Being that I am a writer by profession, I obviously know a ton of other writers of various genres. While in college, I was an English major so I know a thing or two about literary writing. Not saying I am the all knowing, just saying I know good writing when I see it. This is my 2 cents.
While not concentrating on my writing, I occasionally have people ask me to read their work who want "an honest review." I am ok with that. I'm not the kind of person to massage another's ego just so they can feel good. If i see flaws or what I feel are flaws in someone work, I point it out. I feel i give real literary reviews. I don't just tear into a work and say hateful things like "THIS IS AWFUL!" or "This author sucks!" No. Sorry. That's not professional or helpful in any way. What I do point out are both the good points and the shortcomings of a book. Perhaps a character was left underdeveloped or maybe there was a loose end that was left untied. I will point those things out in a heartbeat. I will also offer praise if warranted. If the story was solid with good character development and keep the reader interested, I will say that as well. I very rarely give 5 star reviews because I feel that almost any book can always be better. That being said, I;ve discovered one thing in the writing community.
Writers do not want honesty.
They want someone to rub their shoulders and tell them that they're the next frickin Hemingway. They want only reviews that make their work sound like it's the next Harry Potter series. It's not! It's clucking horrifying! Ok, maybe not that bad, but it can definitely use some work. I cannot tell you how many people have stopped following me on twitter, have placed me on ignore, and have flat out just lied about me all because I gave what I felt was a very honest and objective review of their work. I had someone unfollow and ignore me because I gave their work a 3.3/5 on a competitor's website. Hey, last I checked, 3.3 out of 5 is not too shabby. It's obviously not perfect, but I'm also not calling your work complete and utter dog [expletive deleted].
To all my fellow writers, I say this: Grow thicker skin! The world is not a nice place. People are mean and vicious and some of them will only want to tear you down. If you get a legitimate, critical review of your book, take those words and think about them and learn from them. As a writer, I do feel we are on the same team. Heck, the same family, and like a good and loving brother, I will tell you when you need to brush up on a few things. I've had people call my work complete crap and that's ok. I've also had beneficial reviews and because of those I am becoming a better writer.
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I welcome constructive criticism. I will always prefer honesty to ego-stroking. I'm glad there are more people like me out there.
ReplyDeleteAs the above comment has mentioned, I too, welcome constructive criticism, the only problem with people these days is when I ask for an opinion, they shoot away negativity BUT cannot produce a solution on how to improve my writing. Those kind of comments I do not want.
ReplyDeleteAs a writer, humility makes me better. I have learnt to accept criticism that helps me become a better writer. Heck, even if it makes me look unprofessional, I thank those who can pin point even my minor grammatical mistakes. That's what learning is about, isn't it?
those are the kind of reviews that readers should post, but rarely do. I've seen readers give books 1 star reviews because a character wasn't likable. It makes me wonder if they even realized that maybe the character was supposed to be unlikable. The reason for my post was due largely by my own personal experience. I never post low reviews simply to be mean. I do it with real scholarly criticism and reasons why they scored low. Maybe a character was left underdeveloped or perhaps there were too many plot holes that it took from the overall story. Maybe something was left unexplained or the story just didn't flow.
ReplyDeleteThere are many writers who have come to terms with constructive criticism. Unfortunately, there are still many who have not.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it's a chance to improve at the thing I love. That's not a bad thing.