Communication and Book Reviews

image courtesy of The Book Pushers

I came across an article in my feed that a friend shared, where a Young Adult author, Kathleen Hale, was so distraught by a bad review she tracked the reviewer down both online and off and harassed her. Since reading it, I've looked into other responses to the incident. There are a few authors and publishing authorities who take Ms. Hale's side, but the overwhelming response has been, basically, "what a bitch."

As an author, I expect bad reviews. Especially since I am a relatively new and unknown author, I look forward to those reviews. Well, any reviews actually. I need to know what my readers liked or didn't like so I can improve upon my skills and create even better stories for readers to like, or not like (not everyone is a reader of my genre or style after all).

As a reader, I expect that an author provides me with a book that will entertain me and even provoke me into engaging with the social, cultural, or whatever hot-topic issues that the author wants to bring to the story. If a book meets or exceeds my expectations, I will say so. If it falls short, I'll say that too.