Being honest about what we think of romances (and movies, and covers, and man titty, and Jeremy Renner gifs) is our intent here. I want the comments to be a safe space for you to talk about personal and challenging subjects – subjects that romance deals with frequently, such as sexuality, emotions, assault, overcoming obstacles, vulnerability and happiness. I don’t take myself seriously at all, but I take the community at Smart Bitches very seriously.
So I’m half-caffeinated and fully angry about the comments decorating yesterday’s Books on Sale post that included a Dana Marton boxed set. More than thirty comments, all disturbingly similar, all praising Marton’s books and prompting Des Livres to ask, “What is this? A street team?”
Good question.
What makes me angry is that these are all well-meaning comments from people who may very well love every single letter in this boxed set, but on the whole, the comments amount to clutter and noise, signifying spam. Instead of making the book look praise-worthy, they make the book look suspect. Plus, the sheer number of them seems dishonest and disingenuous.
This is an example of why 5 star reviews are so often meaningless for readers.
I know authors love them. I like them, too! I’ve written three books. I totally get the thrill of, “Hot damn! Five stars!” And the similar thrill of someone commenting, “I really, really liked your book.”
But when the comments are all very similar and appear to be a coordinated effort to blanket the crap out of one page on a site with relentless squee-age, it does more harm than good.
Here’s my reaction:
- “35 comments? On a sale post? What the…?”
- Look at comments.
- Lip curling frustration.
(Please note: that reaction is not conducive to my buying a book.)
My perspective is that a flood of comments and reviews like these don’t help anyone: not the reader, and not the author. I’m more suspicious of a few of them because I wonder if they were purchased from a click farm or something, given some of the punctuation use and language patterns.
But most of all, because I value your honesty in the comments here, especially when you disagree with me or with another review, I’m bothered that it might interfere with the conversations we have.
Amanda, who posts the Books on Sale with me, agrees: I do think getting feedback in the comments about sale books is helpful. Since I help put them together, I see a lot of good discussions, especially when I’m unfamiliar with the book and I’m seeing the Bitchery’s opinion since I have none. That sort of interaction is conducive to buying books, I think, and not a deluge of comments which only serve to drown out other commenters.
“And it’s not that we don’t want to hear readers’ opinions. Of course not! I mean, Devil in Denim got panned in the comments, but I’m glad it sparked a discussion. However, 30+ comments on sale post has the effect of a bunch of people screaming into a megaphone. It’s just a lot of noise and not much substance. Those comments could very well all be genuine, but I doubt it.”
Like I said, there is a difference between broadcast promotion and a conversation between readers about we like and don’t like. I’m very confused how one might not see the difference between spam and genuine conversation, or the resulting damage of too much spam. The en masse demonstration of how much a group of readers enjoys an author’s books is more often a turn-off than a turn-on.
But I’m curious. I have a particular set of feelings about the site and the comments section — for obvious reasons. My bias, I has one! You can probably see it from space! (It’s huge.) And spam may be very much in the eye of the beholder, defined by the person reading it and not by the person writing it.
What is your reaction when you see a flood of positive comments or reviews about a book? As a reader, does this accomplish anything for you, positive or negative? Does it turn you off to buying that book or that author, or does it not bother you at all? Why is that? I’m curious about your reaction.
ETA: 12:13pm ET
I have been corresponding with Dana Marton, and she gave me permission to share this with you:
I saw the 20+ responses yesterday and almost fell off my chair. I did mention your feature on FB and that you asked if anyone read the book. Just didn’t want to be featured and have no comments. I figured maybe 1 person would say something. I don’t have a street team or a hugely active following. I asked the other day if anyone read my new release to please review it, and got 2 extra reviews.
FWIW, I really do think that all these people read the books and only meant to help. I recognize most of the names from FB as readers who keep in touch with me. I thought if readers who read the book said they read the book that would be okay, esp since you asked if anyone read the book. Now I just feel stupid. Sigh.
Dana also told me that earlier this year, she saw a different blogger writing that s/he was upset that a featured author didn’t tell her readers about a post on that blogger’s site. The lack of comments in that case was upsetting. Definitely mixed signals and different blogger goals there, and more evidence that it can be difficult to understand the nuances of different communities online.
I just finished reading Penny Reid’s Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance. And it is!
Penny Reid writes a good book, she’s very funny, and also will get you in the feels. I feel that she could have gone in a lot of directions with this particular story and I like the one that she picked. It could have easily been more suspenseful or sexier, either of which would have been good but the book didn’t suffer for their lack. For me, that’s a sign of a really good author, one who doesn’t have to terrify me or turn me on just to keep me interested.
Her characters are very well drawn. I understand this is going to be a series so, while I feel that some of her background characters could have been a bit more fleshed out, I imagine that they will be the further along we get. I’m completely in the dark about the fate of one character in particular but I was very tired when I finished that bit last night and may well have just missed it.
One issue I had was that the heroine, Janie, is drawn as being super intelligent, super well educated, terribly, terribly smart, but a couple of the words that she uses I think don’t mean what she thinks they mean. I can forgive her because as I said, Penny Reid writes a good book.
So why am I telling you this?
At the very end of the book after all her bio and contact information she writes:
Please, write a review!
If you liked this book (and, more importantly perhaps, if you didn’t like it) please take a moment to post reviews someplace (Amazon, Goodreads, your blog, on a bathroom stall wall, in a letter to your mother, etc.). It help society more than you know when you make your voice heard; reviews force us to move towards a true meritocracy.
I thought that said it all very well.
Yes, this is a culture clash. I think it reflects the mindset of bloggers who are drawn to a particular blog because it values thoughtfulness. I think the comments on the sale probably reflect a FB culture where acceptance and connection is more the norm. I appreciate that this has been a discussion, a very interesting one, about communities and culture.
And I’m glad that the author got her say, and I have to respect that she defended her readers. That takes guts.
@ Susan: I’ve been thinking about this, and I do see your point. I would be more likely to agree if there had been fewer people squeeing over the sales thread, and if none of the people commenting on this post had expressed understanding over the misunderstanding that arose from the author’s sharing on her Facebook page.
I am likely biased, as I feel very comfortable with the community dynamics here, but I would have seen our (the vocal ones commenting here) reaction as out of proportion and exclusionary if, say, five people showed up on the same day, made the same comments as the ones on the sales thread, and then a few dozen of the usual suspects had jumped down their throats right then and there for daring to comment.
I see the two situations as very different, but even if I were to place them in a spectrum of the same ‘type’ of reaction, they would be quite distant from each other.
Am I making sense?
@ CC: Oh yes!!
And I particularly liked that you used the phrase “negative review.” It’s a peeve of mine (a rather large one) to hear and see negative reviews that are thoughtful, articulate, and which allow for other readers’ tastes, to be conflated with “the reverse squee” (awesome way to put that, by the by).
A review that says, “OMG best book ever, highly recommended, buy it now!” takes about the same time and effort to write as “this is the worst book ever, just trash, a waste of money.” Those? Those are BAD reviews.
For well written negative reviews, look no farther than the index right here in the Pink Palace of Bitchery. Some are snarkier and funnier than others, but they all detail precisely what caused the negative reaction in the reviewer. And those reviews are as useful, if not more, that the A reviews.
IMO, YMMV and all that jazz, of course.
/off soapbox
My problem with the comments left was that none seemed terribly genuine. They were like a cut and paste of sentences, with no meaning behind them. Each one used her full name and basically just stated that they enjoyed them, but with no possible criticism.
I’ve definitely commented on sale book posts before, but I’m WAY more specific than these general squee comments, and do tend to read the comments if I’m curious about a new-to-me author being worth the investment.
@Susan – I definitely see your point, although I don’t feel as strongly about it. I do think that the challenge is to start by giving people the benefit of the doubt in online interactions.
Unrelated – I’ve been thinking about this cultural miscommunication more. I can see how someone might view a deals post as an author promo opportunity. But at SBTB and DA I’ve always felt like the deals posts are more like a public service. It’s not about authors at all, it’s about readers finding a good deal on a good book.
@Cleo: But at SBTB and DA I’ve always felt like the deals posts are more like a public service. It’s not about authors at all, it’s about readers finding a good deal on a good book.
THIS. Thank you for articulating the difference between my perception of these deal posts and what happened yesterday.
Of course the end result for authors and both SBTB and DA is revenue when books are purchased, but I think that’s secondary to why these posts exist. Yesterday became about an author and her enthusiastic supporters in a way we don’t usually see here. I mean no criticism, I am simply relieved to finally understand why what happened bothered me so much.
In defense of Spam, Hawaiians love it, espeically Spam Musubi. Or atop Loco Moco. How about Spam flavored Macadamia Nuts?
Yes, street teams can be nutty but it’s the nature of the beast that blogs such as Smart Bitches encourage readers to get excited about books and authors. I think readers can discern a street team shout out versus a relatively neutral reader who simply enjoyed the book.
I have to say, sometimes short and sweet comments are OK. Like, when I see a post for a “sale” book for an author or a type of book that I like. Often an OOOH,or a SQUEEE, or a “Thank ye” is all I got ..cause I am off to buy the book.
I LOVE this discussion. I also love that you amended it to include the author’s response, which I feel is genuine and honest. It’s a delicate balance between shouting to the rooftops that a BIG blog featured you (even if it’s a sale) and completely acting ambivalent. It is so hard to find a middle ground.
As relatively new author who has a street team of 1 &1/2, sometimes I think “wouldn’t it be amazing to get a million squee’s” Then, again….like you I’m suspect of the squee to begin with…what does it mean? 5 stars? 6+stars?
Either way….I think something substantial should be said with a comment. Or better yet, if you love a book …review it. <3
R
@Cleo (and others) – I wonder if it comes from a facebook culture? Facebook discourages long comments, encourages full names, and it’s usually pretty clear who’s replying to what. If that’s your main form of social media, you may not retune for a blog comment, especially if you’re following a facebook link with a specific question in. What would be nice is if some of those commenters stuck around and got to know the community – bet they’ll find more authors to squee about!
I agree that when you see too many “head over heels” reviews on a book there is usually something not right. I mean, yes there could be a book club reading the book and so depending on the size of the club there will be a lot of review. (I’m in a club we have 16 members that read/rate/review)
BUT I have to say, I have not given a 5 star review because I have to be floored and I guess I’m too hard to please because I haven’t read a book yet that I would say “this blew me away”
If I do noticed in a short amount of time 30 or more reviews that are similar in language that is a tell-tale sign of Street Team and SPAM. Which is poor marketing for the book. If you have that many raving fans you don’t need me to buy your book.
I think that as readers you have to look at ratings and be both skeptical and realistic. I purchased Emma Chase’s Tangled due to the sheer volume of ratings. I remember being skeptical about all those ratings. No way I thought to myself. I don’t think so . Even with all those 5 stars, $7.99 is just TOO much for an e-book. But I did purchase the book. (And felt that it was well spent as I loved it.) Now here is what I know works for me. I check the ratings. Maybe I purchase. Maybe I dont. A book can have a 1,000 5-star ratings and its no guarantee. I could be 1,001 or I could be the only person giving it one star. (There is a popular series that a great many fans and I hated book 1 and have not purchased additional books. ) I am always a little reluctant to suggest books, but I recommended Elle Kennedy’s The Deal to a reader on Facebook . Luckily she enjoyed the book. Reading is personal . What works for you doesn’t always work for others, (I made it through 2-3 chapters of Devil in Denim. The hero was too overbearing for me. )
@Mina Kelly – I was thinking it was the difference between promo focused book blogs and more discussion focused book blogs, but Facebook makes sense too. I think the author posted about it on her FB page and that’s how her fans found SBTB.