tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post2248121515230183084..comments2024-03-27T01:07:03.944-04:00Comments on The Roses of Prose: Reviews -- The Blessing and Bane of a Writer's Existence by Vonnie DavisAlison Hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725250883303287946noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-77661663415103036692016-04-18T17:14:05.195-04:002016-04-18T17:14:05.195-04:00Hugs, Vonnie. I'd love to get sixty reviews. A...Hugs, Vonnie. I'd love to get sixty reviews. Am I jealous? Hell, yes. LOL Whenever I read an endorsement of a new book, I always check the reviews & read the sample. Plus, I try to write reviews for books I've thoroughly enjoyed. I miss my old readers book group where we share what we've been reading. Diane Burtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03754105332297068271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-40653595805628372282016-04-08T08:22:22.784-04:002016-04-08T08:22:22.784-04:00Great post, Vonnie. Reviews can be killers, for su...Great post, Vonnie. Reviews can be killers, for sure. I don't mind bad reviews at all, oddly, as long as they're not totally untrue. Different opinions make the world go around and I'm just glad people are reading me. But yes, the ones that are insulting, a personal attack on the author, are uncalled for. Good luck with sales...you know you're an awesome writer, regardless of those snide reviewers!Alicia Deanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12003539473772776004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-23735407510913689422016-04-03T17:00:52.264-04:002016-04-03T17:00:52.264-04:00Oh my, Andi. An improper download is not your faul...Oh my, Andi. An improper download is not your fault. I got a bad review because my publisher does not indent the first paragraph of a chapter or pov change. An author has no control over a publishing house's styles. Get real, people!!! Not a word about the storyline or my use of craft...just complained about the lack of first paragraph indentation. ACK!Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-50433831204233804342016-04-03T16:57:05.016-04:002016-04-03T16:57:05.016-04:00Alison, I often wonder that, too. Does FREE mean y...Alison, I often wonder that, too. Does FREE mean you scarf up a book even if it's not the type or genre you enjoy? I don't care for memoirs. I don't care how many free ones you offer me, I'm not taking one. Reading something I don't like is a waste of my time. I did enough of that in college. Yes, people are strange.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-8869363363537295142016-04-03T16:53:58.591-04:002016-04-03T16:53:58.591-04:00She didn't read the book, but felt qualified t...She didn't read the book, but felt qualified to review? Oh, Margo, that's like me saying I faint at the sight of blood, but feel qualified to operate on you. Can we spell idiot??? I guess people just want to be heard. Or want to stand on top of someone's back to feel taller. They have no clue how idiotic they sound.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-32231926713322815372016-04-03T16:47:50.623-04:002016-04-03T16:47:50.623-04:00Oh, Vonnie, do I hear your pain! Like you, if I c...Oh, Vonnie, do I hear your pain! Like you, if I can't say something good, I don't say it at all. What bothers me most about the bad reviews is the snarkiness; if they said something constructive, hallelujah! I'd learn. But alas and alack, it's mostly sarcasm. And then there's one that said "I can't review this book because it didn't download properly'--yet saw fit to give me one star. Like it's my fault?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-76551328405269613372016-04-03T13:05:42.632-04:002016-04-03T13:05:42.632-04:00I always read my reviews. I'd love to say they...I always read my reviews. I'd love to say they don't matter to me, but they do. I've been lucky and have never received a truly bad review, even on Goodreads. I did get a couple of one-star ratings for my collection of Christmas short stories, one from a woman who said she couldn't get through it. Out of curiosity, I checked out her GR profile, hoping for some insight. Her favorites were all complex, dark paranormals. No wonder she didn't like my warm, fuzzy, little romances. I do wonder, however, why she picked it up just because it was free. And why go to the trouble to write a review? All we can conclude is that people are strange.Alison Hendersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12725250883303287946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-72005284354180520512016-04-03T13:04:25.061-04:002016-04-03T13:04:25.061-04:00What everyone else has said is so true. I've b...What everyone else has said is so true. I've been blessed with more good reviews than bad and had one 'experience' with a troll. The review began "I never even read this book but feel qualified to review it." Wait! What? I once had 12K downloads when my publisher offered my book for free. Sure didn't get near that many reviews. Sixty on Amazon? That would be a dream come true for me. Margo Hoornstrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00036077481652050799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-82366354495048801462016-04-03T10:56:19.056-04:002016-04-03T10:56:19.056-04:00I so seldom go to Goodreads. I'll go if a writ...I so seldom go to Goodreads. I'll go if a writer friend needs a vote on a list she or he is in. And I do try to remember to post my reviews there, too. But I rarely check my reviews on that site. It's so caustic. It makes me nervous to even go there. And, yes, I know that's silly, but this is me you're dealing with. LOLVonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-81639405285208595782016-04-03T10:53:14.147-04:002016-04-03T10:53:14.147-04:00Thanks, Leah. I read the painful ones to learn. If...Thanks, Leah. I read the painful ones to learn. If three or more complain about the same thing, then I know I have a problem I need to correct in my next book--like how often my heroine cries.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-21715452390030829522016-04-03T10:19:51.473-04:002016-04-03T10:19:51.473-04:00I would love to get 60 reviews on Amazon! I can...I would love to get 60 reviews on Amazon! I can't seem to break the 30 mark while I have over a hundred on Goodreads. All those NetGalley readers put their review up on Goodreads then seem to forget to go back and review on Amazon once the book publishes. Irritating! I can't help reading my reviews--even the bad ones. Like the car accident on the freeway, you don't want to look, but you do anyway... Great post!Jannine Gallanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01047728297429025804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-31647486044438211132016-04-03T09:52:25.650-04:002016-04-03T09:52:25.650-04:00I'm like you, Vonnie. I read reviews, both goo...I'm like you, Vonnie. I read reviews, both good and bad, to get a sense of the book and why people do or don't like it. Sometimes what one person dislikes is exactly what I do like! And I think 60 reviews is pretty darn good...despite the overall ratio! The fact that 300-something people wanted to read the book is pretty impressive as well. :-)Leah St. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11004006100786260893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-70133128210008656762016-04-03T09:52:00.926-04:002016-04-03T09:52:00.926-04:00More and more authors are preaching that sermon, R...More and more authors are preaching that sermon, Rolynn. DON'T READ YOUR REVIEWS! But we all love the lift, the ego boost of an appreciative one. It's almost like telling a musician to leave the venue before the applause starts. I'm eager to hear about your conference.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-54958331202669186132016-04-03T09:47:53.849-04:002016-04-03T09:47:53.849-04:00Thank you, Liz. Yes, never argue with a reviewer e...Thank you, Liz. Yes, never argue with a reviewer even if you wonder if it's your book they're talking about. LOL I did see a writer (not too mature, I'm thinking) post on Facebook "Who the f#$% does this person think she is?" and then left the link to her review. Well, nosy me went to the review, read it, and understood why the author was upset. It was a nasty one. But not as nasty as the comments left by the author's posse. E-Gads!!! They tore that poor lady apart. Yowza!Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-83579784627746886162016-04-03T09:40:02.604-04:002016-04-03T09:40:02.604-04:00We're told to write the books of our heart. A...We're told to write the books of our heart. Authors at the Left Coast Crime conference I just attended exhorted us not to read reviews and soldier on to write our books the way we want to. Yet that Amazon elephant, counting reviews and sorting them by how much over 4.0 we rate, makes it impossible not to notice how reviews are helping or hindering our sales. My Amazon Encore book (with 64 reviews) sells big time when Amazon gets around to touting the book...and I don't even know when/how they're pushing it. We can't help but cater to this most powerful element in our writing careers. Heavy sigh.Rolynn Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09504770204968969467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-61785453744654208262016-04-03T08:42:20.727-04:002016-04-03T08:42:20.727-04:00I was reading a manuscript for someone once and ac...I was reading a manuscript for someone once and actually DID count how many times the heroine cried--because she did it a lot--but I've never done it when reading a book. :-) I had the same thing with infertility, though, on my first book. The heroine had miscarried, which had nothing to do with being able to get pregnant. That was the first time a well-published writer (thank you to whomever it was!) told me no good ever came of arguing with the reviewer, so I didn't.<br /><br />I always love your posts.Liz Flahertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794565644883272260noreply@blogger.com