold for a small amount, gain your skills, and hopefully book #3 or #4 will be the big hit.

Anyway, as per most publishers, the first book received a few fan letters, which the publisher forwarded to me (standard practice). One letter was pretty amazing and a small note by my editor was pinned to the letter: "Sam, I don't recommend you give this person your home address or reply to the letter in any way. But hey, go ahead if you want. I frankly didn't see anything in your book that might entice this sort of fan. Enjoy!"

And the letter was earnestly written but full of typos and misspellings, and the fan was eager to meet me and perhaps my wife or girlfriend or other companion, and he and his girlfriend would like to meet us, for deep physical interaction and sharing of sex in the most intimate of ways, to paraphrase his bad writing.

And no, I didn't return his offer! ha ha

-- 25 Apr 2014, 15:46 --

Since you ask, my 2 books are 1-"Blood Spiral" and 2-"Blood Storm", both titled as a "Mitch King Mystery" and available via Amazon in trade paperback or Kindle. The 2nd novel, "Blood Storm" is the better, and each book is written to stand alone despite being in a series. So I recommend the latter novel first.

As always, anyone wishing an autographed copy, PM me and I'll supply an address and will cover the return postage costs, should anybody become so enraptured in my ageless and world-shaking prose!

[nesaauthor]

Thanks for the comments guys! There are going to be different opinions on this based on certain people, I agree any review (good or bad) can only help to make me better as a writer...... Hope, if you are interested in a good action/adventure/suspense book to read, you can look me up on Amazon. The title of my novel is Lost Voyage. Thanks for sharing your works as well, modern!