It matters not whether one of the “big” publishers puts out your book, whether your great-aunt with a penchant for publishing edits and distributes it for you from the trunk of her car, or you publish it electronically all by yourself, if you want people to read your book, you’ll probably want book reviews.
Book reviews, and the concomitant moaning that goes on in writers’ circles about reviewers, has a long and storied history. According to Jane Hu, the term book review first appeared in 1861, but the notion of the review or “criticism” (after all, those who write reviews of books or movies have traditionally been referred to as “critics”) goes back as far as 1661 in Paris.[1]
As Sarah Fay, writing in The Atlantic has said, throughout history book review writers, “seem to delight in publishing manifestos that outline the book review’s shortcomings and inadequacies.”[2] She went on to suggest that book reviews have been criticized as reeking of “mediocrity, elitism, nepotism or all three,” and further that they lack intelligence. In the current Wild, Wild West world of digital publishing, it has never been truer. And although as Hu says, “Most often, dissatisfaction with the state of book reviewing has come not from the readers who are the reviewers’ intended audience, but from writers who have felt their work mishandled, unjustly ignored, or cruelly misunderstood,”[3] this too has changed. Discontent with the reviews is now springing from readers – like me.
Although traditional book reviewers – those who through history largely worked for magazines and newspapers – have been criticized for their overall general meanness, today’s book reviewers seem to have the opposite problem. According to Amazon, the majority of book reviews are in the four-and-a-half to five out of five range. How is it possible that so many books are truly worthy of five stars? Well, they’re not.
Earlier this month, Amazon filed a law suit against four web sites that they believe are producing fraudulent book reviews. According to a report in Entrepreneur, “The suit alleges that fabricated 4- and 5-star product appraisals dilute Amazon’s brand and negatively impact sellers on its site who don’t subvert the system by paying for fraudulent reviews.”[4] It is this notion of the fraudulent (read: paid-for) book review that incenses me the most.
The companies in question just might be ones with whom you have dealt, but I hope not. It seems that Amazon and its readership are no longer going to stand still and accept that so many books can possibly be as good as they appear to be. But the lack of integrity demonstrated by buying book reviews is only one of the loathsome ways that writers these days (self and traditionally published, mind you) are procuring deceitful reviews.
A writer recently related a story about being approached to do a review. When the honest review was completed, the writer was informed in no uncertain terms, that anything less than a five-star report would result in one-star reports being posted for her books. Clearly, no honest review could be forthcoming.
Then there are the writers who approach you with the offer to provide your book with a terrific review – in exchange for one for their books. Honest? I think not.
Who suffers in all of this wrong-minded marketing? The readers. I can hear writers out there now telling me that readers will, in the end make the decisions. The problem with that line of thinking is that it smacks of a very utilitarian approach to ethics (i.e. the end justifies the means – in this case, very clearly, they are saying that lying up front is okay if they make a sale. I beg to disagree), and it fails to recognize that readers will already have purchased god-awful books, spending hard-earned money on crap that could have been avoided if honesty had been forthcoming.
Although I recognize that great reviews are terrific for marketing books, why are so many people afraid of honest reviews? The reason is probably related to the fact that most people don’t write as well as they think they do (if you haven’t been exposed to this truth, read William Zinsser’s On Writing Well immediately), aren’t interested in hearing negative criticism, or don’t care. The latter care only that you buy their book and quality be damned. Maybe readers aren’t going to take it anymore. Bravo Amazon.
[1] Jane Hu. 2012. A Short History Of Book Reviewing’s Long Decline. The Awl online. http://www.theawl.com/2012/06/book-reviewings-long-decline
[2] Sarah Fay. 2012. Book Reviews: A Tortured History. The Atlantic online. http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/book-reviews-a-tortured-history/256301/
[3] Jane Hu.
[4] Kim Lachance Shandrow. April 10, 2015. Amazon Sues Alleged Sellers of Bogus 5-Star Product Reviews. Entrepreneur. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244950
Patricia J. Parsons 
Reblogged this on Professional Issues and commented:
The ethical principles illustrated by he recent spate of questionable behaviour in the publishing world has analogies for professional communicators.