So, as you can
probably tell from the title of this post, I have a question for all of you
reviewers and review readers out there. How do you respond to negative comments
on your reviews? Do you attack back? Do you stress that it’s your opinion you’re trying to convey?
What do you do?
The reason I’m
asking is because I received my first negative comment over a review. I was
kind of expecting some backlash, but not to this extent. (This review I’m going
to mention has yet to be posted on my blog. It’s over More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera and it will be up soon.) I took
a screenshot of the info and posted it below:
I think I responded with a level-head, if I do say so myself. However, I now realized that I should
have stressed some issues more. Like, how people are allowed to react happily
to a book and share their opinions over how joyful a book made them, but
according to this customer, I am not allowed to express how sad a book made me.
I also should have explained that if I were severely depressed—I explained in
my review that I was feeling extremely down and useless—his/her comments could
have been even more devastating than they already are on my psyche. Thankfully, I’m back to “normal” now, but
this comment could have caused me some major problems.
Basically, I am
posting this because I want to see what you guys would have done if you were
me. How would you have reacted to a negative comment, or how have you reacted
to a negative comment in the past? Do you still think about the comment today?
Please let me know.
I don't know about the book you've written the review but let me advise you about something I've seen especially on GoodReads.
ReplyDeleteWhen you write a review, good or bad, the purpose is to give feedback to the writer, NOT so much on the reader. A potential reader is good to read positive and negative reviews, so there's no reason for anyone to react badly on your review; or anyone else's for that matter.
I know users on GoodReads who ALWAYS rate mmost of the books with 1-2 stars and to say the truth it pisses me of. But I've never said anything bad to them because it is not my job as a reviewer to judge. The writer is the one who learns from the experience.
You did answer well but in the future if you get copies on the books you read is good to mention that the ARC or the writer do not influence your opinion on the review. :)
Thanks for the feedback. I can't understand only giving books 1-2 stars. That seems strange to do that all of the time. Why would someone read books s/he constantly didn't like? Just to critique?
DeleteAs for your comment about mentioning how I obtained the books, I usually do just that. I believe in this post I mentioned that I borrowed the book from the library. (I actually don't review a lot of books that have been directly sent to me from the publisher. I usually purchase them myself, but I do occasionally obtain a review copy.)
Thanks again for responding. I appreciate it! XD