How to write a negative review
I have been to a lot of new book blogs this week. I have been seeking to grow my every increasing I want to read that list. I found I couldn’t trust a lot of the sources. I felt the blogs were not honest. I didn’t feel a heap of integrity like I do with the blogs I mostly frequent. The problem I found was all the blogs were gushing about every book. Five stars here 10/10 there. I couldn’t find a single slightly negative review. I couldn’t find anything below four stars or 7/10. I see a lot of book blogs that are obviously garnering for review books. Cultivating reviews based on “how happy will the publicist be with me when she/he sees this one!?”.
I search for integrity in my blogs, and others do to. If bloggers do not start being honest about the reads they will not garner the review books they are so actively seeking anyway. Why you may ask? Because numbers count in a real world scenario. Publicists know what bull crap is and yours isn’t fooling anyone. Step up and be honest about the books, write the truth, have some integrity and gain and audience based on that merit. Then the books will come.
Maybe I am missing the point. Maybe they only write reviews of books they love? It didn’t seem that way to me. I am known not to post on the ‘meh’ books that come my way. Meh doesn’t create an interesting review. I do however post on the good and the bad. I have found a way to post a negative review without the backlash of authors/publicists/publishers. I have a formula and I shall share it with you if you ask nicely :D.
First I write the synopsis of the book or cite it from Goodreads. Then I talk about the things I feel make or break a book.
- Character development
- Story weaving (did it break up or stay flowing?)
- Over all likability and originality of the book
Then I move on to what I did like about the book. There has to be a silver lining everywhere right? I pull that in and mention it as a redeeming factor even if I gave it two stars. At the end I think of other books in the genre comparable to the work and mention if you liked so and so, or so and so you may enjoy said book.
That way you have written a negative review and it isn’t biting or snarky. You say I feel this is why it is bad instead of OMG I WANTED TO SPORK MY EYES OUT IT SUCKS SO BAD. Which is a whole other can of worms.
Not that I need to see negativity everywhere to prove integrity. I just need to see speculation and more than gushing. What do you think?
