What not to do if you get a bad Goodreads review

[Brian Clegg]

I'm sure some of you have seen this already, but if you haven't here is a case study of why it's not a good idea to argue with someone who puts an unfavourable review on Goodreads. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot...

 

[Jennifer Stone]

Phew... what an immense amount of interaction! There's some serious ego-bruising there. I understand an author's wish to protect their work from unfair critique, especially if they're passionate about the subject and feel they're improving peoples lives through it. Such reactions are unwarranted, and in this case too extreme, making 'Dylan' look bad. They say 'bad publicity is still publicity', but i think 'Dylan' can do without it.
Be polite.
Be positive.
Be professional.
Whatever your business, self damage can't be repaired and a bad reputation is hard to recover from. I'd be interested to see what 'Dylan's' publisher or agent thought of this whole affair.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Absolutely toe-curling.

 

[Marc Joan]

So that's what he did after The Magic Roundabout got pulled by the BBC ...
Definitely had too many mushrooms.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

The magic carpet episode...my fave... ooh, he feels like a casbah sausage roll...

 

[Island Writer]

Oooh, I just watched the Magic Roundabout episode (thanks Katie-Ellen), followed by the Clangers and Captain Pugwash!!! Wonderful trip down memory lane... really raised a smile. They just don't make them like they used to!

 

[Carol Rose]

*SMDH* What a maroon, as Bugs Bunny would say.

NEVER ENGAGE A REVIEWER!!!!!!!!!!!

And don't be a pompous ass about your work.

 

[1408]

I didn't feel what he wrote was too purple prose but he way, way, way overreacted and came off as someone with a bit of a God complex. It's one thing to feel hurt (and I completely understand that feeling) but it's another to tell someone the only reason they didn't like your work is because they're too stupid. Other than that, I really dislike this internet tirade thing. It's too easy to destroy someone's reputation on the internet. Dylan's reaction sure made me not interested in him as an author, but it didn't make me want to attack his book and drag down his ratings.

These posts are beneficial though and teach a valuable lesson. I remember very quickly learning mine from a similar post that either Karen or Tara (maybe both!) put up last year.

 

[Jason Byrne]

My God, it just keeps going. I can't take any more. This was yesterday. Holy crap it's over only four hours. He just sat there, and pulled this off in one sitting!

"Let them be alienated. I don't care. I'm not doing this for your approval, Elizabeth. "

You are, though. You are.

 

[Jennifer Stone]

My God, it just keeps going. I can't take any more. This was yesterday. Holy crap it's over only four hours. He just sat there, and pulled this off in one sitting!

"Let them be alienated. I don't care. I'm not doing this for your approval, Elizabeth. "

You are, though. You are.

I got to the bottom of the first page and thought 'Wow, that was bizarre' and i got fed up of reading it half way through! I would've walked away from the keyboard long before four hours had passed. One message from me, if i were him, 'Thank you for reading, it's a shame you didn't like it, maybe you'll enjoy my next book.' How hard is that?

 

[Jason Byrne]

I got to the bottom of the first page and thought 'Wow, that was bizarre' and i got fed up of reading it half way through! I would've walked away from the keyboard long before four hours had passed. One message from me, if i were him, 'Thank you for reading, it's a shame you didn't like it, maybe you'll enjoy my next book.' How hard is that?

Simple, effective, and universally accepted to be correct and proper. It's worth repeating, what was said in the responses — no one is going to be universally loved. Someone is bound not to like it, and they'll probably be just as right as those who do.

Haters gotta hate. Ain'ters gotta ain't. The Interview

 

[Emurelda]

Wow, that's quite something. I feel sorry for him - he sounds like he has too much of his life in that book. A bit sad that many people started giving him 1 star just to upset him further. What a world.

 

[Jason Byrne]

Wow, that's quite something. I feel sorry for him - he sounds like he has too much of his life in that book. A bit sad that many people started giving him 1 star just to upset him further. What a world.

Now that's not okay — and I hope reporting it will have the petty attacks removed. It is supposed to be about the material alone, not even the shipping or purchasing process, and certainly not the author.

That said, there's a lot of my life in my book, as I'm sure is true of most of us, and I would hope I would know better than to fight fire with fire, and instead give copies to my friends and ask them to include reviews of what they did like about it — honestly, instead of paying for five-stars, as was discussed by Brian.

 

[Alistair Roberts]

It's done, and finished, in more ways than one. Maybe a good example of when an author should just shut up?

 

[Karen Gray]

Yikes :/

 

[James Marinero]

Liberace said 'When I get a bad review I tell my staff not to worry and to laugh with me all the way to the bank'.

 

[Tim Bennett]

Quite an entertaining read in itself, especially..." don't interact so much with people who didn't enjoy it, it makes people uncomfortable and you look like a tool "

 

[Meerkat]

Wow.

Serious God complex.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

Woof. That was painful. In the spirit of How I Met Your Mother, I kept saying, "Oh, honey." The best advice I've ever read about author interaction came from Goodreads's site itself: don't ever engage a bad review. No matter what. Even if they're spewing false facts. In fact, most authors I've talked to say they purposefully don't read any of their reviews.

 

[Brian Clegg]

The best advice I've ever read about author interaction came from Goodreads's site itself: don't ever engage a bad review. No matter what. Even if they're spewing false facts.

It's a good point about false facts - many years ago I asked Amazon to take down a review which had downright untrue statements in - they did straight away, so then the person put the same review up, but also complaining about it being taken down. It didn't really achieve anything. I'd also agree about not reading them - I hardly ever read reviews on Amazon/Goodreads, and certainly wouldn't respond, though I do usually read newspaper/respected blog reviews, if only to look for good pull quotes for the publisher to use on future editions and for me to put on my website.

 

[Jason Byrne]

It's a good point about false facts - many years ago I asked Amazon to take down a review which had downright untrue statements in - they did straight away, so then the person put the same review up, but also complaining about it being taken down. It didn't really achieve anything. I'd also agree about not reading them - I hardly ever read reviews on Amazon/Goodreads, and certainly wouldn't respond, though I do usually read newspaper/respected blog reviews, if only to look for good pull quotes for the publisher to use on future editions and for me to put on my website.

Very good advice, Nicole and Brian.