A couple of weeks ago, we wondered, “Should Authors Be Amazon Reviewers?” and that spurred some interesting discussion in the comments section.
Another question authors may be curious about is whether or not they should respond to reviews of their books. Amazon lets you comment on any review, and, if someone reviews your book on a blog, you can usually comment there as well.
But…should you?
I hope it’s a foregone conclusion that we shouldn’t argue with reviewers, but what about a “Thank you for posting a review” or “Thank you for your feedback”? Or should you say something specific about the reader’s words?
Personally, I tend not to comment on reviews unless the author sends me the link via Twitter, and usually I just thank the person for reviewing the book. My reasoning is that reviews aren’t really for me — they’re for readers — and I’m leery about butting my head into their area and possibly hindering the discussion. Or getting into a situation where I feel defensive and start justifying my choices. That just never goes well for the author.
I’ve seen cases where authors who are usually cordial with their thank yous become stiff and huffy when commenting on a negative review, especially if they perceived the book was judged unfairly (such as if the reviewer only read the sample chapters — how on earth could you review a book when you didn’t read the whole thing, they cry).
When feelings are hurt, it’s easy to write something you’ll regret later, and, if it’s a comment on someone else’s blog, there’s no taking it back. On Amazon, you can delete your comment, but the fact that you commented in the first place remains there, and people might be able to piece things together from the comments around it.
While I like the idea of thanking readers and letting them know it’s great that they took the time to leave reviews, I don’t think it’s something I’ll do often in a public venue. I figure you’ll never get into trouble by saying nothing, but you might get into trouble one day if you have a policy of saying something.
That’s just my opinion, though, and you’ll find different authors with different stances on this.
What are your thoughts? If you’re an author, do you comment on reviews? If you’re a reader, do you want authors to comment on your reviews?
I agree with your approach, Lindsay. If a person has written a positive review, it’s ok to say “Glad you liked it.” If they’ve written a well thought out, constructive negative review, then I think it would be ok to thank someone for taking the time to read and give honest feedback. If the review is just plain out in left field, then it’s best to just leave it alone. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard is “Don’t engage with the crazy people.”
Quick clarification – I meant that if someone left a negative review, it would be ok to thank them for reading and for giving honest feedback. Didn’t mean to imply that an author should give feedback on the review. It’s Monday and I obviously need more caffeine. 🙂
I tend to comment on positive and less than favorable reviews on blogs, particularly if I requested the review.
I never disagree with a review or imply the reviewer’s opinion is faulty if I don’t like it. If authors take a step back and look at the review objectively, they’ll most likely see a bit of truth in it.
I comment on unfavorable reviews for a few reason:
1) The reviewer took the time to read my book at my request. Doesn’t she/he deserve a bit of thanks?
2) I think other reviewers are more likely to accept future review requests if they see I can handle a review without turning into the psycho character from a book.
3) It provides an opportunity to point out the positive aspects of the review. Most reviews aren’t all negative or positive. So why not remind the readers of the good? 🙂
4) To show the reviewer I understand where they’re coming from. For me, a review is like an overall critique of a work. I can use that information to improve my writing for later. Why not recognize that and thank them for the free critique? 🙂
5) I think readers like to see authors behaving well. People pick up books for all sorts of reasons–cover, blurb, recommendation, ad. I’m sure there are readers out there who will look at a lukewarm review and be swayed to try out the work because the author promotes a positive image.
authors shouldn’t be reading their reviews, because you might start believing them. The only professional and sanity-supporting response is to say “Thank you for takingt he time to share your thoughts”–whether the review is “good” or “bad”
Scott
I did send messages to reviewers saying thank you. Nothing else. Just thanks and it wasn’t public.
Personally, I’d rather not read reviews of my work at all. It’s hard not to when they come to my inbox.
Another lane of the author road we have to get used to.
I think it’s OK to say thanks if it’s on a blog or whatever. But I think we should refrain from saying anything else.
Have to agree with Nicholas on this one. If you want to reply at all (and I’m not sure that I would), I would only respond with something along the lines of, “Thanks for the review – much appreciated.”
As for negative reviews that are well thought out…I wouldn’t touch those, because I know how I can get. 😉 (Just had to hold back on a comment someone left on another blog that had me steamed; my cooler self prevailed.)
Why mess things up with emotions?
Best to not say anything on reviews, unless they happen to be at your own blog (again, because I know how hyped I can get).
Just my 2 cents. 🙂
I have to go with the “Thanks for the review!” since I have experianced a bad review it took a lot not to blog it in a way to defend my work, but I like the idea of not reading them also – but the good ones make you feel so good.
Thanks for the comments, everyone! It’s interesting to hear what works for others.
Reena, very thoughtful list. I’d definitely leave a comment if I’d requested the review or it was part of a blog tour.
Scott, you’ve got an iron will if you can keep from reading them at all. *g* I don’t go hunting them down, but it’s hard not to notice them at Amazon if you have an obsession with checking your sales ranking. Which I don’t of course. Not at all. Nope. 😉
I agree with Reena on leaving a general “thanks for the review” if the author requested a review, when the author is going to request another review from that blogger/reader in the future. “Thanks for the review” just translates into “No matter what you thought of this book, I think you’re alright. And perhaps you might want to read one of my other books in the future.”
Book reviews are just that… reviews of a book, not of an author. There are books that I really like written by authors I don’t typically enjoy, and there are books that I disliked coming from one of my favourite authors. I rated one of Ursula K. Le Guin’s books on Goodreads as two stars. Does that stop me from name-dropping and recommending the 5-star books she has like The Dispossessed or The Left Hand of Darkness? No. She’s still my favourite author, I just didn’t like that one book.
I think an author’s “brand” is the aggregate word-of-mouth on their entire body of work. It’s a continuous process that can go forward, or go backwards. As much as authors feel personally about their books, one book (and the reviews about it) should not define the author. Maybe less than glowing reviews and opinions are easier to take when authors remember that it isn’t a criticism of *them*, but one product they created at a specific point in time, experienced by one individual in another specific point in time. There’s plenty of other books and other readers after that.
If you request a review, do it in private. If the person complies, thank him nicely for his thought and effort (if it’s positive), or thank him politely for his time (if it’s negative), again in private. As for the reviews themselves, out there for all to see, say nothing. Just let them lay. The reviews combined with the sample will give any potential customer all he needs to make up his mind.
I’ve gone back and forth on this one myself. Up to this point I’ve tried to always thank reviewers for taking the time to review my books, but since I stumbled upon the last two reviews via Google Search (rather than having the reviews sent to me), I wasn’t sure if I should publicly thank the reviewers. I think I’ll adopt the policy you mentioned of thanking the reviewer if they contact me first and send me the link to the review. Thanks for another great article!
@Frida Yes, it’s not personal; it’s a review. Important to remember if not always easy to do so. A lot of authors view their novels like children by the time they’re done with them! That’s when it’s important to step back and get a little perspective. 😉
@Peter Thanks for the comment. Good luck with the formatting guide!
@Scott Have you been Googleing yourself again…? 😉
I would love to hear what bloggers have to say on the matter.
Would they prefer for writers to comment or not comment on a review? Do their attitudes toward comments change based upon an unfavorable review versus a favorable review?
I’m a book review blogger rather than a writer, and I like getting comments from authors. I suppose it would weird me out if an author tried to argue the review because, I’m just stating my (pretty carefully thought out) opinion of something the author has already declared is complete.
However, if an author responds to me in a non-argumentative way, then that’s intrinsically flattering and maybe also interesting or humanizing, depending on what they say. In any case, it makes me more likely to take a look at their next book, because now they’re more like real people in my mind, rather than just faceless book producers. I feel the same about authors who blog things other than book release news.
There are definitely authors who seem like they’re in it just for the money and don’t care for their fans. I’ll read their books if they write well, but I don’t CARE about them the way I do the ones who engage readers. I’ll borrow their books than purchasing them. If they write something less than stellar, they get no second chances with me. Writers who act like they see their fans as people instead of just as consumers get the second chances and get the same sort of goodwill and courtesy I want to extend any acquaintance who brightens my day on occasion.
Maybe if I were blogging professionally or had some sort of journalistic neutrality that I was trying to maintain, I’d want more separation between myself and authors. But I’m not and I don’t. I just blog in order to better enjoy the books I read. I have a small readership. They know I’m a total book junkie and have no ties to the author community. Since my reviews are as often critical as not, regular readers know that I’m not just mindlessly shilling books, but I’m not especially concerned about it either way since I’m just doing this for fun.
Anway, that’s this bloggers opinion. YMMV.
I really think authors need to stay away from the reviews unless they’re doing a blog tour and the review goes along with an interview or something. In that case, it’s appropriate to thank the host of the tour.
In all other situations it looks bad. If I saw an author thanking reviewers on Amazon my first thought would be that all the reviewers were the authors friends and that they were just being nice. I wouldn’t take the reviews seriously.
It’s a tough balance to know when you should say thanks and when not to. I kind of agree with your staying away from public venues to say thank you.
No, I don’t think they should comment on reviews of their own work. I also don’t think, as happens on Goodreads etc, that writers should grade their own work (some 5* books, when you look at them, only have the writers entry against them).
@Liana Interesting point about “thank you” comments making it look like the reviewers are friends of the author. I probably wouldn’t think that if the author was thanking everyone, but I can see where some might.
@Mark & CC Thanks for commenting! Hah, Mark, I think I may have accidentally 5-starred my first book on Goodreads because I couldn’t figure out how to add it to my library without “reviewing” it. I’m still not that savvy on there. 😛
My first science fiction book was by Isaac Asimov. He was a great writer and I was hook. The foundation trilogy and the robot series are classics.