Comments on: Writing Bad Reviews are a Good Thing

By: Rachael

Rachael — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 12:30:07 +0000

bad reviews are exactly the reason I started my blog – I was fed up of trying products that just weren’t worth the money! Completely agree with you, there has to be balance, you can’t like everything!
Helpless Whilst Drying

By: The Orangutan Librarian

The Orangutan Librarian — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 01:41:13 +0000

Amen to this!! Firstly I enjoy reading and writing negative reviews too- it’s not just that they’re fun, but it’s also useful to gauge how good or bad a book is- which is the whole point of a review. To be honest, I really have a problem when people refuse to rate things below three star and don’t give reliable ratings or reviews- cos while they are being generous to the author, they’re kinda being dishonest with their readers who expect honest opinions and may even be misleading them to buy something they may not like! People read reviews so that they can be selective over what they read- if all reviews are positive then the reader might as well pick at random. I agree with you that I just don’t trust the reviewers who only give positive reviews.

By: Uptown Oracle

Uptown Oracle — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 19:21:16 +0000

In reply to LJ. Totally agree! Constructive criticism should always be welcome as an author

By: Uptown Oracle

Uptown Oracle — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 18:19:06 +0000

In reply to A Radio and Library. Yeah I definitely found it difficult at first not to sound mean! But once you really think about it and understand how certain words and phrases might make people feel it helps

By: LJ

LJ — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 18:18:48 +0000

Negative reviews can be helpful to an author though. I can’t help but think of that movie Whiplash where the music teacher talks about how the famous jazz artist was booed off the stage. He went home and worked even harder. Even everyone had acted like he was totally fine, he would never have done that. I think it is flattering someone took the time to read your work even if it is critical.

By: A Radio and Library

A Radio and Library — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 11:56:34 +0000

I struggled with sounding too mean, but I agree that if they’re honest and you provide a balanced viewpoint it can really help people with choosing what their next book/ product/ etc will be!