Sunday, January 08, 2006
The wonderful community of authors...
This last week has been absolutely wild. I started watching the rankings at Barnes and Noble online (the rankings at Amazon for Wolf Tales are so-so, not nearly as captivating!) and my book just kept getting better and better. About mid week I happened to check under Erotica bestsellers, and damned if Wolf Tales wasn't #1! I have no idea how long it's been there, but you can probably guess I spent a lot of time going into to check and see if it was still in position. Then last night before going to bed I checked at Amazon. To my utter dismay, someone had posted a really nasty and mean spirited review about Wolf Tales. Now, I don't mind the one star review and imagine I'll get more of them--what bothered me was the fact this reviewer took the facets of my book that make the romance work and wrote about them as if they were filth. It made me sick to read what she'd said, and I'm usually pretty tough about that sort of thing. My first thought was, how do I get this off the front page of my "site" at Amazon.com? I went to a couple of authors lists and explained that I'd gotten a really nasty review and asked if anyone who had read Wolf Tales could please go in and review it. I didn' t care if they loved or hated the book--I only wanted to see that horrible review pushed off the page! What happened last night and this morning has made all the negatives about the review fade away. From the wonderful, supportive comments on the various lists to some of the most spectacular reviews I've ever received, my fellow authors came through and supported me in a way that was absolutely overwhelming. It's left me with a serious case of the "warm and fuzzies," and a sense of the community of writers that is absolutely powerful. Sometimes this business can be truly cutthroat, but other times, times like these, I'm reminded what terrific people there are in the writing community and what strong allies they can be when we really need a friend. It's been a wonderful, humbling experience and I'm feeling extremely lucky to do what I do--write. It allows me to be part of a most amazing group of people.
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Thanks, Karin--the best thing is, I complained to Amazon.com about the prurient nature of the review and they must have agreed, because it's been taken down, leaving me with a wonderful collection of five star reviews! now I feel guilty for whimpering to my buds...
I take it you dont think the fact that you had to ask people to leave reviews of your book should take away from the warm and fuzzy feelings you got from pushing a reader's review off "your site."
Seeing as how now there's only 5-star glowing reviews from authors and 1-star reviews from readers, I can only imagine that someone who's thinking about buying Wolf Tales won't know what to think.
Not for nothing, but this is exactly why I dont put any stock in Amazon reviews.
Seeing as how now there's only 5-star glowing reviews from authors and 1-star reviews from readers, I can only imagine that someone who's thinking about buying Wolf Tales won't know what to think.
Not for nothing, but this is exactly why I dont put any stock in Amazon reviews.
# posted by 
: 10:43 AM
: 10:43 AM
Thankfully Amazon saw that there was nothing wrong with the review and has reinstated it. It's nice to see an honest take from a reader.
# posted by : 12:54 PM
: 12:54 PM
I have a question regarding what Kate wrote here:
"what bothered me was the fact this reviewer took the facets of my book that make the romance work and wrote about them as if they were filth."
As the writer, you know what made the book work for you and how you want it to be seen. But since each reader is a different person - how can you say what 'make the romance work' or not for every reader?
How is the review mean spirited? If a review honestly reflects what the person thought about the book, shouldn't they be allowed to voice it?
As a reader, I want to see the good and bad reviews. Then I want the freedom to make up my own mind. Maybe that is just me...
"what bothered me was the fact this reviewer took the facets of my book that make the romance work and wrote about them as if they were filth."
As the writer, you know what made the book work for you and how you want it to be seen. But since each reader is a different person - how can you say what 'make the romance work' or not for every reader?
How is the review mean spirited? If a review honestly reflects what the person thought about the book, shouldn't they be allowed to voice it?
As a reader, I want to see the good and bad reviews. Then I want the freedom to make up my own mind. Maybe that is just me...
I'm with Sybil--I appreciate the bad reviews as much as the good. One of my favorites was from Mrs. Giggles where she totally trashed my story in an Ellora's Cave anthology--she absolutely nailed every weakness in Barbarian. I learned from that. The one that bothered me went WAY beyond acceptable and was just plain offensive.
Things that should never be in a review:
1. Spoilers from the last part of the book. Like what happens in the last chapter.
2. Completely incorrect information. "There was only one sex scene" ...odd, I remember putting at least two in.
3. Stupid comparisons. "This book isn't like an Ellora's Cave book." Well, duh, it wasn't published by Ellora's Cave. It isn't like a Harry Potter book either. Nor it is War and Peace.
I'm not fond of Amazon reviews because virtually anyone can publish a review without having read the book. At least at Fictionwise, you have to at least purchase the book to post a rating for it.
It is possible for someone to post a review for any reason, like to help someone...or to try and sabotage their career. Which may, or may not be what is happening here. I can guarantee that the sales of Wolf Tales do not indicate that very many people believe in the one-star reviews that were posted. They may be honest, but they are being honestly alone in their opinion.
1. Spoilers from the last part of the book. Like what happens in the last chapter.
2. Completely incorrect information. "There was only one sex scene" ...odd, I remember putting at least two in.
3. Stupid comparisons. "This book isn't like an Ellora's Cave book." Well, duh, it wasn't published by Ellora's Cave. It isn't like a Harry Potter book either. Nor it is War and Peace.
I'm not fond of Amazon reviews because virtually anyone can publish a review without having read the book. At least at Fictionwise, you have to at least purchase the book to post a rating for it.
It is possible for someone to post a review for any reason, like to help someone...or to try and sabotage their career. Which may, or may not be what is happening here. I can guarantee that the sales of Wolf Tales do not indicate that very many people believe in the one-star reviews that were posted. They may be honest, but they are being honestly alone in their opinion.
The glowing reviews for Kate's book are well deserved. I read and critiqued her book before it was in print and enjoyed the hell out of it it. Had I not, author or hooker, I wouldn't have said I did. I'm a reader just like the nice lady on Amazon and I expressed my opinion.
It just wasn't the same as hers.
I'm an ex reviewer and the review on Amazon wasn't constructive--it didn't do much else but carry on about how the book wasn't based in reality. Last I knew, werewolves weren't REAL. What I got from the review was an angry buyer who'd spent some money on something she didn't like and she took her anger out in a review. There's nothing wrong with that until it becomes degrading to the author.
Expressing yourself and your disappointment can be done with a little less spew and a lot more in the way of examples as to why. Summing it up with--this book just didn't work for me.
Just my .02.
Best,
Dakota :)
It just wasn't the same as hers.
I'm an ex reviewer and the review on Amazon wasn't constructive--it didn't do much else but carry on about how the book wasn't based in reality. Last I knew, werewolves weren't REAL. What I got from the review was an angry buyer who'd spent some money on something she didn't like and she took her anger out in a review. There's nothing wrong with that until it becomes degrading to the author.
Expressing yourself and your disappointment can be done with a little less spew and a lot more in the way of examples as to why. Summing it up with--this book just didn't work for me.
Just my .02.
Best,
Dakota :)
Ohmygawd--Dakota?? With a classy, not picking-on-the-old-broad post? Thank you! On a serious note, you make a good point that I tried to make but didn't make well! A bad review can be really good, for both the author and the readers. I heard a really valid complaint, that there is nothing on the blurb that gives the reader any idea of content...maybe that's something we need to fix. I would hate to have someone buy this book not knowing it's got M/M, F/F, M/F/M, & M/M/F/F sex scenes in it, and that some of them take place while the characters are in their Chanku form. Maybe that's what happened to the "disgruntled" reader...they got smacked with something they found offensive w/o expecting it. Well, they'll know what to expect from me in the future and hopefully not waste their money on my books.
Actually, the original Wolf Tales was released from Changeling Press, not Ellora's Cave. Changeling does stuff even edgier than EC and really didn't put any boundaries on the storyline at all. In fact, when I added the M/M and F/F scenes I was really surprised at the positive reaction from my readers, but Changeling Press readers know to expect just about anything in their books! I am, however, glad to hear you enjoyed it, milady insanity! (wow, is that a nickname that would fit me about now...)
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