By JoDee
Neathery
Book reports and book reviews are often considered in the same light, but there is a major
difference in the two. The “report” is generally a simple summary of the story
and a “review” is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely
described or analyzed based on content, style, or merit.
An author’s best friend is someone who
takes the time to read their book and offer an opinion on the work on Amazon
and/or Goodreads. The review should be based on the reader’s opinion with all
that is necessary is yes, I liked it and why, or no, I didn’t like it and why. When
you have devoted enormous energy in writing a book that you can be proud of,
it’s disheartening to read that someone’s opinion was short of enthusiastic. We
must remember the reader’s opinion is not a commentary on you, the author, but
it’s difficult sometimes not to take it personally. I was told early on in this
process to never comment on any posted review…it opens a natural justification
dialogue that you cannot win no matter what you say. Especially if it is a
critical review, you will be viewed as a whiner sucking on sour grapes.
Authors are keenly aware that less than
10% of those who read their book will review it, but we also know customer
reviews drive sales. Often the most critical reviews reveal more than the
glowing ones. I received a one-star review recently and honestly appreciated
the comment, “It was not my cup of tea. I
prefer a faster-paced novel with minimal descriptive phases.” That’s a
legitimate statement that should not offend even the most sensitive souls.
Where we as authors draw a line in the sand is when a critical review is of the
condition of the book with disregard to the reader’s assessment of it other
than the cover was creased. This is when it is very tempting to fire back a
response…but taking a deep breath is recommended instead. Another faux pas is a
bend-over-backwards love of the book with a one-star rating…obviously something
went awry in the understanding of I loved it (five-stars) and I hated it
(one-star.)
In my capacity as chairperson of our
community book club (92 strong on the email list) we research a good number of
books before selecting them for our group. We look at the reviews both positive
and critical as often threads highlight the same issues giving us a clearer
idea of the merits of the book according to the overall reader’s opinions. A
recent example of this was our May selection, one with over two-thousand
reviews but 6% were scathing as though the other 94% had read a different book.
What we can garner from the mysterious
world of reviews as readers and writers alike is to respect a person’s right to
an opinion, offer ours in honesty, and take all with a grain of salt.
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