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Joined: 10/11/2012
Posts: 13
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I'm going to try and sleep it off
So Book Country makes you review others work, but, what happens if your not a fan of what you just read. I mean I went IN, and it wasn't until I rated it and posted it on their page so everyone could see that I sounded like an b*.
Worse thing is, our ideas and genre are similar and I am also a newbie but I had so much negative things to say and I let it out. Unfortunately, there is no delete button here.
Has anyone else given out hurtful reviews and wish to help me feel better by joining me on stage?
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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I've given you a review so I'm sure you've got your own opinion of how nice a reviewer I am. I've given a lot of reviews and how nice I'm being is pretty relative, but the point of a review isn't to be kind to the reader. The kindness is in the being accurate, pointing out the weakness of the books you're reading. That's all really.
If you're worried about being mean, then try and be positive about what you're saying. Give suggestions as to how to fix it. Whether it's grammar advice (fixing repetitive mistakes for example) or characters that really don't work, suggesting fixes is often more constructive than anything else as it's clear that you're trying to improve what you're reading, not just be a jerk.
Finally, I should point out that I've managed to get at least two people to quit BC with my reviews, so you're doing much better than me (search Albie Merani if you don't believe me).
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Don't feel badly, you were kind with that review, and read a lot more than I would have. And mention of the problems was earned.
You said you were confused, and you should have been, because that particular story was written by someone who hasn't yet learned the unique craft and compositional tricks the written word demands. And by telling them you were confused, and why, you've not been cruel. You've done them a service, because our goal is to write well enough that the reader doesn't see the words. Instead, they live the story. The fact that you were able to stop and comment says the job wasn't done as well as it should have been, and that's useful data for the writer.
You pointed out what didn't work for you, and said why it didn't work. That was honest, and not sugar coated for the sake of sugar coating,
And that's the kind of reviews I want.
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