Earlier this month I read a post on Sam’s blog, We Live and Breath Words, in which she addressed the topic of tagging authors in reviews. More specifically, if even the sort-of-good reviews were really that much of a compliment for an author. I then discovered there was some Twitter drama surrounding the issue of tagging authors. Well, since I don’t use Twitter all that much, I was inspired by Sam’s post and thought I’d sip on that cold tea and provide a little bit of my point-of-view.
Disclaimer, just in case: I 100% respect everyone’s opinion on this topic. I would love to hear your side of things and have a great discussion!
For starters, I should lay out how I handle tagging authors myself! I specifically do not tag authors in reviews on social media, even if they’re positive. However, I will if it is a positive review for a book that the author themselves has requested for review (aka, if I didn’t request the book myself). I do the latter because I have been contacted by authors in the past via other social media outlets asking where my review was. Anyways…
The main point of Sam’s post was about how a compliment to one person could be somewhat of an insult to another (I guess this was the main topic of the Twitter drama, idk, I ain’t hip with the times). An example provided was that if someone says “I don’t usually read X genre, but this one was great!” it’s basically a backhanded compliment to the book and genre as a whole. I totally get that. It’s kind of like when someone says “Wow, you look nice today!” … well, what about every other day? It’s a compliment, but sort of not (ok maybe not the best example but I hope you get what I’m saying). This argument, for me, still boils down to the one reason I don’t tag authors in my review (negative or positive):
The author isn’t my audience.
When I write a review, I do it for the discussion it can create on my blog and to help readers of my blog make reading decisions. If I cross-post my review to retailer sites (which I never do, I’m lazy), then the review is for users of those sites to help them make decisions. I don’t see how tagging an author in said review would help further any of those goals.
This might be where my more “controversial” opinion comes in: Since my audience is readers of my blog, I write my reviews as if I was talking to my readers. You guys are my friends, I want to express myself exactly how I would if we were sitting together with a glass of wine (or coffee, or tea). This is why I started my blog – to have a little corner of the internet where I can just express myself fully with other readers. It’s my voice and sometimes those some-what backhanded compliments are either the only way for me to truly express how I feel or I think they might be helpful to someone. I don’t want to censor myself or change my voice on my blog because an author might be offended with what I have said.
Sure, an author could be a reader of my blog (highly doubt this, I ain’t that cool), but then they are actively making the decision to put themselves into a position of reading things that might not make them happy. If they are looking for constructive criticism, I feel like there might be better avenues they can take, but if they dive into the fangirling blogging world for their criticism, more power to them (seriously, that takes balls).
However, going out of my way to tag them, where they will be notified of my review, just ain’t my jam. It’s harder for them to avoid it. Let’s be real, if you were ever tagged in a review of something you created, curiosity would kill the cat – how could you not click on that link or read the comments (if you think you could avoid this, then you have a level of self-control that I could only dream of).
With all of that said, I want to know what you think about this:
- Are we responsible for how an author may feel after reading our review?
- Are we required to write well-written, concise reviews that don’t include borderline, backhanded compliments? Do I have the responsibility to watch my language/word choices? Or can I just fangirl/vent about a book as I see fit?
- Do you tag authors in reviews? Positive, negative, or both?
If you haven’t read Sam’s post yet, make sure to click the link above! It was a great post and really got me thinking about my reviews!
12 Comments
I totally love what you said about how an author isn’t your audience. I do it for me and my readers. For me, because I like to write my thoughts down. And for readers, to, like you said, create discussion. I don’t want to censor myself either. I’d be second guessing myself every time I write a review and I’d probably delete everything. I used to tag them on Twitter but I learned it’s better not to unless they ask me for the link.
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
Exactly! The second guessing part. Like I just want to spew out words lol I don’t really put too much thought in my posts because I don’t want it to sound so edited, I just want it to be me. And I’m not always the most eloquent person haha
I found all that twitter drama so interesting, because there was a lot of food for thought. I whole-heartedly agree, that the author is not the audience for a review, but there are times I would love for them to know how much I enjoyed their book, and I think that’s why I liked tagging authors, but I can see both sides of this.
I like letting authors know too! But I usually do it in my non-review posts lol like when I post a photo of the book on Instagram just to recommend the book or when I just generally gush.
I’m with Sam here. I mean, I completely understand what you’re saying – the author is not your audience – but to me, a tag is just a way to make them know there’s someone out there who’s excited about their books. That been said, if I see that an author I tagged never even likes my tweets, I just assume that they don’t use Twitter to connect with their audience, or don’t have the time to engage (…though in that case I always wonder what they have a Twitter account for, but that’s beside the point), so I don’t bother with tagging them next time. What I mean is – the tag isn’t a way to draw attention to myself, as much as it’s a way to say “Hey X, I read your book and it was so awesome I want to scream from rooftops about it!”.
As for your questions, my answers would be:
1) no, unless we’re being snarky or disrespectful (and unless the book is so full of problems – like racism, sexism, etc. – that we can’t avoid being so)
2) no
3) yes (4/5 star reviews).
Roberta R. @ Offbeat YA
I definitely understand wanting to let the author know you loved a book! For me, I just don’t want them to see my review lol. I might come across snarky or rude to them, you know? Even my most recent 4.5 star reviews had criticism in them. Instead, what I like to do, is tag authors in just general sharing of their books (so like my Instagram posts, I don’t use Twitter much) or giving them a story share if they have a new book. Something like that. I just avoid tagging my reviews but I get wanting them to KNOW someone loved their book 🙂
Excellent points and I completely agree in that I write reviews for other bloggers and readers, not the authors. Is it awesome when an author sees my review and loves the good things I have to say? Of course, but I can see how it can go horribly wrong when they read something you’ve said the wrong way because these books are important to them. I never tag an author in my reviews, even when I am raving about their brilliance, i’m just not comfortable putting my opinion out there. I’d much rather tweet them separately and say brilliant book and not go in depth like you would in a review.
Yes! Exactly! If I want to let an author know I liked their book, I typically share it in other ways. Like through Instagram photos or just general shoutouts on Twitter or IG Stories. I don’t want them to read my review just in case >.< haha
“If they are looking for constructive criticism, I feel like there might be better avenues they can take, but if they dive into the fangirling blogging world for their criticism, more power to them” – I agree with this though. It’s up to the author where they’d find feedback of their books.
To answer all these questions into one: I write reviews based on MY thoughts. If I don’t like the book, I’d say it. If I do, then I’d say it too. After reading Sam’s post, I went to twitter and tweeted my thoughts about this too and I’m right there with you. Back then, I did tag authors but I don’t now. Anyway, before I was careful with my reviews because authors on twitter follow me and I tweet links to my review there. But now, I write what I wanna write from what I thought about the book. I don’t like walking on eggshells in my reviews that I post on my blog. And while I do understand that some authors don’t like backhanded compliments because sometimes, I too don’t, it still doesn’t mean that I’d avoid them entirely in my reviews. I may give a full 5-star rating for a book but if there are parts of it that I don’t like/bothered me even though the good ones outweighed them, part of me sometimes will still write/list them down.
Bottom line: my reviews are my own thoughts and it’s up to the audience (blogger, reader, fan, author, whoever stumbles in my review) if they like it or not. Like I said, I don’t walk on eggshells anymore.
I agree with all of that! Sure, backhanded compliments aren’t the best but if that’s how I expressed myself then I don’t want to have to worry about it. Heck, I gave 4-5 stars for 2 books last month and STILL had negative things to say. I don’t want to walk on eggshells at all!
I’m completely with you on this! I don’t tag authors unless I’m asked to by a publisher or tour host. For the same reasons you said, too. I have no desire to worry about whether I said everything in the best way and such. I don’t need that kind of pressure, and neither does the author!
EXACTLY. I really don’t need that pressure. Reviews are hard enough sometimes lol