Authors, Reviewers, and Drama.

Apparently, reviewing for indie authors is risky business. You risk exposure to the ickiest of INDIE AUTHOR DRAMA. I'm new to the game. Lesson learned.

This post is geared toward authors, book reviewers, readers, and bloggers. I'm not new to writing. I've self-published books, won publication in writing contests, and I write articles on a freelance basis. I love to write book reviews, too, though I haven't been able to do as much of that as I'd like. I think my recent blunder proves my inexperience. In the words of Finn the Human from Adventure Time: I'M A HUGE FART.

I write a couple of different blogs under different genres. My first review on me erotica author site is for The Visitor. I'm proud of this review. Not only because I like how the writing turned out, but because I believe in the book and the author's talent. I reviewed it because it inspired me as both a reader and a writer. The author didn't ask for a review. I was just motivated to write about it.

I was approached by another writer for a review recently. I was excited, because I was just finishing up The Visitor and I was hungry for more. I suppose I should have said something like "I will take a look at it and see if it fits my blog." But I was more like, "YEAH! I'm interested in reviewing. Send it on over and I'll take a look!" Maybe I was a tad too eager. Lesson learned.

The book was unlikable--in my opinion. SUBJECTIVE! It's a subjective business, the art of writing, for sure. I wasn't hooked by page one. I was actually stressed, because by page one I knew I didn't want to read it. I actually gave it a few chapters though. There were some point of view issues, some unlikable characters (who weren't supposed to be unlikable), and some stylistic choices I just wasn't into.

I wrote the author privately and said I wouldn't be able to review it. I thought it was more professional and less douchebag-esque to tell an author why it's not right for me rather than write a shitty review and post it to the public. Indie authors don't have a big publisher backing them up. Many don't get the same press. A bad review can be detrimental to building readership.

I also thought, in my moment of "brilliance," that I should be HONEST (HAHAHAHAA!) and say why I wasn't able to keep reading--in a constructive, non dip-shitty way. I said something along the lines of, "The head hopping confused me a bit." This was just one of the many things I didn't like. But I didn't send the author my big ol' list. I thought that since Author was looking for reviews, then Author might want to know why I didn't want to keep reading. I considered it a private mini-review (which, admittedly, was negative). I didn't set out that day to eat the hearts and drink the tears of an indie author. The endgame was not: Hmmm...who can I CRUSH today? But really, I should have kept my fat mouth shut. Lesson learned.

My whole point with this post is that I'd love to hear from reviewers. You know, reviewers who know what they're doing. Your advice is much appreciated! I'm an indie author. I support the indie genre. But I admit that I'm floundering around and trying to learn. I think there is nothing to be gained from me tearing down a fellow indie's book in a public review when what we really need to be doing is supporting each other. If you get a request for a review, how do you go about it? What are your guidelines for accepting? If the review will be negative, do you post it?

I hate flakiness. I try my best to be non-flaky. If I say I will read a book, or buy a book, or look into reviewing a book, or that I'll respond to your message as soon as I can, I do it. I'm a real person, and I understand that the stranger/author on social media whom I've never met is also a real person. I didn't want to just drop off the face of the internet and never say a word to Author again, leaving Author wondering. I'm not just trying to collect all the friends and readers I can and be a complete fake-ass about it.

Author stated I should not have given any criticism as to why I put the book down. Author further stated my opinion could not be supported by evidence because I did not finish the whole book (though I did provide an excerpt of one of the instances that threw me off). Author insisted I simply should have stated that I wouldn't be reading the book, but not make the reason that made me want to put it down known to Author. Author claimed that the only thing I got out of sending a private message about it was to incite DRAMA. (Cuz I love when I feel like a shitty person. So much.)

I do feel like a HUGE FART. I guess nothing good can come from honestly telling an author (in a constructive, polite way) why you weren't into the book. It upset Author and genuinely made me feel bad. I get it. I'm an author too. Our work is our heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, sexual release (in some cases)...all that good cathartic stuff.

If someone tells me any issues they have with my work (and I've certainly received my fair share of criticism), I either agree with the criticism and put it to good use, OR, I disagree with it, and then, that's it. If I don't agree, I don't listen, and I keep writing the way I want.

This shit takes a thick skin. It does. I don't know that I'll be accepting review requests any time soon. Or, if I do, I'll need to be upfront with something like:

If I like the book enough to finish it, then yeah, I'll review it. Oh, and if I never respond to you again, it's because I couldn't stand it...

(It's a work in progress.)

For now, I'll just keep reading Marriage Games by C.D. Reiss. I'm crazy excited to review it. Not because the author asked, but because I discovered it, was intrigued by the blurb, then read the preview and was hooked by page one. So I one-clicked. That's how you do it, folks. That's how you sell a book. This book is not only fantastically written, it's edited perfectly and it inspires me to write better. Because C.D. Reiss knows what the fuck she is doing, and at the moment, she is my author role model.

And, indie authors, if you DO get bad reviews, check this out from Indie Author News: 10 WAYS FOR AUTHORS TO HANDLE BAD REVIEWS.