Back Handed Complements

877 Views 12 Replies 11 Participants Last post by cinisajoy, Apr 10, 2015

MarkTH

Discussion Starter · Apr 10, 2015

I'm just going to kvetch here for a moment!
First, I want to say hello to my fellow Ronin! The publisher-less indie-writers who wander the countryside, trying to write stories that will bring them fame and fortune, hoping to be noticed and invited to be published! (Yes, I watch too many samurai movies, but I think the metaphor is apt.

)
I get some decent reviews, but since I'm a new writer, I seem to get backhanded complementary reviews, such as "This is a good read but the author falls into the trap that so many new authors fall into," or "This is a good read but, The plot does suffer just a bit from a new author tendency to include a few too many new, futuristic technologies in one story."
Does anybody else here run into this? Just curious.
Mark H.

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David VanDyke

· #2 · Apr 10, 2015

Almost every new writer makes newbie mistakes. Learn from them, move on and write better. Or revise the book(s) and republish if you want to ditch those reviews.

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AnthonyJMelchiorri

· #3 · Apr 10, 2015

Exactly what David said. I wouldn't look at those as if they were back-handed. Rather, the reader's being honest about what they disliked (despite still really liking your work). I like it when a reader can tell me what I've done well--but also gives me something to improve on. You'll see some readers prefer more details about technology, for instance, and others will prefer less. But if you notice a lot of readers/reviewers making similar suggestions, it might be time to reevaluate those suggestions in future writing. That's how I look at it.

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Jennifer R P

· #4 · Apr 10, 2015

That's not backhanded at all. A good review says what's good about the book and what's bad about it.

You don't want glowing five star reviews that say nothing bad, because they look fake. You get much more benefit from those nice in the middle reviews which say both good and bad things.

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AshRonin

· #5 · Apr 10, 2015

MarkTH said:
First, I want to say hello to my fellow Ronin! The publisher-less indie-writers who wander the countryside, trying to write stories that will bring them fame and fortune, hoping to be noticed and invited to be published! (Yes, I watch too many samurai movies, but I think the metaphor is apt. )

Hello, and I'm glad we agree.

Jennifer R P said:
That's not backhanded at all. A good review says what's good about the book and what's bad about it.

You don't want glowing five star reviews that say nothing bad, because they look fake. You get much more benefit from those nice in the middle reviews which say both good and bad things.

This here is some great advice. Take those comments and run with them! Before I have friends and family read my work that isn't ready to be published, I always tell them if they don't provide negative feedback they will be required to start waiting until official releases to read my work. Improving is the best!

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Caddy

· #6 · Apr 10, 2015

I got a doozy of a back-handed one the other day.

It was from a very close friends, who loves me very much and supports my writing. She is a great encourager so I know she didn't realizez how it sounded. She knows the great month I just had and is cherring me on.

My new paperback for Stiletto was sitting on the table, waiting for me to look it over. I said, "Here's my new paperback!" She smiled and said, "Wow! It's gorgeous. I saw it sitting there and didn't realize it was yours at first. It looks like a professional book."

lol I didn't tell her what she had just said. She's a music artist and really meant "traditiionally purblished" and would have felt terrible had I pointed it out. My husband and I laughed about it later.

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SawyerPentecost

· #7 · Apr 10, 2015

Caddy said:
My new paperback for Stiletto was sitting on the table, waiting for me to look it over. I said, "Here's my new paperback!" She smiled and said, "Wow! It's gorgeous. I saw it sitting there and didn't realize it was yours at first. It looks like a professional book."

She hit you with a Neg!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=neg

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cinisajoy

· #8 · Apr 10, 2015

Caddy said:
I got a doozy of a back-handed one the other day.

It was from a very close friends, who loves me very much and supports my writing. She is a great encourager so I know she didn't realizez how it sounded. She knows the great month I just had and is cherring me on.

My new paperback for Stiletto was sitting on the table, waiting for me to look it over. I said, "Here's my new paperback!" She smiled and said, "Wow! It's gorgeous. I saw it sitting there and didn't realize it was yours at first. It looks like a professional book."

lol I didn't tell her what she had just said. She's a music artist and really meant "traditiionally purblished" and would have felt terrible had I pointed it out. My husband and I laughed about it later.

Yikes. Bad phrasing.

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crebel

· #9 · Apr 10, 2015

I'd say reviews like those would complement your other reviews while complimenting your book overall.

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Cactus Lady

· #10 · Apr 10, 2015

The "new author" comment - I've been writing for 25 years and when I'm reading books by new authors I can pick out the kinds of things that new authors tend to do. So if I'm doing a review, I might mention it and point out that this is something authors often do early in their writing careers. Partly for the sake of honesty in the review, pointing out both strengths and flaws, and partly because if the author happens to see it they'll know this is something that can be worked on and improved. So try to look at it as being helpful.

My favorite "back-handed compliment" in reviews is "It was too short." Better than too long!

Also, I was looking on my mom's facebook page, and she shares posts about my books, and one of her friends said she is reading Beneath the Canyons and commented "So many layers of morality and immorality in the book." I think it's one of my mom's book club friends; if it was one of her church friends I'd be a little worried! She did add, "Gives the reader lots to think about," so I guess that's good.

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Caddy

· #11 · Apr 10, 2015

SawyerPentecost said:
She hit you with a Neg!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=neg

Nah. Those are meant. She didn't mean it. I know her well. She truly thought she was complementing me.

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Sever Bronny

· #12 · Apr 10, 2015

Agreed. The vast majority of perceived negative reviews are actually people trying to be constructive in the best way they know how. All you can do is try to not take it personally and improve your craft

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cinisajoy

· #13 · Apr 10, 2015

Question on this review. Is it positive or negative? Helpful or hurtful?
"I debated on whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. I liked the story line itself. What I did not like was the shifting POV's. I kept getting lost through the first half of the book. It seemed like I was reading two different books. Also the author had a bad habit of skipping time. This was fine on Emily's half but on Andrew's side, I wanted more information.
The shifting POV's would not have been bad if the characters were interacting with each other but they were in two very different places. If I read the next book, I will probably read one POV then the other one in each part.
I finally decided on 4 because the problem I had was with the shifting POV's and not the story itself. The story could be great.
If you don't mind the shifting of POV's every chapter, this is a good sci-fi."
End of review.

Note to the mods: reprinted with the consent of the reviewer.

It was voted the positive helpful review.

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