I know we don’t live in a perfect world, and when you’re an author, mean reviews are a part of life. But are mean reviews actually a good thing? I understand not all stories are for everyone. I also know that authors work very hard to illicit emotions from readers. So if we piss you off because the story didn’t go how you wanted… I guess we succeeded because we made you feel actual emotions about our made up world? But does that give a reviewer the right to get personal? Some say authors have no rights because we put our creative works out there for others to read, therefore we need to suck it up. I don’t know that I agree with that completely. Yes, putting our stories out into the world will invite criticism good and bad. But simply because we created something, does that actually mean we have no rights if someone crosses the line into a personal attack?

Let me say, most reviews are not mean. Most reviewers are respectful. But there are those, mostly on Goodreads, who actually seem to delight in trying to crush authors. They use lots of gifs, and say super rude things simply because they didn’t like our make believe story? They hate our work, but they make sure to read every single thing we write, just so they can write shitty reviews about us and our books. If you hate our work, why are you still reading past one or two books? Are you actually reviewing at that point, or are you just delighting in tearing that author apart? Is that actually okay with most people? Shouldn’t we always strive to be kind? Respectful? Am I just dreaming?

I know this is a touchy subject, so let me be clear: I AM NOT SAYING REVIEWERS DON’T HAVE A RIGHT TO THEIR OPINION. Of course they do. I’m asking, is it necessary for someone to be mean and ugly in a review? Even if you hate the book, is there some reason you can’t simply put things tactfully? I personally don’t think there is ever a reason to attack the author personally. But I have been belittled and many, many of my peers have as well. If you don’t like my book, fair enough, but does that mean I’m a moron? The worse writer you’ve ever read? Simply because my make believe story disappointed you? It seems…. extreme to me.

I believe you can dislike something, and still not try to make the creator of that thing feel like crap. I fear civility and kindness have taken a hit the last few years. I for one hope for a return to those things. We don’t have to pretend to love something we don’t love. But more and more I subscribe to the belief that, if what comes out of my mouth isn’t edifying, I’ll just swallow those ugly words. I want the world to be a better place, not a darker one.

How about you?

S.C.

www.scwynne.com