Writer Teri Heyer wrote a great blog post about reviews. Check it out here. I wanted to share her post because she pretty much sums up how I feel on the issue as well. I particularly agree with her on the point regarding 5-star reviews. I hate reading those comments that imply that the reviewer must be a friend/family member of the author. It seems some people are just unable to accept the fact that pretty much any work of art will have some who love it and some who hate it. I've heard people rail against Beethoven, for crying out loud!
If you're a writer, this blog post is definitely a worthwhile read. Go have a look and leave your own thoughts in the comments section.
Michael, thanks! I hope others will join in the discussion about reviews.
ReplyDeleteHi Michael,
ReplyDeleteTeri's post is terrific (I tried to leave a comment Teri, but Wordpress had an issue with my login (*sigh*)) To sum up: there is a great deal of conversation relating to this very issue from a variety of perspectives--a little like the three blind men asked to describe an elephant. I don't think that we (being the indie-industry at large), will be able to affect the use of anonymous, mean-spirited reviews left by shills and trolls, however, we can continue to act in co-operative spirit, as you describe, to read and review using the system as it is meant to be used. Eventually, hopefully, we will balance out or perhaps even outweigh, the dross.
Here's a link to my take on the issue: http://sleepingdragon.info/2012/crises-of-confidence-the-de-valuing-of-reviews/
We are not alone! :-) Regards, Lyn Aspey (@LAAspey)