Booking Through Thursday: Honest Reviews
Filed Under (Booking Through Thursday) by Morbid Romantic on 21-11-2008
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(No Ratings Yet) - Loading ...Do you think reviewers are obligated to put up a good review of a book, even if they don’t like it? Have we come to a point where reviewers *need* to put up disclaimers to (hopefully) save themselves from being harassed by unhappy authors who get negative reviews?
I have to answer this one in two ways depending on circumstance.
If an author simply sends a book and asks for a review, the reviewer is not obligated to give a positive review by virtue of the fact that they were approached by the actual author and received a free book. A reviewer should be free to write of the book the way they feel and to give an honest review. I would think that an author would want honest feedback, for better or for worse. It is sort of the risk you take when you ask a stranger to read and review your stuff. It’s dishonest to expect someone to rave your book if that’s not what they feel. If you can’t take a bit of criticism as an artist, you should find a happier, nicer line of work. Not everyone is going to like the stuff you produce and they have a right to judge it accordingly.
But, if an artist gives the book with the stipulation that it must be a positive review, they have the right to be unhappy if they don’t get it. As dishonest as it is to want only positive reviews, some reviewers out there won’t mind if proper compensation is given. It’s within both parties rights to come to such an agreement.
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