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Thursday, January 26, 2012

To comment or not to comment.


Okay, so with all the goodreads reviewer/author hullabaloo lately (if you have no idea what I'm talking about that's good. Stay that way. :) ), I've learned some important lessons. 

Most of which I already knew, but it only reinforced, so...YAY for learning!  :)  But now I find myself in a bit of a quandry.  As many of you know, I've just revealed my gorgeous cover and a few of you have already put RENEGADE for your WoW Wendnesdays, which tickles me pink.  That's not my dilema--I love everyone of you who have said you wanted to read my book, or added it to goodreads, or...well, the list goes on and on really. What my question is, is this: What am I supposed to do when someone links me to their post mentioning my book--whether that post be a review, a WoW Wednesday, a cover love post, or whatever, what do I do?

We've learned from the goodreads drama that authors should never, never, never, never respond to reviews (whether they're good OR bad), but what if the person WANTS you to read it?  What if it's not a review? 

I've seen some authors who retweet every good mention or post or whathaveyou, but I've heard that's a no-no.  That you shouldn't retweet that praise yourself, that you should let others do that for you.  But I'm wondering, if because of these other authors doing that, if readers expect that and when it doesn't happen, if they feel they're being snubbed (Which is the LAST thing I want to do.)

And if someone truly wants me to know they mentioned my book (they tweeted me the link after all) I want to acknowledge them.  Just because they took the time to let me know what they did. Plus I have a personal policy to answer EVERY blog/FB comment, tweet mention, email, etc.  I WANT to have that personal connection with my readers.

But I also understand some readers may not want that personal connection. They may see my re-tweet of their post or whathaveyou as intrusive or bothersome.  Maybe they even feel like I'm reading over their shoulder.  And I definitely don't want that. 

So where is the happy middle-ground here? How do I respond to the people who've pointed me to their post?  And while I haven't come across this yet, I'm sure I will. What if that post isn't a good one?  Do I acknowledge it with a thank you? Or leave it be?

Comments (18)

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Just my opinion and I'm not a book blogger but when I talk about an author's book on my blog or tweet about it, I love when they respond with a thanks or if they comment. And I've had some do that! But again, it might be different with book bloggers.

As a reader, I don't mind when authors retweet praise. It actually seems quite common.
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
Hmm. Okay. Good. I like that answer. LOL. I'm still new to all this, but I felt the same way when I was just a reader. If I liked the book enough to talk about it, and the author thanked me, I loved it.
Well, because of all the goodreads hullaballo a lot of authors have taken the stand not to respond to reviews--whether they're good or bad--because a lot of those reviewers hate it when the authors respond. Even to just say thank you.

I would NEVER be douchey/overly-touchy (I hope), but maybe even a simple thank you can seem that way? IDK, honestly.
I am a bookblogger and in my opinion it is perfectly all right to retweet if your twitter handle in included in the original tweet. In most cases that is what the reviewer is after. It's not so much that the reviewer wants to be acknowledged or is looking for a personal response but some authors do have large followings. A tweet or a link of FB or an author blog can boost your traffic. In case of a well written review it is a win for both parties.
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
Hmm. Okay. That's a great point. I didn't think about that. And yes, you're quite right, if it's a well written review, then yes, it's def. a win for both parties. Thank you!
I say do what feels right to you and when it comes to authors retweeting good reviews and praises, I am totally for it. We need to spread the good, the nice, fuzzy and warm. Why bother with the snarky and ugly if that's not your thing?
I'm a part time book blogger and I've chosen to only make noise for books that I like or want to read. Once, an author stopped by my blog to comment on a wow and it made my day. :)
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
Yay! Okay, the general consensus seems to be the same thing. This makes me happy! :)
As a book blogger, I really appreciate it when authors retweet a post or leave a comment because it feels like they're going above and beyond what their job is - which is basically to write books. It makes them feel more accessible and I tend to keep that in mind when I'm thinking about possible author interviews/guest posts, which is then additional promotion for their book.

Also, I've seen authors respond graciously to negative reviews (and even retweet them), which I think makes them stand out even more. It can't be easy to see someone not like a book you've written but acknowledging and thanking the person for reading your book and taking the time to analyze it and not being a douche about it just shows class.
4 replies · active 688 weeks ago
That's another very good point. So, then, I must ask, what's your opinion on the reviewers/readers who get upset or don't like when an author responds to a negative review, even graciously? And how does an author handle that situation...?
If an author chooses to respond to reviews, I think it's important to always be gracious. Even a simple thank you works, and you can just leave it at that. I can't speak for others but if the author is polite and saying thank you, I have no problems with that (though I'd probably feel bad if my review was negative) and I'd like to think most people don't either.

Personally, I never tweet bad reviews at the author; only good ones. I feel guilty enough rating their book(s) badly so tweeting that review just feels like I'm rubbing it in their face. The same thing goes for book requests. I email the author that I've posted up my review only if it's positive.
Okay. That makes sense. Thank you very much for not only taking the time to respond, but also to come back! :)
I am firmly of the opinion that if you put something on the internet, you cannot be offended by someone reading it. I guess that is my opinion of whether or not reviewers want authors seeing what is being said on Goodreads. I gave a book a less than stellar review (my profession as a librarian keeps me from doing anything negative), but I still had the author message me and thank me for it. I was thrown a little off-guard at first, but I think it was classy. I guess what I'm saying is, if you want to respond to something - do so. Just stay classy and professional. And if you're @ mentioned on Twitter, it is is perfectly okay to respond to it. There is a difference between tweetinging "I read and loved Boggle View by John Doe" and "I read and loved Boggle View by @JohnDoe".
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
More fabulous points! Thank you.
You have my blessing to reTweet or comment on anything of mine ;-) I don't send review links to authors, but I link to them on deal announcements, covers and pre-order alerts.
1 reply · active 688 weeks ago
I saw that! I'll make sure to comment and retweet now. ;) PS THANKS!

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