So here’s a rant…..

Posted byabooknationPosted inBook, books, UncategorizedTags:, , , , ,

I really contemplated on making this blog post, debating on whether it was fair to subject you to my ranting! But at the same time I try and post all my experiences as a book blogger/reviewer the good ones, and the ones I’d rather forget about…

The topic I’m going to rant about today is *drum roll* the interactions between an author and a book blogger. By this I mean where there is an exchange of a book in return for a review. Another reason I wasn’t sure about this post was because I didn’t want to be unfair to 80% of the AMAZING authors I’ve had the pleasure of working with! Honestly most of my experiences have been so great, a lot of authors are always appreciative of a book bloggers’ reviews. Most are also quite open to feedback I give them through my review, saying that’s something they’ll keep in mind with their other work.

HOWEVER, there are some situations where I felt a little used. I emphasise the however because I honestly don’t want to generalise and say all the authors I’ve worked with haven’t been pleasant. But I’ve found that this occurrence is too often and I just wanted to mention it!

So after two paragraphs of rambling let me actually explain what I mean. An author will be so nice to me, I mean SO NICE, and cooperative. As soon as I’ve written up a review, and emailed the author with all the links to them I literally get no reply. No thank you, or even an acknowledgment that they’ve received it. It’s like as soon as I’ve done what they’ve needed from me all manners go out the window!

I don’t know whether I’m being overly sensitive, if this isn’t a big deal. Or maybe its because I’ve had some great experiences with other authors that I’m comparing to. Any authors out there that do this, the reviewer is not asking for an essay with you expressing your gratitude ( there were some authors who had done just that, and let me just mention that it means so much!) . Just a simple thank you, or even ‘Hey I’ve received the email’ would be fine.

But you know this doesn’t really affect me *nervously laughs*, I just wanted to put it out there into the WordPress abyss…

40 thoughts on “So here’s a rant…..”

  2. Oh that’s such a shame that some couldn’t even send a reply acknowledging they’d received your email (especially if it was a good review). I’ve never experienced that and it would probably really effect me if I did lol. I must say all the authors I’ve interacted with have been amazing, one even attached the second book in the series to her reply saying when ever I’m ready for another dose, which was so kind.
    I total understand your rant, it takes 2 minutes, if that, to hit reply and type thanks.

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    1. It might just be me 😂. The thing is, if it had happened once or twice I would’ve been able to ignore it. But it just keeps occurring 😅. But looking at the bright side I’ve been able to build some great friendships with authors I’ve worked with! So there’s always that 😄

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      1. I’ve read your reviews and they’re very good so there’s no reason they shouldn’t send a reply. I’d be the same and I love reading a good rant (as well as having them myself 😂) so at least they’ve given you a blog post!

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      2. Aww thank you 😅! I love reading them too! I tried to make it a little funny to relieve the tension but I can’t make jokes to save my laugh so 😂. I think it’s also beneficial that other book bloggers that this might happen to know they’re not the only ones 😌

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  3. I don’t take too many books direct from authors, so it’s only happened to me once, but it left a really bad taste in my mouth. As you say, it only takes second to type a quick thank you. Still, it probably makes us appreciate the majority of lovely authors even more… 🙂

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  4. That is pretty unprofessional 😠 Just as someone has invested there time into the work and reaching out, you have done so in reading, writing, and sharing that work. It deserves some form of acknowledgment.

    I have been lucky I think. I have experienced mainly all positive interactions (looks for wood to knock on). My biggest issue has been when I do not accept a review request. Normally if I am deckining, it is because it is a genre I know I do not enjoy. I have tried countless ways to explain that if I am declining, it is really the best decision for the author as well. I am not going to agree to review a romance title knowing I will not enjoy it.

    But I have had a small handfuls of instances wherw persistance becomes uncomfortable. I had one that I had to just begin deleting emails until they stopped. I felt terrible for doing so, but I had ran out of polite refusals and my patience was tapped.

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  5. I have a slight idea of how hard it is to get someone to even read your book, even more to write a review on it… for free!
    There are always people who act based on self-interest rather than what they really are. It is disappointing but that is the truth. Once I accepted that, I actually felt better with myself. Not everyone is good of heart.
    Hope that helps. 🙂

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  7. I feel you. I don’t have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. But I have been in contact with a few authors whose books I read and reviewed as ARCs. Some where SO DAMN NICE and there’s this one exceptional author who is so down to earth and who has inspired me in more ways than I could possibly think of. While others who have literally asked me to do stuff beyond just a simple review, didn’t even thank me or show me the least bit of gratitude. Like sure, whatever.

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    1. I thought it was just me! I think when it comes to authors that are self-publishing I should probably be more understanding. They have a lot more responsibilities and pressures, so if they don’t get back to me maybe I’ll learn to NOT take it personally :’D.

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  8. omg that’s awful ! I’m not a huge blog so I don’t get a lot sent to me but after putting in all that effort, its horrible to get to reply, it doesn’t hurt to say thanks!

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  9. Yikes 😦 I don’t interact with authors at all; I have a bit on my about page that says I don’t take submissions for review, so I never get approached. (Really just cause I don’t want the pressure of haveing to read and blog about certain books.) I’m glad you posted this – hopefully people will take note and have more courtesy!!

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  10. You are not alone. I actually received a private Facebook message from a local author asking me to review her book. I agreed to do it. A few weeks passed, and I had not received a copy of the book, so I wrote back, asking for the book so I could get on with the review. That was over a year ago, and I still have received no reply and no book. Guess I won’t be reviewing that one.

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  11. I really appreciate reading your thoughts on this subject. Call me old-fashioned, but I truly appreciate getting recognition for my work and I would want to give someone else the same recognition. It’s definitely not just you!

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  14. This happens to me, too. I also had one author get upset about the review, and insist I read it again (after sending me two diff versions so I had to start over and over again during the read), because she wanted me to up the rating! I had given it three stars bc of a lack of consistency and since I never had time to read the book a THIRD time, she defriended me on Goodreads. Some are all smiles until they get the review.

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    1. Absolutely, that’s why I’ve tried to be considerate. But at the same time it really doesn’t take more than 2 minutes to send an email? I completely agree with you, a late response is better than no response!

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