Quote:
Originally Posted by ekbell
In my experience a positive review that points out a few *specific* typos is generally not taken badly and often leads to corrections, whereas a general complaint that the story is unreadable due to excessive errors will generally be taken badly.
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This. You're supposed to sandwhich the bad stuff in the middle of the good stuff you're commenting on. That is, if you really think it's worth the trouble of giving them a heads up. If you think it's got promise, you start out easy and see how the author responds. If it's just a total loss, consensus is to just walk away and read something else. You don't like it, don't read. Since you didn't pay for it, no harm, no foul.
In the word ouside of fanfic, Reviews are for other readers. They're to let everyone know if the work is worth their time and money. Fanfic comments are just for the authors. Not many readers bother with them. So, the response is to two different sets of people.
And, yes, I think most of the writers are very young adults. They don't respond well to crit. Some of us older writers do, but we're still looking for politeness. So, start small, then see if the writer wants more. Then you can dig into it, behind the scenes if they're willing.