Jim’s timely post yesterday on the paying for reviews scandal involving the self-published ‘John Locke’ got me thinking about the changing nature and validity of ‘reviews’ in the cyber-age.
We’ve had flame-wars, hate campaigns as well ‘friend’-reviewing and, more recently, the purchasing of favorable Amazon reviews all in the name of attaining that most coveted of prizes – the title of ‘bestselling author’. Given all the hoopla, I was interested to see The Guardian’s book blog posting question ‘are Amazon reader reviews killing off the critic?‘ In this blog post they ask whether ongoing issues with Amazon reviews have killed off the book review or whether they have actually made traditional, editor-commissioned book reviews more important than ever?
I have been mulling over same thing though wondering whether the answer to this question is even relevant. It’s clear that most people buy books based on the recommendations of friends and from ‘word of mouth’ rather than Amazon reviews – though in this day and age, word-of-mouth opinions is often generated by online hype which (as the John Locke case illustrates) are easily open to manipulation.
While I like Jim’s solution to open up more books for readers to look at online – so they can read sample chapters for themselves and decide – I still wonder about the increasing irrelevance of reviews.
At the moment I view most Amazon reviews with skepticism – as more-often than not the one-star review sounds like a rant and the five-star review sounds like pandering. However, I also find it’s getting increasingly harder to distinguish promotion from objective reviews online at all, and it’s pretty clear that publishers and authors alike are desperate for anything that will set them apart from the background ‘noise’ of the Internet. This means for me, at least, I take most online reviews with a grain of salt. I do, however, continue to view reviews found in newspapers, magazines and journals with some degree of confidence. Not that I will agree with the reviewer by any means – but I do regard what is written as an actual critical appraisal rather than an exercise in PR.
So what do you think? Have online reader review sites basically killed off the traditional book critic? Do you think independent book reviews (in newspapers or other media formats) still resonate with readers or are they of only marginal importance?
Killzoneblog.com
I definitely pay attention to reviews for non-fiction as I want to make sure I’m getting what I expect – eg, a solution to my problem. The reviews help me figure out if that’s the case.
For fiction, I pay little or no attention to the star reviews, the problem is that everyone has them so an author who doesn’t sticks out like a sore thumb. I doubt it would effect my decision to by from a brand-name author like Patterson, Rowling, etc as I already know what to expect from them and not bothered what other people think.
For the indie writer, reviews are extremely important for these very reasons – if noone is reviewing you, noone is reading you, which means new readers are less likely to take a chance on an unkwnown.
As far as paying for reviews, I expect that published authors have to work their butts off to get reviewed anywhere, unless they are NYT Bestsellers of course, which might only apply to the top 10%. There’s nothing inherently wrong with paying for reviews, as long as the reviewer stays objective. Most “pay-for” review services will do just that, and will give you a bad review if they think you deserve it.
I also find the Guardian’s viewpoints on the whole indie Kindle revolution to be generally very one-sided against Amazon in general, so don’t tend to pay much attention to what they have to say on the matter.
It’s like saying “has email killed of the postal service?” The answer is yes and no, adapt and survive!
“It’s clear that most people buy books based on the recommendations of friends and from ‘word of mouth’ rather than Amazon reviews – though in this day and age, word-of-mouth opinions is often generated by online hype which (as the John Locke case illustrates) are easily open to manipulation.”
I just wanted to add that regular word of mouth is still a strong force just in day to day people contact.
I teach junior highers on Sunday. It has been my observation it is difficult to get them to read period. However, two kids on the same day, when discussing books, mentioned “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” That definitely made me sit up and take notice. If there’s actually a book grabbing their attention, then I want to read it.
Same with local writers–I do get valid and valuable word of mouth recs from them.
And even online, while I definitely agree online sources can be manipulated, there are still ways to get valid book recs in basic online conversations that aren’t formal review sites.
I think part of the problem is our impatience. We are so sewn in to the idea that your books only sit on the book store shelf for a few weeks that we want to rush to get the word out.
In my experience, there can be a COUPLE OF YEARS of time lag before word of mouth on a book reaches me. And frankly, the ones that have already been out a few years that come to my attention are my most memorable reads.
I understand that we need to do everything thing we reasonably can to market our books, but maybe if we didn’t worry about getting in such a hurry about it, the situation might improve.
Clare (and James from yesterday),
This whole trend is just so damn depressing. And now we have the ugly and pathetic dust-up by about the Brit crime writer Roger Ellory posting sock puppet reviews to boost his own reputation while using multiple pen names to flame fellow authors like Mark Billingham. Ellory issued an apology yesterday. (yeah right). A second episode of this came out yesterday when another Brit crime writer Stuart Neville admitting writing reviews under pen names praising his own books. Here’s the link to the Ellory saga:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9515593/RJ-Ellory-detected-crime-writer-who-faked-his-own-glowing-reviews.html
I never bother to read reviews. The ways I select books are simply, books by authors I like, or recommendations from trusted sources. The last two books I read were recommended here, “The Lost Ones” by Trace Atkins, then I picked up the other title in the series, “The Ranger.” Then last week Basil mentioned the release of his novella, “Blade of Hearts”, in a comment, so I ordered it, having come to know Basil through his comments in these blogs. Good read, by the way!
Maybe when I get published, my views towards reviews will change. But until then…
I’m the same as you guys here, I prefer recommendations and word of mouth (I’ve found some of my very favorite books that way, like Starswarm by Pournelle.) But sometimes the “official” review won’t even say what the book’s about, and the actual summary is an excerpt instead of a summary (I hate that). So I churn through the reviews, trying to find out what it’s about. Then I look for the positive and negative reviews. Too much positive is pandering and too much negative is haters hating. The best reviews have some pros and cons. If I can find those kinds, I’ve hit gold.
Paid reviews are always five-star pandering “I loved this!!!”, and I ignore those.
I’d always rather read a review from an actual editor, or better yet, just a really convincing book blurb. I’ve bought books just on the blurb alone and only read the reviews afterward.
I always read the summaries, never the reviews. And I buy mostly on word of mouth or because I’ve liked the author’s writing in the past. Mentions in blogs, on Facebook or in general conversation influence my buying/reading the most. Don’t even read reviews in what’s left of the newspapers.
Both as a reader and as a writer, reviews are important to me. I do read the Amazon star-reviews. Among them, are reviews from very legitimate and serious reviewers. The stuff from Bookreporter and Goodreads are particularly influential for me. I also subscribe to Publishers Weekly, and the reviews in there shape my reading habits as well.
Blurbs from recognizable sources strengthen a cover tremendously. If for that reason alone, I think reviews and reviewers will continue to be important, even if “Steve in Ohio’s” one-star review of a book that cost too much will likely not influence anyone.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
This whole thing is depressing and confusing. I’ve only recently been published, have 2 books out, and the third in the series coming out in January. So do we still ask for endorsements? Can they be any good? Do we ask that others influence for us? Will it mean anything to anyone? Or do we ignore it and save ourselves the time being concerned about it?
I do read some reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I like Goodreads and Romantic Times and of course word of mouth. I’ve been invited to attend a book club in October that is reading my first novel and thinking maybe I should invite them to blog with me about this experience. But who would believe what they have to say, good or bad, because it would be on my blog and I don’t think any of them blog?
I’m beginning to think why worry about all this at all. We have no real control over it. Write a good book and hope for the best.
I read the reviews. I agree with you on the one star and five star reviews. I find the best information comes from reading the first pages using the Look Inside feature.
I don’t know if genre readers really pay that much attention to critical reviews. They may look for books on sites like Goodreads or kindleboards or other reader forums online and read the recommendations/reviews of fellow readers. However, book club snobs who focus on bestsellers are more apt to be swayed by PW, Kirkus and the rest, I would think.
It seems like increasingly reviews are losing their currency because no one knows who to trust anymore. Traditional outlets for honest reviewers are greatly diminished and now even Kirkus is selling their reviews. (Anyone can buy one for $495 and post it as a glowing review from what used to be one of the gold standards.) Publishers Weekly has almost no circulation left now. I don’t know how Library Journal is faring but that has such a limited reach. It’s really difficult to get your work noticed these days.
The publishing world is a maelstrom right now. There’s a huge impetus for unleashed hucksterism – behavior that would embarrass a fly-by-night siding salesman. If that isn’t the road to hell, it’s probably the road to paid reviews.
Discussing the problem is the best medicine. Jim was spot on for bringing it up, Clare for continuing the dialogue. I really like Nancy’s commonsense point about genre readers, and I think it applies to many of us: we read because we like the book. Saying that doesn’t mean I scorn reviews. I certainly wanted them on Amazon for my first novel last year. John Gilstrap makes an excellent point about their importance in his world. But we have to be careful about the craziness out there and don’t get swept up in the codswallop: either we drive this creature, or it will surely drive us.
Jillian, I think the lesson to be learned here is that there are no shortcuts to success in the arts. Second books sell first books, and twelfth books sell an eleven-book backlist. The trick is to survive long enough for that kind of momentum to build.
Should we allow others to “influence for us,” as you say (I love that phrase, by the way)? Of course. As a thriller writer, I’m honored to have blurbs from Jeffery Deaver and Tess Gerritsen and Gayle Lynds and our own Joe Hartlaub. The fact that they’re friends of mine doesn’t imply an abuse of the system because I know that none of them would commit something to writing that they didn’t feel in their hearts. (The code words for “not for me” are, “I’m sorry, I just never found the time to get to reading your book.”) Those kinds of contacts are what make attendance at conferences such a great investment.
I think that every element of marketing continues to be important, but nothing is as important or as effective as writing the next book. Which I must now get back to.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
On a lighter note. I had the great privilege of meeting Peter Straub and Jeffery Deaver at the Killer Nashville conference last weekend.
Straub told a hilarious story of being dogged by a group of people who grabbed his book and wrote bad reviews early. He countered by inventing a personality and leaving bad reviews on his own work as soon as they dropped. Not just bad reviews, but hilariously pompous heinously bad reviews.
He even wrote articles as himself telling stories of this “person” showing up at his house for the weekend and insulting his wife. It was roll in the aisles funny.
So sockpuppets have always existed.
Afterwards me and two of my awesomest friends ever closed down the bar with him. It was epic.
Terri
When it comes to professional reviews I almost never read them. They are often written by people of a different background and world view than me and therefore frequently see a story as something quite different than I do, me not having a degree in English/Literature/Creative Writing/PsychoanalyticalPreDarkAgesPoeticallyInspiredRomanesqueScribbledeegook
I am bound to see a story differently.
Now if an author I already like makes mention of or does a review or blurb of the book, that’s different. A person I respect will get my attention much more than a critic I know nothing about.
On the other hand, library and store buyers are probably more likely to keep looking at the pro-reviewers to keep their task of selecting simple.
And by the way…thanks Dave…that’s the kind of review I value the most, word of mouth from a guy in the trenches.
by the way, my new novel MIDNIGHT SUN and new novella BLADE OF HEARTS are both free for labor day, till midnight PST
oh and yeah, here’s the kind of review I do buy. Leave a review and be entered to win a new Kindle Fire. No specific star rating required…just honesty. 😉
Thanks everyone! As John said there are no shortcuts to success and it is so depressing when we read of paying for reviews and sock puppetry…I too go on word of mouth but I also value newspaper reviews, especially for the insight they often provide in terms of criticism that I (as a humble reader:)) would never think of. I do hope the objective book critic as a species survives!
I subscribe to Publishers Weekly & love it. Word of mouth recommendations from people I know & respect help me decide too.
Authors paying for fake reviews is disheartening, but if the writing doesn’t hold up, I have to believe any short cuts will catch up to them. The passion I feel for writing comes from the joy I get from learning my craft & trying new things with each book. I want to find success from that, not from paying for fake reviews & lying to people. That’s not success to me, when in your heart of hearts, you know you didn’t earn that success outright.
Thanks John. I’ll remember your comment,”Second books sell first books, and twelfth books sell an eleven-book backlist. The trick is to survive long enough for that kind of momentum to build.” Now to build that momentum.