It’s Feral Friday! And we here at Book Nerd Reviews thought we would discuss a topic that really sends us feral.

This week, we’re talking about when authors read your reviews:

Kristy’s say:

Is it cool if an author reads a review that I have written? Of course it is! But in all honesty, I just look at that as a bonus. After all, I am not here to write reviews that are glowing in hopes that an author will read it and will be happy with my review. I am here to give you my honest opinion on a book - and it is Book Nerd Reviews’ followers that I write them for.

I also think that writing a review with the goal that an author will read it is relatively pointless. For one, authors have so many other things going on in their life, that they probably wouldn’t have time to read every review out there - so therefore the chances of them reading one I wrote is not high. The other important factor is, a lot of authors don’t read reviews. It is a personal choice on whether an author reads reviews of their books - some do, others are selective about the reviews they read, while some do not read any at all. I fully support the choice an author makes about reading reviews - they need to do what works best for them.

Of course there are times that I would love for an author to know that I loved their book, that I connected to it, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent in their world - but I also understand that they may never see my review, and I fully appreciate their decision to not read reviews if that is what they have chosen. And if I am being totally honest (which I always am, and it is the point of Feral Friday), while I would love for an author to read a gushing, fangirling review that I have written, I would also not be as enthused for an author to read a review that was less than glowing - it’s not that I don’t want them to hear what I have to say, but some authors do take negative reviews personally - and I don’t write negative reviews to upset an author, I write them because that particular book just did not work for me (but many others will love it). But, at the end of the day, if an author would like to hear what I had to say about their book, then that’s great!

When it comes to authors reading reviews, I really do feel for them - after all, it would be a bit like a lucky dip. They never know if the reviewer will be positive, or constructive, or even sometimes (not by Melissa or I) downright nasty. So I can understand why it could be less than helpful to read some of things that are being said about a book (or the author themselves), and that sometimes authors would rather get feedback in other ways. If I was an author, I don’t think I could handle reading bad reviews - as much as I know that not everyone can like every book, I couldn’t help but take it personally. I really do respect any author who decides to take their chances in this lucky dip of feedback, and I especially admire authors who read negative reviews so that they can use that criticism to better themselves!

So, thank you to all authors out there who do read reviews written about their books! But more importantly, thank you to our followers who read our reviews - you are the reason why we are here!

Melissa’s say:

I’ve never written a review thinking an author would actually read it. I guess after all, my reviews are always written for book lovers like Kristy and I and in the past I’ve never actually given much thought to an author spending time reading my reviews.

The first time an author commented on a review I did was Laura Bickle who commented on the review I did of The Hallowed Ones. I really enjoyed this book, and posted my review, only to find a comment from Laura Bickle herself not long after I posted it! I won’t lie, I was pretty floored. I think of authors as rockstars and so when Laura posted on my wall, I fan girled just a bit. And when an author thanks you for your review, I always think that’s a little rediculous cause I feel like I should be thanking THEM for writing such an awesome book!

The same thing happened recently when I reviewed Hate Is Such A Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub. She was so sweet - even telling me that my review made her cry because I understood what her characters were all about. It makes sense that authors are so connected to their work, but I never had really thought about how important it was until that moment.

That being said, I’ve never knowingly had an author read a negative review that I’ve posted. If they have read it, they’ve never said anything to me about it. I actually like it this way too if I was to be honest. I sometimes find it awkward having to post a review on a book that I didn’t love, let alone having the author say something to me about it. I think it would make me feel guilty!

S0 whilst my reviews are always written with my readers in mind (I talk about a lot of the main themes I think people would want to know about etc), it’s always cool when an author acknowledges your review!

Have you ever had to author feedback about a review? Was it a positive or negative experience? Let us know in your comments below!