Can Writers Review Books?

Writers are in an incredibly difficult position. Most, if not all, of us started as readers. The love of story is what got us into this profession. Unfortunately, we can't talk about other writers' books without being accused of something.

I'm a pretty selective reader who delves into, well, just about anything. In fact, my only line is Christian romance, but there's always exceptions. I'll read anything Carla Rossi puts out. Not because she's a friend, but because she understands the difference between subtlety and beating someone over the head with a cross.

Which brings me to accusations of favoritism. When I said I was selective, I wasn't joking. I rarely pick up or download something that I know I'll hate. Which means pretty much everything I read will get three out of five stars or more.

Does this make me a Pollyanna? Someone who's unable or unwilling to criticize a fellow writer?

Maybe it does. But as I said on The Passive Voice, reading is a very subjective experience. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean it's wrong. All it means is that particular piece didn't do anything for me.

Have I read things I hate? Of course, but there's only one book I've read in the last ten years.that would have gotten zero stars. It was a paranormal romance where the so-called hero committed what in Texas would be a minimum of aggravated sexual assault against the heroine. I have a serious problem with rape as titillation, so the author in question lost me as a reader.

Now, what exactly would it gain me by going onto Amazon, Goodreads, etc., and blast this lady?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. In fact, I would lose in the long run.

Why? Oh, goddess, there's too many reasons to count, but I'll list a few. She's a NYT best selling author and I'm not. therefore there would be accusations of jealousy. No matter how carefully I worded the review I'd be the one coming across as a douche. Rape fantasy is the number one sexual fantasy among American women so more than one friend has questioned what's wrong with me because they thought that particular scene was very hot. Her readers may decide I need to be taught a lesson and one-star my books in retaliation.

It's the last example that brings me to the current issues with both Goodreads and Amazon. (FYI - Amazon purchased Goodreads in March of this year.) Accusations of gaming the system drove the changes to Amazon. Accusations of bullying drove Goodreads' changes.

A lot of folks are upset about these revisons Amazon made to their review policy last year. Goodreads revised their review policies on September 20th. Many readers feel the new policies are draconian and limit their free speech. The reason in both cases are abuses of both businesses' reviewing policies by both readers and writers.

Was there a happy medium before either company went Big Brother on everybody's asses?

Yes, but neither side wished to meet in the middle. Extremism has become the word of the day, not civility. Former agent, now author, Nathan Bransford tried to discuss the problem, but the comments on his blog quickly escalated into vitriol by those with vested interests on each side of the Goodreads divide. Nathan had to disable comments because things got so out of hand.

And underneath the truckloads of manure are all the people who, like me, just want a place to hang out and talk books.

Do reader's have the right to discuss why they don't like a particular book? Yes, they do. Can writers get upset about bad reviews? Yes, they can. It's what both sides do after that, threats, listing people's personal info, etc. that becomes the problem.

The whole situation reminds of why I stopped mediating divorce cases. Invariably, neither spouse was innocent. A lot of hate was spewed, a lot of ugly accusations, a lot of lies. The children were caught in the middle. Sometimes the divorcing parents could get the kids to take sides. Most of time, the kids would hate both parents by the time everything was said and done. Both parties harangued me for trying to get them to let go of their hate and come to a settlement. And both parties raged at the judge because she HAS to end this situation one way or another. Sound familiar?

So what am I going to do?

1) I'm going to continue talking about finding the new authors I love (like when I discovered Gail Carriger), new books from old favorites that I'm squeeing over ( Lilith Saintcrow's new paranormal steampunk series, the Bannon and Clare Mysteries, rocks!), and occasionally, the stuff I dislike (Star Trek: Into Darkness isn't quite as bad as Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, but it comes pretty damn close).

2) I'm going to keep a close eye on comments. If parties from either side come here to continue their Goodreads feud, I will shut down comments. I've already disabled anonymous comments. There's plenty of other places in the internet-verse for y'all to rip into each other.

Civility is the key. There's no reason not to use it when it comes to books.

Videos I've Been Watching Lately (NSFW Edition)

Seriously, folks. This is Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. When I say NOT SAFE FOR WORK, it means watch it at home and laugh your ass off! It's her rebuttal to a Daily Mail review of, not her show, but her escaping bosom.

BAMF Girls Club - Episode 11

I love Fridays! Especially when there's a new BAMF Girls episode!

Jeff Bezos on Innovation

I smurched the link from Passive Guy because I think everyone needs to hear this message. It not only applies to the publishing industry, but the world as a whole.

Monday Movie Mania - Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

First of all, let me say that both my son and I love Rick Riordan's series involving Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon. Rick does an incredible job of updating Greek mythology and making it accessible to today's kids.

Second of all, let me say Logan Lerman is an amazing young actor. I LOVED Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Lightning Thief. But even with a dream cast including Stanley Tucci, Nathan Fillion and Anthony Stewart Head, this movie could not be saved.

Like World War Z, this movie only has the title and a handful of elements to link it to its source book. Unlike World War Z, there was almost nothing to redeem it even with the Civil War zombies used as comedic relief (which if you've read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about).

I wasn't the only one angry about how the producers, director and writer treated Rick's source material. GK walked out of the theater furious as hell and bitched about how they mishandled one of his favorite books all the way home and well into the next day.

I have to give a lot of credit to Logan and the rest of the cast for attempting to redeem a sucky script, but not even Meryl Streep and Sir Laurence Olivier could have saved this turkey.

The cast's efforts are the ONLY reason I give this movie a score of 2 out of 10.

DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY! GO BUY RICK'S BOOKS INSTEAD!

Videos I've Been Watching Lately

The start of the haggis adventure!

Stop Saying "I Can't Get into Libraries"

For the longest time in the U.S., the best method for reader discovery of books was the public library system. I'm not going to expound on Benjamin Franklin and his belief in an educated populace. You can find that on Wikipedia.

Unlike bookstores, libraries as a whole are very welcoming to most authors. Their whole purpose of existence is to promote reading. (If you think that is the purpose of a bookstore, I've got a clue you can buy. It'll cost you a piece of green paper with Mr. Franklin on it.)

What astounds me is the unreasonableness of both traditional publisher and indie publishers in regards to libraries. Traditional publishers charge libraries twice as much for hard cover editions with a special plastic slipcover that costs them a few cents. Plus, they expect with normal wear and tear, the library will replace the book every few years, so they count on a library paying hundreds of dollars for the same book.

However, e-books don't wear out. The traditional publishers are absolutely freaking over this fact. Some refuse to sell e-books.to libraries. Some sell with licensing limits. If you're a writer with a traditional publishing company, you may be fucked. Try to talk politely with your editor and give him or her the numbers they need to give to the money people to get your books before more eyeballs.

Then there's indie authors who stomp into a library and demand that they carry the author's books. The behavioral issues with bookstores I mentioned Wednesday apply to libraries as well. In other words, be nice and do your homework.

Some libraries will take paper donations; some won't If enough patrons request a certain book, the library will generally order it. But don't have your family and friends do this. It's just like having them give five-star ratings on Amazon. People will eventually catch on, and they will not be please with you.

Here's a caveat: Not all libraries have the wherewithal to go electronic. You have to remember libraries depend on government funding, donations, and fund raising sales. E-book infrastructure can be very expensive. Screaming at some poor librarian because she doesn't take e-books (yet) will only make you look bad.

Don't throw a hissy fit if a library doesn't carry erotica. Yes, it may be some self-righteous prick censoring your free speech. Or it may be the library's charter or bylaws prohibits certain content.

Which brings me to--know how your library system works! Which means do your research! Yes, I know I'm repeating myself, but I'm amazed how many people have no fucking clue of how their local government operates. If you want to make changes, get involved.Volunteer. Run for the Library Board of Directors.

All I ask is that you don't sit on your hands and whine. Most libraries are public affairs, which means citizens have a say. That doesn't mean bully your neighbors or threaten to to blow up the library because they won't carry your autobiography about your carnal love affair with your Dalmatian.

Want a hint? Just because your own small town library doesn't have electronic lending, that doesn't mean you cannot contact the bigger libraries around the country. Many, such as the Harris County Public Library (Houston, TX), are building their e-book section

If you're an indie writer, you need to think like a businessperson. No one's going to do this for you. Decide if it's worth your time to get your books into libraries. Like I said, it may get you tons of readers in the long run.

Stop Saying "I Can't Get into Bookstores"

WOW! I just realized that this is my 1000th post. I'd realized that milestone I would have done something special. I'll see what I can do next week. Meanwhile,on to my latest rant!

***

A couple of issues have been going around the indie-verse along with some myths that are, well, frankly, pissing me off. I went on a rant about author negativity and this is a variation on the original, but over two specific items.

1) Indies Can't Get Bookstores to Carry Their Books

This one's partly true, partly false. It is very,very hard to get into a chain bookstores. A chain's corporate parents freak at the thought of any of their minions not marching in lockstep. I know because I had several lovely young employees pressure their manager into stocking my books as a local author. Unfortunately, this was Barnes & Noble, which meant management has a very bad case of ADS (that's "Amazon Derangement Syndrome" for those unfamiliar with the acronym).

Getting into an independent bookstore can be easier or harder depending on (a) the owner and staff, (b) the indie writer's behavior, and (c) the genre.

(a) Some owners and staff feel it's their duty to save Western civilization. Therefore, any writer not properly vetted by someone with an MFA, instead of the unwashed masses, cannot sully their store. Ignore these people. There's lots of owners and staff who will support any writer. Well, almost any writer.

(b) Do your homework. Find out what they carry. Which distributor they order from. This is much easier if you actually frequent their establishment. Build a rapport with the staff. Most of all, don't walk in with a giant chip on your shoulder, insisting that they bow before you. (And yes, I've seen this happen.) Go in with a plan BASED ON WHAT THEY DO. Not what you want them to do. Know whether your distributor accepts returns on your book. And if you have no idea of what I'm talking about, get thee to Kristine Katherine Rusch's blog pronto! And always, ALWAYS be polite and professional, even if the other person isn't.

(c) There are two independent bookstores in Houston I know of that are very willing to work with writers. Unfortunately, one focuses on romance. While I have romantic elements in most of my books, the ones that are true romance are erotic romance under Alter Ego's name. This, being a child friendly place, does not carry erotica. Which bring me back to the last sentence in (b)--do NOT criticize the owner's policies. He or she knows his/her customers better than you ever will.

On the other hand, there's a mystery/thriller specialty bookshop called Murder by the Book. None of my current series would fit with their stock, but a new series idea I'm doodling with (think a sword and sorcery version of CSI) would be accepted. (Before any readers start yelling at me, I will get Blood Sacrifice out before I start on this project!)

Friday, I'll talk about getting into libraries.

Monday Movie Mania - Rush

[As I was writing my post for 03/30/2015, I realized I didn't properly disclose that Studio Movie Grill e-mailed me free tickets to see Rush at a special screening before the movie's general release. I redeemed one ticket for the evening show. Whew! Now I feel better! - Suzan, 03/28/15]

Like Apollo 13, Rush is a Ron Howard biography, which means you take any historical accuracy with a shaker of salt, tequila, and a lime. I wanted to see it because my dad used to race, because we watched a lot of Formula One races, and because I remember Niki Lauda's awful accident in 1976

I can't really say SPOILERS because the bulk of the movie was based on historical fact. But if you are that shy about them, close your browser NOW!

While the bulk of marketing and attention for this movie focuses on Chris Hemsworth (and I will give him his due in a moment), the story is really about Austrian F1 driver Niki Lauda, played by Daniel Bruhl. From a story standpoint, Howard sets the film up nicely to make Niki the villain of the piece and Hemsworth's James Hunt as the hero. He neatly switches the roles of the two drivers midway through the film. The beginning introduces the early racing careers of the two men, but the thrust of their story is their 1976 battle for the F1 World Championship.

Pros:
1) Both Bruhl and Hemsworth capture their respective racers' eccentricities without turning the men into caricatures. They were polar opposites united by their love of the sport.

2) Howard doesn't shy away from Hunt's excesses, including cocaine, pot and alcohol. Those excesses may have contributed to Hunt's early death of a heart attack at age forty-five.

3) Gratuitous Chris Hemsworth butt shots!

Cons:
1) The film paints Niki and James as mortal enemies. In reality, while they were intense rivals, they were actually very good friends.

2) Ron has a bad, bad habit as a director of obviously jerking the audience's emotional chains. I think a lighter touch along with Danial Bruhl's marvelous performance would have worked better with this movie.

One last note: I vote that Chris replaces Daniel Craig as James Bond in 10-15 years. If you go see Rush, you'll understand why in the scene where Hunt meets his future wife for the first time.

Overall, I give this movie 9.5 out of 10.

Videos I've Been Watching Lately

Amanda Palmer doing Rocky Horror on Halloween. Samhain doesn't get better than this.