The consequences of review bashing

And some healthy uplifting alternatives for when trouble strikes.

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Authors care about their work.

That’s a basic fact. Authors care about their work, and any injury brought to that work is an injury to our pride. Many of us know this well, especially if we’re accustomed to submitting stories to professional markets, working in a critique group, or requesting editing. We know how much it hurts to be told “no”, and we’re grateful for the push it gives us to become better.

Probably the most painful of experiences is, therefore, the negative review. The problem with that one is that it’s not meant to make you a better writer. It’s not meant for your eyes, and it might not even tell you what it did wrong. It could easily be just a list of insults (what professional requested feedback, which is a different thing entirely, should never be).

What happens next is a scene you see all too often on social media: an author blowing up in public about their review. Before we get into the consequences of that, let’s tackle some basic fallacies.

Frequent stumbles

I’ll just post it online so my fans can see, I’m not being aggressive!

You absolutely are being aggressive. You’re bringing one person’s opinion to the attention of hordes of people who love you. Some of them probably love you a little too much.

There is a clear power imbalance there, the same as if a million-follower author retweeted something you said and commented: “this offends me.” You have no right nor excuse to ever do this, and you are putting people in harm’s way if you do.

P.S: “Hahaha, I find this funny, no, really” isn’t fooling anyone.

I just want to reply to the review to thank them. No, I got this. I got this. I SAID I GOT THIS.

Again, you’re not fooling anyone – least of all anyone in the business. Goodreads makes a specific point of saying “do not reply under any circumstances, not even just to say thank you.” That’s how much you’re not fooling anyone. They specify that all replies can be considered acts of aggression.

If there’s a genuine reason (offensive content, threats, even spoilers) you can file a complaint with the website. If they don’t see it as a problem, that’s that. You do not get to police reviews, no exceptions.

Must be a troll.

Probably the most frequent conclusion to be seen among writers. Someone wrote a review I didn’t agree with? Must be a troll. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

See, nobody actually has any obligation to explain why they didn’t like the book. They can do so as a courtesy to other readers, but if they don’t? Totally valid. It’s not their duty to explain themselves eloquently or at all.

A reader can hate a book, one-star it, and leave a limerick as a comment. It’s within their rights, because, again, you as the author are not owed anything in that space and shouldn’t even be there.

Anonymous reviews aren’t valid/shouldn’t be allowed.

First of all, authors have been known to track down reviewers and physically assault them over negative reviews. It’s actually good practice for reviewers not to use their real name.

Even when that doesn’t happen, authors have terrible impulse control, as we can see on the daily on social media. They screenshot and paste reviews for their fans to destroy at the drop of a hat. And what happens then? The comments come rolling in. “What a horrible person. What a troll. How dare they talk to you like this. You should bury them in your backyard. I hope they die.”

Imagine if that was your name that thousands of people were dragging through the mud for doing something that is fully within your right to do.

Bonus: I’m only commenting on a fellow author’s review bash to uplift them

You’re aiding and abetting behaviour that is damaging to every single person involved, that’s what you’re doing. Furthermore, your “what an utter waste of human life” comment is every bit as bad as the original post. Worse, because you should have some degree of detachment and know better.

If you want to help and uplift your fellow authors, stop them from engaging in review bashing, ask them kindly to take down hateful posts, encourage them to talk about their feelings in safe settings, and check out some of the other recommendations at the end of this article.

Consequences of review bashing

1. You put someone in danger

It doesn’t matter that you would never hurt them. One of the people who worship your work might.

It doesn’t matter that they use a pseudonym. There are always ways around that for the digitally-savvy. (And if you ever dox or threaten to dox anyone trying to maintain anonymity on the internet, know that it is a felony and you only get away with it by the kindness of the person who didn’t file charges against you.)

It doesn’t matter that you blur the name. It’s laughably easy to track.

Nothing matters but the fact that you painted a great big target on another human being. They did not have thousands of fans to sick on you. You do.

Honestly, this point should be enough for any decent human. You shouldn’t need to read the points that affect you personally, because your own pride should never be worth more than keeping others safe.

I’ll list them anyway.

2. You lose the respect of readers

You’re not paying attention, I know. You’re not even seeing those conversations in your feed, because they’re readers, not fellow writers with tens of thousands of followers, like you. They have small accounts, or use burners with only a few hundred followers.

Do you know what they do? They talk to each other. They recommend books to one another, they stand up for one another, and they keep track of authors who turn out to be horrible people online.

Even if they never say a word about it, how many people do you think will want to leave a constructive review once you screenshot and bash one right under their noses?

You will be judged on the basis of how you treat the people you like the least. If respect for readers isn’t at the forefront of your online presence, don’t expect respect for you to be at the forefront of theirs.

3. You lose the respect of fellow professionals

You spend all this time connecting to editors, agents, publishers, magazines, review blogs, YouTubers, and everyone else in the writing world.

Throwing a public tantrum about a negative review is a great way to show every single one of them that you can’t handle criticism, don’t have a sense of humility, have horrible impulse control, and can’t be trusted to behave in public.

“Do not work with” lists are a thing. They may not be the kind of thing that gets passed around, as many people fear; but almost every editor or agent (and certainly every reviewer) keeps their own personal one squirrelled away, and “is more trouble than they’re worth” is a frequent entry on these lists.

“Pfft! They don’t care!” Yes, they do. There’s a reason why huge represented authors don’t do this. And they’ve all gotten far worse reviews than you.

4. You undermine the entire review system

You know what micro-aggressions are and how they work. Keep jabbing and jabbing and jabbing, and one day you wake up and you’ve done irreparable damage.

Review bashing is a micro-aggression to the entire concept of free, honest, safe discussion. Your interference is not the same as the disagreement of another reader. You are in a position of power. Every time you use your platform to attack a review, you’re making it clear that it is unsafe to be against you, that you have power, and that by goodness, you will wield it.

Reviewers already have multiple reasons to fear authors and are resorting to pseudonyms for this exact reason. Continue to make it worse and to artificially tamper with the review process, and you make it an unsafe space for everyone. Again – you don’t have to be dangerous. It’s enough if only one of your fans is.

Note: If the reviews are genuinely fraudulent (eg: you suspect multiple reviews from the same person, they are being aggressive or bigoted, they come from a competitor, etc) you can and should absolutely take it up with the host – Goodreads, Amazon, what have you. They will check and they do care. Not even in this situation is it your right to sick your fans on them, to “counter-review” (also, fraudulent), or to name whom you suspect is involved. Imagine if you’re wrong and they end up injured. Never do this. No exceptions.

Healthy alternatives to review bashing

Here’s the thing: your feelings are valid. Not all reactions to those feelings are valid, but the feelings themselves absolutely are. And, as such, there are other great ways to channel those feelings that will uplift you and your fellow authors without causing any harm.

Talk it out in private

Yes, you can and should get it out of your system. Tell your best friend about that one jerk, copy the review for your critique group to see, let it out. It’s good for you. Just do it in a safe, private space where your actions won’t hurt the reviewer or your future as a writer.

Play “greatest books’ worst reviews”

Remind yourself that everyone, even your favourite classics, get negative reviews. Go to the pages of the best books you can think of (No, Sharon, not your own.) written by authors who are no longer living, and find their worst, funniest, most absurd reviews. You can share them with your friends and start great conversations about what makes a good timeless book.

Vaccinate yourself against future reviews

Part of the reason why we react to negative reviews is because it’s always a shock. Either we thought we did great, or we had our doubts but hoped nobody would notice.

You can take away the power of that shock by putting to words your greatest fears ahead of time. Write out your own mock-negative reviews (in private!) targetting those areas that would hurt you most. Have fun with them, make them sound dramatic and absurd. That way, when and if they happen for real, it won’t be as great a shock. Plus, this is a great way to identify potential weaknesses in your writing and work on them.

Literally anything else

Anything that doesn’t include responding to a perceived insult with your temper.

For the safety of everyone involved, for your future as a respected leader in your community, and for the love of your fans and peers, do anything else other than engaging in review bashing.

Heck, maybe write another book just to show’em how much better you are.