Honesty in Blog Tours?

[Frank Creed]

This issue is isnteresting because there seems to be no clear answer. (BTW: I've answered my own questions in parantheses).

What are book blog tours for? (I'd say it is to promote the author and her book.)

But, who are these tours hoping to reach? (Readers.)

Do readers want to read canned information or promotional-type reviews? (If I was the reader looking for recommendations, I think that this would help me, but I would want more.)

Should blog tour administrators allow for respectfully expressed opinions including the good and bad elements of the book? How far should the administrators go in monitoring reviews?

Now, I realize that people have ideas that are contrary to mine, but I'd like to hear them. Likely, there are points that I've not considered.

[cyn]

I am not keen on canned information in a blog tour. The exception is if the blogger absolutely cannot do anything else yet still wishes to participate.

However, if the blogger has received a copy of the book, I expect a review. It needn't be a long detailed review, but it should be something that readers will find useful.

The review should be honest. I'd prefer to read about negative points only if they are overwhelming and detract from the story. And, I don't like to see reviews written from person taste. For instance, I don't like reading a negative review of a fantasy novel by someone who hates fantasy or someone who'd never read fantasy.

I don't like reading Harlequin romance novels. I would be hard pressed to say kind things about the story because of a personal bias. It may be well-written and a good story but I don't see it -- I don't think it fair of me to tell all that I didn't like it.

[debkinnard]

What are book blog tours for? (For promo -- as a substitute for the in-person tour no publisher can afford anymore. To get the author/book's name out there.)

Who are these tours hoping to reach? (Readers.)

Do readers want to read canned information or promotional-type reviews? (I would want the same sort of honest-broker review that one would receive in the journals. I don't think it does the reader [me] any service to have only positive things said about each book. While that's playing nice, it doesn't help if a book really doesn't work for a reader, and I'm waiting for him/her to say so. He/she may just have saved me $5-20 for other uses.)

Should blog tour administrators allow for respectfully expressed opinions including the good and bad elements of the book? How far should the administrators go in monitoring reviews? (They should allow everything that isn't author-slamming or hateful. Their monitoring should never exclude a negative review just because the reviewer didn't care for the book.)

My $4.35 a gallon.

[Caprice]

As an author, I want positive reviews, but I also want honest reviews. People can tell if you're being phoney. As a reviewer, I know how very difficult it is to be both positive and honest at times.

I admit that I do not usually make a laundry list of all the faults/problems/negatives I found in a book. I do try to focus on the positive, because of the purpose of the tour being to PROMOTE.

I agree with Cyn that reviewers have no business reading genres they dislike and then dissing the book because it's part of that genre. However, if someone LIKES a genre, then that person's review carries a bit more weight and if that reviewer had difficulties with a book, even taste ones, then as reader, I'd want to hear it, as long as the opinion is stated as such. "X book was too violent for my taste." That way, you let the reader know so s/he can make his/her own decision.

Sometimes I wish I could do reviews somewhere outside of blog tours and anonymously so I could say what I really want to, but not even Amazon lets you hide. And I know that if the shoe were on the other foot, that it would hurt to be on the receiving end of a negative review.

My 2 cents

[cyn]

As a reviewer, I know how very difficult it is to be both positive and honest at times.
. . . because of the purpose of the tour being to PROMOTE

.

When participating as reviewers, novelists can find book blog tours a dicey situation. Does one tell what they really think, in a nice way of course, or ignore/ skim over certain issues and paint a nice picture of the novel? Especially for new authors and hopefuls, I can see (and have seen) that this decision could present a real battle -- honesty can come back to bite you on the butt.

Writing is such a personal expression and I know that I would feel uncharitable towards an unsolicited negative review. Perhaps be tempted to be just as honest in my upcoming review of book. Therefore, I would likely bite my tongue in public and send off a private response to the author instead.

[Caprice]

Jul 15, 2008 14:17:28 GMT -5 cyn said:

When participating as reviewers, novelists can find book blog tours a dicey situation....

honesty can come back to bite you on the butt.

Therefore, I would likely bite my tongue in public and send off a private response to the author instead.

You're probably braver than I am, Cyn. It seems to me (and I could be wrong) that (good) authors are very receptive to criticism as part of the rewriting phase of their work. However, once the book is fully in print (where it cannot be changed) those same types of comments are no longer solicited or appreciated.

If you were a close writing buddy, and I trusted you were not going to take it wrong, I might still do it (still in private, of course), but otherwise, I simply would not take the chance that even a private email would not color that author against me when s/he might ever review one of my books. Since almost everyone is higher up on the ladder than I am, it's not worth the risk.

I heard Stephen King dissed JK Rowling's writing style (slightly). He's one of maybe 50 authors who could get away with that. For me to try it would be absolute stupidity on an enourmous scale.

[cyn]

I simply would not take the chance that even a private email would not color that author against me when s/he might ever review one of my books. Since almost everyone is higher up on the ladder than I am, it's not worth the risk.

Excellent point. I'm not very brave either, but for different reasons. I figure that an author has poured their soul into the book and I don't want to hurt them. Now, if it is a prepublication critique that was requested, different story altogether.

There was a time when Frank Creed considered not reviewing the novels of colleagues because of a conflict of interest appearance. Sort of an "I gave good reviews of books A, B, C and in return authors of books A, B, C gave me good reviews."

So, are reviews from authors meaningful? If not, then who does a reader look to for an honest and full treatment of a novel?

c

[Caprice]

Jul 16, 2008 4:10:42 GMT -5 cyn said:

So, are reviews from authors meaningful?

I suppose that depends on the author and whether readers trust him/her. Why do publishers like Forewords written by other authors? It must mean some endorsements are meaningful.

who does a reader look to for an honest and full treatment of a novel?

Probably all those places that charge money or that won't give small press folks the time of day. Oprah. New York Times. etc

I don't really read professional reviews of books or movies. They rarely tell me what I want to know. So who DOES use them? I think it goes back to the question of how valuable are any reviews to begin with? Do they sway readers to buy books? I'm a whole lot more swayed by what a friend says than what I see in fancy-schmancy reviews in newspapers. If your blog readers are your friends, then they just might decide your review is meaningful. If not, did you ever stand a chance of swaying them to begin with?

Good question. Muddy answer. Sorry.

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