How not to respond to a bad review

Worldwalker · 03-29-2011, 01:45 PM

I just got started reading this one and I'm already alternating between laughing and crying, or at least laughing and making odd little whimpering noises:

http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/201...ne-howett.html

The executive summary: A blog writer said an ebook had grammatical issues. The author showed up and demanded the review be removed, insulted the reviewer, and generally threw fits. Hilarity ensued.

The reviewer mentions problems like the following quotes from the book:

Quote:

She carried her stocky build carefully back down the stairs.

Quote:

Don and Katy watched hypnotically Gino place more coffees out at another table with supreme balance.

The author replied:

Quote:

...what I read above has no flaws.

And it keeps on getting better!

The blog comments are filling up fast with people who understandably see the author as not just unprofessional but possibly deranged. She makes Anne Rice look cool and collected, and Laurell K. Hamilton and her imaginary friends look downright normal. As soon as I started reading it, I thought of the discussions about reviews we've had here. However you respond to a bad review -- correcting it, ignoring it, whatever -- the way this lady did it is not the way to go.

P.S. Some of the author's comments are NSFW.

(best reader comment so far: "you are unhinged")

altworld · 03-29-2011, 02:25 PM

As a writer you have no way to respond to a bad review without making yourself look like an arse.

Best case is to thank them for their review and say you will look into correcting any errors that the reviewer found, if they email them to you. I will be frank and say, you do get fed up of Reviewers that seem to get hung up on grammar or spelling, and at times just want to know if they enjoyed the story or not. Did the story entertain you, yes or no?

I am myself under the opinion it doesn't matter how many times you go through your work, how many Editors look at it something always slips by. Every time I read The Lord of the Rings it justifies my thoughts on proof reading, sometimes the littlest things get away from you.

I read this blog yesterday, for the Author in this case the best course was total silence. Now its a small viral hit.
Arigato,
Nick Davis

mmessina · 03-29-2011, 02:40 PM

In Larry Niven's "Playgrounds of the Mind", there's a great piece he writes about how he one time took a bad review very personally. He then, to paraphrase as well as make a long story short, found out the critic who wrote such a scathing writeup was actually nothing more than a failed author.

To be honest, it sounds like the initial example provided by the original poster doesn't really meet this criteria (rather, it sounds the other way around) but still I think it's worth mentioning given that none of us are perfect (least, that's what I heard last) and as such mistakes will pop up from time to time. Or worse yet, VALID CRITICISM. Snarky bastards with their valid criticism. I don't want to hear criticism, I just want to hear how amazing my book was! Is that too much to ask?

I think the only way to safely approach criticism is to approach it humbly; to look at it for what it is. Evaluate whether it is valid or useful, and if necessary affect changes. If not, then thank them and move on. I worked for 10 years in the technical support industry for internet support via phone. One statistic that has stuck with me is that only 4% of customers actually call in to complain. The remaining 96% O_O will literally just disappear as they cancel never to be heard from again. Translating to an author's point of view, the author should be genuinely glad to hear that someone has found something which can be fixed, which might improve the experience the other 96% might not have mentioned when they decided to nix this guy off their 'must have' list.

Worldwalker · 03-29-2011, 02:45 PM

I have met Larry Niven.

He is not a nice person.

That's as far as I'm going to go on that subject.

mmessina · 03-29-2011, 02:51 PM

That's what I've heard and he admits as much. But it's still a good story

Never let the demeanor of the source deter you from the validity of the argument, friend.

queentess · 03-29-2011, 03:02 PM

There was another really bad one a while back.

Also, though I am not a writer, I've always found this to be a good summation of how to (not) respond to reviews.

This one is probably my favorite though.

mr ploppy · 03-29-2011, 06:38 PM

I said this on the other thread about this, but that sort of extreme reaction to criticism is something that depression survivors do. I don't know if she is a DS or not, but I find what people are doing to her quite sickening.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Greek-Seam...DateDescending

Andanzas · 03-30-2011, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I find what people are doing to her quite sickening.

I totally agree. It has become a case of cyberbullying. Disgusting.

ardeegee · 03-30-2011, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andanzas

I totally agree. It has become a case of cyberbullying. Disgusting.

No, just another moron learning about the Streisand Effect the hard way.

The 5-star reviews are the most fun.

wyndslash · 03-30-2011, 05:38 AM

still, a group of people ganging up on one person is never fun :|

that said, i hope the author tries to improve herself and prove her critics wrong by working hard and come out with a great book. treat it as a challenge, even though it's never fun to get bullied. i do agree that she should have just stayed silent. although i am one of those readers hung up on grammar, i wouldn't resort to such well...tactlessness, i guess. i typically try to phrase my semi-bad reviews in as best as i can.

DMSmillie · 03-30-2011, 06:27 AM

Well, to be fair to the reviewer, he did actually say that she had written a good story, and his main issue with the spelling and, more particularly, grammar errors was that they kept getting in the way of enjoying the story she'd written. He was very evenhanded in his review, I thought - if anything, it was a favorable review, except for commenting on the clunkiness of the grammar in places.

I don't know why she reacted as strongly as she did - it's possible she's dealing with other stuff in her life and living on an emotional hair trigger as a result. Even so, I was rather taken aback by the ferocity of her responses, and I'm afraid she didn't do herself any favours by asserting that the quoted sentences were absolutely fine. The response to her outburst, in terms of the massive numbers of negative reviews now landing on the book on Amazon, became inevitable as her outburst on the reviewer's blog attracted more and more attention. The Web is one of the most amazing developments in the last 20 years, but along with the great stuff it's made possible, it sadly makes it easy for the nastier side of human nature to run wild at times.

I just hope the author can extract, from amidst all the crap, the good advice she's received, learn from it, and move on to write better books in the future. Though she might, as some suggested in the blog discussion, have to consider using a pen name for future books, in order not to have them linked to this unfortunate episode.

kennyc · 03-30-2011, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

I have met Larry Niven.

He is not a nice person.

That's as far as I'm going to go on that subject.

And I believe it as I've heard similar stories of the trust fund baby.

Thanks for posting the O.P. WW, went there and read it , it is hilarious!

wyndslash · 03-30-2011, 07:06 AM

@DMS: i actually feel bad for her now the more i think about it. i mean yeah, she shouldn't have responded that badly, but i think there's a limit to how much you can push a person. it goes from being defensive to just plain bullying.

kennyc · 03-30-2011, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyndslash

@DMS: i actually feel bad for her now the more i think about it. i mean yeah, she shouldn't have responded that badly, but i think there's a limit to how much you can push a person. it goes from being defensive to just plain bullying.

She's an idiot. Clearly not a professional writer.

mr ploppy · 03-30-2011, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

She's an idiot. Clearly not a professional writer.

It's unlikely she ever will be now.

03-29-2011, 03:02 PM	#6
queentess Reading is sexy Posts: 1,303 Karma: 544517 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: none	There was another really bad one a while back. Also, though I am not a writer, I've always found this to be a good summation of how to (not) respond to reviews. This one is probably my favorite though. Last edited by queentess; 03-29-2011 at 03:06 PM.

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03-29-2011, 02:25 PM	#2
altworld Evangelist Posts: 495 Karma: 746472 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Deep in Maryland Device: Android G1	As a writer you have no way to respond to a bad review without making yourself look like an arse. Best case is to thank them for their review and say you will look into correcting any errors that the reviewer found, if they email them to you. I will be frank and say, you do get fed up of Reviewers that seem to get hung up on grammar or spelling, and at times just want to know if they enjoyed the story or not. Did the story entertain you, yes or no? I am myself under the opinion it doesn't matter how many times you go through your work, how many Editors look at it something always slips by. Every time I read The Lord of the Rings it justifies my thoughts on proof reading, sometimes the littlest things get away from you. I read this blog yesterday, for the Author in this case the best course was total silence. Now its a small viral hit. Arigato, Nick Davis

03-29-2011, 02:40 PM	#3
mmessina Author-saurus-rex Posts: 33 Karma: 88 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: harrisburg, pa Device: kindle	In Larry Niven's "Playgrounds of the Mind", there's a great piece he writes about how he one time took a bad review very personally. He then, to paraphrase as well as make a long story short, found out the critic who wrote such a scathing writeup was actually nothing more than a failed author. To be honest, it sounds like the initial example provided by the original poster doesn't really meet this criteria (rather, it sounds the other way around) but still I think it's worth mentioning given that none of us are perfect (least, that's what I heard last) and as such mistakes will pop up from time to time. Or worse yet, VALID CRITICISM. Snarky bastards with their valid criticism. I don't want to hear criticism, I just want to hear how amazing my book was! Is that too much to ask? I think the only way to safely approach criticism is to approach it humbly; to look at it for what it is. Evaluate whether it is valid or useful, and if necessary affect changes. If not, then thank them and move on. I worked for 10 years in the technical support industry for internet support via phone. One statistic that has stuck with me is that only 4% of customers actually call in to complain. The remaining 96% O_O will literally just disappear as they cancel never to be heard from again. Translating to an author's point of view, the author should be genuinely glad to hear that someone has found something which can be fixed, which might improve the experience the other 96% might not have mentioned when they decided to nix this guy off their 'must have' list.

03-29-2011, 02:45 PM	#4
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I have met Larry Niven. He is not a nice person. That's as far as I'm going to go on that subject.

03-29-2011, 02:51 PM	#5
mmessina Author-saurus-rex Posts: 33 Karma: 88 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: harrisburg, pa Device: kindle	That's what I've heard and he admits as much. But it's still a good story Never let the demeanor of the source deter you from the validity of the argument, friend.

03-29-2011, 06:38 PM	#7
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	I said this on the other thread about this, but that sort of extreme reaction to criticism is something that depression survivors do. I don't know if she is a DS or not, but I find what people are doing to her quite sickening. http://www.amazon.com/The-Greek-Seam...DateDescending

03-30-2011, 05:38 AM	#10
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	still, a group of people ganging up on one person is never fun :\| that said, i hope the author tries to improve herself and prove her critics wrong by working hard and come out with a great book. treat it as a challenge, even though it's never fun to get bullied. i do agree that she should have just stayed silent. although i am one of those readers hung up on grammar, i wouldn't resort to such well...tactlessness, i guess. i typically try to phrase my semi-bad reviews in as best as i can.

03-30-2011, 06:27 AM	#11
DMSmillie Enquiring Mind Posts: 562 Karma: 42350 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: London, UK Device: Kindle 3 (WiFi)	Well, to be fair to the reviewer, he did actually say that she had written a good story, and his main issue with the spelling and, more particularly, grammar errors was that they kept getting in the way of enjoying the story she'd written. He was very evenhanded in his review, I thought - if anything, it was a favorable review, except for commenting on the clunkiness of the grammar in places. I don't know why she reacted as strongly as she did - it's possible she's dealing with other stuff in her life and living on an emotional hair trigger as a result. Even so, I was rather taken aback by the ferocity of her responses, and I'm afraid she didn't do herself any favours by asserting that the quoted sentences were absolutely fine. The response to her outburst, in terms of the massive numbers of negative reviews now landing on the book on Amazon, became inevitable as her outburst on the reviewer's blog attracted more and more attention. The Web is one of the most amazing developments in the last 20 years, but along with the great stuff it's made possible, it sadly makes it easy for the nastier side of human nature to run wild at times. I just hope the author can extract, from amidst all the crap, the good advice she's received, learn from it, and move on to write better books in the future. Though she might, as some suggested in the blog discussion, have to consider using a pen name for future books, in order not to have them linked to this unfortunate episode.

03-30-2011, 07:06 AM	#13
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	@DMS: i actually feel bad for her now the more i think about it. i mean yeah, she shouldn't have responded that badly, but i think there's a limit to how much you can push a person. it goes from being defensive to just plain bullying.