Who Reviews the Reviewers?

Hostile authors and poor conduct has driven reviewers and readers away from #BookTwitter and Goodreads. This article explores the issue of problematic author conduct, and issues within the reviewing community. It also looks at how these issues hurt readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers, and asks what can be done to address the problem.

For many months, I’ve known there were issues affecting reviewers and readers. Conflicts from Goodreads spilled over to social media. I haven’t always been aware of the specifics that led to each problem, but I was bothered by what I saw.

More and more, reviewers started talking about quitting.

And many reviewers did step back from reviewing. The reasons were varied, but included sexual harassment, verbal abuse, threats, and doxxing.

I found myself in my own reviewing drama when an author offered to compensate people for writing good reviews of their book (even if they hadn’t read the book). I soon found out just how quickly people would take sides and come out to attack anyone who could possibly affect their ability to pad their Goodreads feed with positive reviews. I was told to “Fuck off” and bashed by several people for simply pointing out the Goodreads user policy prohibited compensating people in exchange for reviews.

I was naive enough to think Goodreads cared, and what I learned from the experience was that they didn’t. Although people told me on Twitter they’d reported the author to Goodreads, the book is still live with all his purchased reviews.

As a reader, I learned a few things from all of the drama this year. 

1. Goodreads will not protect reviewers who are attacked by authors
2. Goodreads allows bought reviews on their site, which means the reviews can’t be trusted
3. A lot of authors are abusive assholes
4. If I don’t give books a 4 or a 5 there’s a good chance I’ll be attacked

As someone who has a few manuscripts they’re trying to get published, I’m really concerned by what I’ve learned about the reviewing scene this year, and the issues have extended beyond Goodreads. 

I decided to talk to some authors and reviewers about their experiences to get a better sense of the problems. I’m going to include the complete interviews with those sources at the end of this piece, but pull a few quotes from them for the article. I wish I had more input here from readers, but some of the people who quit or referenced being attacked didn’t want to sign up for another round, and I can’t blame them for that. I see at least two issues pop up on Twitter per week; sometimes, I see issues every day. I don’t always comment, but I see them, and sometimes, I block authors because of them.

Authors Need Reviews

A lot of authors know how important reviews are. Reviewers can shine a light on a book and raise its profile. The more reviews a book has on Amazon, the more the algorithm gods smile upon the book, which also raises the book’s profile.

And, as Kissing the Coronavirus proved, bad reviews sell books. 

I’d also be willing to stick my neck out there and say almost all authors know how important reviews are, particularly if they’re attacking reviewers for less than stellar reviews. Why do that unless you’re, a) a total butthead, or b) aware that your book’s ranking can influence sales?

Everyone Gets Bad Reviews

Even Stephen King. I randomly selected one of his novels on Amazon, clicked on the one star reviews, and found a number to choose from. Please leave the reviewer alone – the only reason I’m including the screen capture is to prove the fact that everyone gets bad reviews. This isn’t the whole review, but it’s enough to prove the point.

No author is universally loved. Art is subjective. People have foods they hate and foods they love. People like different sports and different genres, and that’s okay.

Having Multiple Review Outlets is Important

I asked a few authors if it would affect them if there were fewer review outlets:

Gwendolyn Kiste: There’s the old saying that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and while I don’t completely agree with that, I do think reviews—whether they’re good, bad, or neutral—simply help raise the profile of a book. Without those reviews, authors certainly lose out, in particular at the small press level where word of mouth is so pivotal. I would be very sad if we lost a lot of review sites; so many writers would suffer as a result.

Laurel Hightower: Oh my heavens yes, it would be a huge blow if horror lost a lot of reviewers. Authors depend on reviews, flat out. I’m definitely of the school that I prefer honest reviews – we can still be friends, I’ll still read and fairly review your books, we can have a bourbon when all this is over. But without reviewers, it would be crickets for me. I have minimal marketing budget, and honestly I spent it on chocolate and shot glasses. If reviewers didn’t take the time to do what they do, no one but my friends and family would ever have bought my books. I’ll say too that I think we always need new blood in reviewers. Folks get overwhelmed, end up needing to ease back for their own wellbeing. The more reviewers are coming up to help, the better chance we have of keeping everyone healthy. And I’ll end with that sentiment – protect your mental health, please. This kind of thing can sap your energy and headspace. Reading is supposed to be fun – let’s help it stay that way.

Steve Stred: Oh, without question. Saying that, I may be the exact wrong writer to answer that question as I’m horrible at doing any promotion! But, yes, without review venues, and people who dedicate a large amount of their life to what is essentially free promotion for authors/books, it would be a great loss to individual authors as well as the genre itself. The one thing a lot of people forget, is that each book is a springboard to many other worlds, many other books. A lot of reviewers read across genres, so when someone sees a recommended book and then sees that reviewer also praise a different book in a different genre, it can really open up a lot of doors. It’s a win-win situation for authors and books.

Author Conduct Affects Sales

Reviews certainly aren’t the only thing that affect book sales. Author conduct can deter readers from engaging with works by some authors. 

As Gwendolyn Kiste noted, “Now obviously, nobody’s perfect, and everyone makes mistakes, so I certainly keep that in mind too, but if there’s a regular pattern of mean-spirited behavior from an author or reviewer, that definitely changes my opinion of them and makes me much less likely to read their books or submit my work for reviews.”

Elle Turpitt, who reviews at Divination Hollow Reviews, echoed Kiste’s thoughts. “There are authors I now avoid because of their comments or treatment of others. Usually because they’ve either been an absolute arse on social media (everyone can see social media, kids. Remember that) or because they’ve shown themselves to be abusers, harassers, sexist, racist, homophobic, etc. Basically, I absolutely don’t want to support people like that.”

How Authors Can Cope

Authors spend a lot of time writing their books, and it can hurt to hear that there are readers who didn’t enjoy it. Those feelings are absolutely fair.

The feelings become an issue when they’re used to justify attacking readers and reviewers for expressing their thoughts.

As Sara noted, anyone can DM or text a friend or talk to other authors about their disappointment when they get a bad review. There’s nothing wrong with doing that privately, and having a good support system can help you get through the highs and lows of publishing.

You don’t have to bottle it up inside, but it’s never a good idea to respond to a reviewer or reader who didn’t like your book unless they enter your space and ask you a question. 

Segregated Spaces are a Good Idea

Thanks to social media, readers, reviewers, and authors can interact directly. It can be exciting to ask a favorite author a question and get an answer. However, there’s also a need for boundaries. 

Ever tweet about something you like and have someone you don’t know jump into your thread and tell you how much they hated it? It happens often enough, and talking about something you enjoy is different than asking people to debate the merits of a product with you.

The opposite happens as well. A person posts about something they didn’t enjoy, and people turn up to tell them they’re wrong.

Now imagine that the product’s creator shows up with something to say.

Awkward? To say the least. 

But what if what follows is a series of threats or attacks? What if that creator posts about their offense and provides their followers with a link to the critic? What if they start harassing that person?

I know I’d be hurt if someone criticized my story, but I can express those feelings elsewhere, in safe spaces where I’d be supported. That’s what spouses, friends, and writing groups are for. 

There are books, movies, and TV shows I haven’t enjoyed. If I’m allowed to have those opinions, it’s fair for readers to have that opinion about what I create. This doesn’t even mean something is bad. We all have different tastes. Some authors will write stories that aren’t for me, and what I write won’t be for everyone. 

And that’s okay. 

Readers Need Lots of Reviewers Too

Losing review spaces hurts authors, and it also hurts readers. The more reviewers there are, the better the chances that a broad range of content will receive coverage.

I’m afraid of seeing the number of review spaces condensed. One of the reasons is that every site has its focus, and that means they cover what falls within their focus. 

It means there’s a lot of content that’s being created that falls outside their focus.

When there’s a smaller number of review sites, the scope of the focus of reviews decreases.

It’s also easy for a lot of reviewers to fall into the trap of reviewing what’s popular or getting a lot of publisher push. It’s easier to get review copies of those works, and because more people are talking about them, there is a better chance they’ll get on reviewers’ radar, which can pique their interest. 

I have read and loved some popular books, but I’ve also read and loved some books from small presses and self-published authors. Usually those works don’t have a wide reach because they don’t have the same kind of promotional resources. It costs hundreds of dollars to list titles on Netgalley, for example, which is why some publishers don’t distribute arcs there, and that can make it harder to find reviewers for works.

I remember the days of cable, with 230 channels and nothing to watch. Networks would get into this weird trend of creating copycat shows. Executives were like, “Heaven forbid that there be two successful medical dramas — let’s put ER and Chicago Hope up against each other and have a ratings war. We’ll take one of those programs out!” And heaven help those looking for something to watch while the medical dramas went head to head if they didn’t like medical shows.

Streaming has its own issues, but there’s one clear thing I’ll give it credit for. Shows don’t have to be padded now. If a tight episode is 40 minutes, it’s 40 minutes. If it needs 60 minutes, it’s 60 minutes. None of this cutting out essentials or fluffing up with filler to hit the standard network programming hour.

When we have more review spaces we have more content receiving coverage, which means we can support spaces for the innovative works that are often overlooked by publishers focused on stories that conform to their expectations. Even now, so much emphasis is placed on comps in publishing. I understand that might be short form for giving people a sense of the tone or content, but this is how we end up with a lot of works that feel like copycats. When The Hunger Games was popular, similar dystopian stories about girls changing the world sprung up. I don’t even fault the authors for that; it’s what publishers want. More of the same, because whatever they’re influenced by is a proven seller.

What does that mean for other readers who want something fresh or different? Sometimes, it means you’re out of luck, or will have to work a lot harder to find stories that appeal to you while a narrow subset of works get all the attention.

If it wasn’t for small presses breaking out of the mold, I wouldn’t have been able to read Cradle and Grave by Anya Ow this year. Neon Hemlock Press put out one of my favorite works, and everything they’re publishing is fresh and original. 

Elle Turpitt notes, “I think the Horror and reviewing communities are great places, and we have shown time and again we absolutely will rally around people when needed. But I think we also all need to remember we don’t know what has gone on with people behind the scenes, we don’t know what interactions they’ve had with others whether they’re authors or fellow reviewers, and I’ve witnessed first hand the way some people will try to turn narratives in their favour when they’ve participated in bullying or harassment or abusive behaviours. There are some people out there who seem to get away with the same sort of crap time and time again, who continuously use people, or plagiarize from others, or participate in other nasty practices. And at times it’s not authors driving reviewers out, but other reviewers. We should absolutely be making better spaces for us to read and review and discuss books and promote books, and when other reviewers start targeting people over reviews, or start attacking them because of a reviewers’ opinion, it’s damaging. And that sort of behaviour should not be tolerated.”

A wide range of reviewing sites supports a wide range of publishers, and that’s good news for readers. Competition is healthy. It leads to innovation. When a new publisher comes along and does really well, they force other publishers to up their game, and that’s a win for readers. It means more great, diverse material out there to choose from.

And having a lot of reviewing sites is good for reviewing sites, too. It means more books, more subgenres in print, more writing styles and authors and storylines to choose from. 

Think of it this way. Would you be very healthy if you ate the exact same food every day? What if a whole town ate the exact same food every day? No need for the local grocery store to stock fish when everyone in town eats chicken every single day.

And then there’s no need to put chicken on sale because it’s always in demand.

Variety is more than the spice of life. It’s what ensures industries expand and grow. Without variety, pricing and content can stagnate. And neither of those things is good for readers.

For me, it’s important to find new books and try different authors and genres every year. Although we all have our favorite authors, there’s no guarantee any book you read will work for you or blow your socks off, even if you pick works by authors you’ve enjoyed before. Reading different authors gives you a chance to discover something new you like. I read a lot of authors for the first time in 2020. I’ll definitely read many of them again. Some had big publishers and some came from brand new presses or small publishers. And more often than not, I was impressed by the new-to-me writers I discovered. They enriched my reading experience.

Awful Authors Hurt Other Authors

I’ll be honest. When I got attacked by the Boats guy, I started to wonder if I wanted to keep reviewing.

Ultimately, I gave my last two assigned review spots of the year to movies.

That guy cost two authors reviews because he was a jerk. I’m just a reader giving up personal time to write reviews. I love books and I see authors begging for reviews because they know reviews help them, so I review. My goal is to be fair and honest. 

I am not going to give up my personal time to be attacked. It made me really angry because I could have run straight to Goodreads and reported him (for all the apparent good it does) but I said something to him so he had a chance to take his post down and course correct without negative repercussions.

And he tweeted me out and started a dogpile on me, and others who said something.

Just for alerting him to the Goodreads terms of service.

Guys, that’s not only not cool, that’s a pure dick move. I’d heard about reviewers being attacked by groups of people for reviews on Goodreads, but this was my first experience with being attacked directly, and it was minor compared to what some reviewers have gone through.

If authors won’t hold other authors accountable, and if Goodreads and comparable sites won’t protect reviewers from author attacks, we’ll continue to lose reviewers.

And what happens if we lose a lot of reviewers? Soon we have nobody talking about books anywhere, out of fear of backlash. I don’t trust most Amazon reviews if they aren’t substantive. And now I don’t trust Goodreads at all, because they ignore authors who bribe people to get them to leave good reviews.

And after the experience with Boats guy, will I want to mention books on Twitter?

People usually talk about what matters to them, and today, word of mouth matters more than ever when marketing a product. The authors who are attacking readers are censoring people, and while that might mean they keep their Goodreads ranking a smidge higher in the short term, in the long term it will deter readers from engaging with their works and talking about books, and that will hurt the publishing industry.

What Can We Do About This?

It wouldn’t be easy to fix these problems. A large number of authors and reviewers would need to join forces to lobby Goodreads to deal with authors who threaten reviewers or offer goods in exchange for favorable reviews. This would have to be spearheaded by people with big platforms and reach, or at the very least supported by these types of people.

So I asked, “What can I do?” This may not sound like much, but this is what I’ve concluded.

Reviewing Pledge:

I promise to read the work I’m reviewing.

I promise to provide an honest opinion.

I promise to say how I got the material I’m reviewing.

I promise I’ll only tag authors on 4 and 5 star reviews.

I won’t sell ARCs.

I promise I will not review any work I stand to profit from financially. (This means if I start a publishing company and sell books, I won’t review books I’m selling.)

I promise to focus on examining the book’s contents and will not personally attack the author.

I promise to include trigger warnings. I understand my job as a reviewer is to give readers enough information to decide whether a work appeals to them or not. Since triggers can cause readers trauma, and reviews are for readers to use to discern what they want to read, it’s absolutely appropriate to make trigger warnings available to those who want to read them.

I promise to examine my own potential blindspots to harmful content. What I mean is, I may not pick up on the inference of every phrase or trope used, but I will listen to marginalized authors and readers and continue to learn about content that’s harmful, and when I see it, I’ll call it out.

Writer Pledge (in case I ever get one of my manuscripts published):

I promise not to attack/harass/dox reviewers or readers over comments they make about my work.

I promise not to ask others to attack/harass/dox reviewers or readers over comments they make about my work. 

I promise not to attack/harass/dox reviewers or readers at the request of other authors.

I promise to stand against authors who attack, harass, or doxx reviewers or readers.

I promise not to invade reader spaces to intimidate or censor readers.

I also promise not to harass reviewers about if or when they’ll review anything I send them. I won’t nag you or call you out on twitter because you haven’t reviewed my book yet.

Do you have any other pledges I should add to my lists? Ideas for how to address these issues? I realize we can’t fight battles every day everywhere but building a safe community means making it safe for authors, publishers, readers, and reviewers. If we fail to do that, I think we all stand to lose a lot in the end.

Complete Interviews

Laurel Hightower

How much weight do you put on reviews as a reader? Are they important to you? Are there any review sites you read regularly?

Laurel Hightower: As a reader, I put almost the entire weight of my decision on reviews. I used to just pick books off the shelves, but there were so many stinkers at the library, and forget about bookstores – they had zilch. I started using Goodreads before I would commit. I subscribed to Book Riot, and reviewed curated lists on GR, as well as exploring what reviewers suggested. (If you like this, try that, etc.) Once I settled into the horror community, I started mostly with following reviewers. I wanted to see what everyone was digging, and also sometimes see if others had a similar opinion to mine after a read. Reviews are immensely important as a reader. I read several sites regularly – Sci Fi & Scary and Ink Heist were the two that I started with. I subscribe to quite a few, Dead Head Reviews of course, Kendall Reviews because I love Steve Stred’s reviews, and I also love Well Read Beard, Edward Lorn, Jason Cavallaro, and Brad Proctor. I also check out the Night Worms reviews – I like their side by side feature. I appreciate both the willingness to support authors, as well as brutal honesty. Not every book is for every person, and I admire the ability to get out there and say why it didn’t work. (I have only listed a few, but there are so many amazing ones out there and I hop around a lot.)

What information do you consider when you’re deciding whether to buy and read a book? 

LH: The information I consider when buying and reading is influenced by different things now than before I knew anyone here. Although in some ways I guess it’s the same thought process. There are authors that are an insta buy for me, both because I  always enjoy them, and because I want to support their work. I’ll peruse to see if the subject matter is likely to be a turn off. I’m lucky enough not to have triggers anymore, but I definitely have pet peeves that will make me throw a book across the room, so whenever possible I try to confirm I’m not gonna get burned. I also consider publishers now, because there are a lot that I admire and want to support. Lastly, I consider diversity. Violet Castro was instrumental in introducing me to the struggle of getting diverse voices out there, and I make an effort now to seek these out for a lot of reasons. 

What has the biggest impact on whether you’ll read a book – review sites, podcasts, bookstagram posts, word of mouth, author reputation.

LH: I would say podcasts and review sites have the most impact on my decisions. Before I joined Ink Heist I was a constant listener, and pretty much bought everything Rich and Shane featured. Final Guys has given me some great recs as well, plus Does the Dog Die in This.

Does author conduct ever deter you from reading a book?

LH: Author conduct can definitely have an impact on whether I buy or read a book. I won’t ever review one with that in mind – if I’ve chosen to read and review, then I base it on the book alone, not the person. But if I see someone victimizing others, displaying bigoted behavior, or going after reviewers, I do my tbr the favor of removing their books. There’s too much wonderful out there.

As an author, would it make it harder for you to promote your book and reach readers if your genre lost a lot of review venues? Why or why not?

Oh my heavens yes, it would be a huge blow if horror lost a lot of reviewers. Authors depend on reviews, flat out. I’m definitely of the school that I prefer honest reviews – we can still be friends, I’ll still read and fairly review your books, we can have a bourbon when all this is over. But without reviewers, it would be crickets for me. I have minimal marketing budget, and honestly I spent it on chocolate and shot glasses. If reviewers didn’t take the time to do what they do, no one but my friends and family would ever have bought my books. I’ll say too that I think we always need new blood in reviewers. Folks get overwhelmed, end up needing to ease back for their own wellbeing. The more reviewers are coming up to help, the better chance we have of keeping everyone healthy. And I’ll end with that sentiment – protect your mental health, please. This kind of thing can sap your energy and headspace. Reading is supposed to be fun – let’s help it stay that way.

Laurel Hightower’s works include Crossroads and Whispers in the Dark. Learn more about Laurel by visiting her website.

Gwendolyn Kiste

Are there any review sites you read regularly? 

Gwendolyn Kiste: We have so many wonderful review sites in horror right now! Ladies of Horror Fiction, Sci-Fi and Scary, Kendall Reviews, Tor’s Nightfire blog, High Fever Books, Signal Horizon, just to name a few. Plus, there are all the individual reviewers’ Bookstagram, Goodreads pages, and blogs. Truly, we’re so incredibly fortunate to have so many outlets where authors can get the word out about their work. 

What information do you consider when you’re deciding whether to buy and read a book?  

GK: For me, the main thing is the back cover description. Does it sound like a story that would be fun or interesting to read? From there, other factors, including reviews and word of mouth, do come into play to some extent, but that initial description needs to grab me first and foremost. I’m also a big fan of the Amazon preview; I can usually determine in the first couple pages of a book if the style is for me or not. 

Does author conduct ever deter you from reading a book? Does reviewer conduct ever deter you from submitting an arc for review? 

GK: Absolutely. Now obviously, nobody’s perfect, and everyone makes mistakes, so I certainly keep that in mind too, but if there’s a regular pattern of mean-spirited behavior from an author or reviewer, that definitely changes my opinion of them and makes me much less likely to read their books or submit my work for reviews. 

As an author, would it make it harder for you to promote your book and reach readers if your genre lost a lot of review venues? Why or why not?

GK: Yes, I certainly think so. There’s the old saying that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and while I don’t completely agree with that, I do think reviews—whether they’re good, bad, or neutral—simply help raise the profile of a book. Without those reviews, authors certainly lose out, in particular at the small press level where word of mouth is so pivotal. I would be very sad if we lost a lot of review sites; so many writers would suffer as a result.

Gwendolyn Kiste is the award-winning author of several works, including The Rust Maidens, Boneset & Feathers, Pretty Marys All in a Row. Learn more about Gwendolyn via her website. 

Steve Stred

How much weight do you put on reviews as a reader? Are they important to you?

Steve Stred: Yes and no! Ha! Sorry, that’s a tough one. Personally, I care more about the synopsis and if it’s something that I think I’ll enjoy. Saying that, if I keep seeing a book I typically wouldn’t enjoy be shared/reviewed etc, then I’ll most likely dive in. If someone I respect a lot loves a book – great. If they don’t love the book – great. It’s such an individual thing. 

Are there any review sites you read regularly?

SS: Yes and no! Ha! Twice in a row! I find I end up reading the reviews from specific sites more often, but I don’t specifically go to each site to search, if that makes sense? Kendall Reviews, Sci-Fi and Scary, GNOH, High Fever Books (RIP, but Mike still reviews!), This is Horror, Storgy, Horror DNA, Ladies of Horror Fiction, and Ink Heist are just a few that I typically check out over the course of the week, but there are a lot of individual people that I will read their reviews of. Like Laurie, Toni and Jen who all make up part of the LOHF crew but also review individually. I also enjoy seeing what “non-reviewers” are raving about over on the Books of Horror Facebook page. 

What information do you consider when you’re deciding whether to buy and read a book?

SS: Synopsis and author. I always want to see just what the book claims to be in the synopsis. Does it sound like something that’ll make me cringe or want to leave a light on? Will it excite my brain and make me wish I had my Kindle with me at work? As for author, I have a long list of auto-buy authors who’ve always released high quality works, but at the same time, if it’s an author I’ve never read but the synopsis sounds great, I’ll always take that chance. 

What has the biggest impact on whether you’ll read a book – review sites, podcasts, bookstagram posts, word of mouth, author reputation.

SS: Hmmmm, that’s a great question. For me personally, I think it’s the word of mouth factor. If a book continues to be recommended to me by friends/other reviewers/other authors then I’ll take a look, but again, (broken record here) the synopsis needs to really intrigue me. The bookstagram posts are stunning, but I find I prefer the pics that accompany a review. Review sites are absolutely key, but if the synopsis doesn’t grab me, I may not want to dive in.

Does author conduct ever deter you from reading a book?

SS: Absolutely. I don’t know how else to really elaborate on this one. People need to act respectfully and accordingly to everyone, no matter what. 

Does reviewer conduct ever deter you from submitting an arc for review?

SS: Absolutely. Saying that, I think this might be a tougher one for authors to know about. Readers/reviewers often call out bad/poor behavior from authors, but it seems to be very rare that reviewer bad behavior is made public. Now, that may be purely because I miss it, but for the most part, I’ve only come across a few instances over the last few years and one involved someone I’d had beta read for me a number of times. I’ve not heard from them since, nor do I believe they even have social media anymore.

As an author, would it make it harder for you to promote your book and reach readers if your genre lost a lot of review venues? Why or why not?

SS: Oh, without question. Saying that, I may be the exact wrong writer to answer that question as I’m horrible at doing any promotion! But, yes, without review venues, and people who dedicate a large amount of their life to what is essentially free promotion for authors/books, it would be a great loss to individual authors as well as the genre itself. The one thing a lot of people forget, is that each book is a springboard to many other worlds, many other books. A lot of reviewers read across genres, so when someone sees a recommended book and then sees that reviewer also praise a different book in a different genre, it can really open up a lot of doors. It’s a win-win situation for authors and books.

Steve Stred writes bleak horror. His works include Invisible, Frostbitten, and The Night Crawls In. Learn more about Steve at his website.

Elle Turpitt

How much consideration do you give to reviews when deciding what books you’ll buy and read?

Elle Turpitt: I don’t think I’ve ever given huge consideration to reviewing when buying books. I get so many books as ARCs, though I do review ones I’ve purchased too. I buy a book with the intention of reading it for pleasure, as opposed to ARCs where I get them purely to read and review.

Has reviewer conduct ever deterred you from reading a review site or a book?

ET: I’ve never been put off reading a book because of reviewer conduct (if referring to a book they’ve reviewed, anyway!). I have been put off certain websites because of reviewer conduct. I’ve seen situations badly mishandled, seen things said on social media that has just made me avoid a whole website. I think sometimes, reviewers should be aware of what, exactly, they’re representing. And if they’re going to piss people off, make sure it’s the right people. When reviewers treat other reviewers badly, it’s a bad look.

Has author conduct ever deterred you from reading a book?

ET: Yes! There are authors I now avoid because of their comments or treatment of others. Usually because they’ve either been an absolute arse on social media (everyone can see social media, kids. Remember that) or because they’ve shown themselves to be abusers, harassers, sexist, racist, homophobic, etc. Basically, I absolutely don’t want to support people like that. 

Do you have any absolute rules you follow when you write your reviews?

ET: When approaching reviews, I try to think about what, exactly, the reader should know about this book. What is it I liked most, why should they read it (if it’s a positive review). If I disliked the book, I try to work out why and if it’s objectively bad or just a personal taste thing. My only absolute rule is that reviews are for readers, so I try to write with them in mind.

What’s your position on trigger warnings? Why do you think so many people have such strong opinions about trigger warnings?

ET: Trigger Warnings are great. I think they’re beneficial to both reader and author. If, for example, someone picks up a book containing graphic sexual assault, and there’s no indication of that, a reviewer might ‘mark it down’, in a sense, and give a negative review. But if they’re aware of the content, they can either avoid it, or tackle it when they’re in the right headspace. I think there are strong opinions for trigger warnings because so many of us – especially in the horror community – are very familiar with trauma and mental health issues. We know how these things can affect us, and are aware of how to stay away from particular content. And when that content is thrust upon you, it can be really, really jarring. On the other side, some people mistakenly believe trigger warnings are spoilers, but if including a note (like films do) somewhere in the book, where people can avoid it if they don’t want it, that says “this book contains…” spoils a book for a reader, either the book is badly written and using the trigger itself as a ‘shock’ plot point, or the reviewer is maybe reading things a little too superficially.  

I’ve seen a lot of authors attacking reviewers, saying nobody should post reviews if they aren’t 4 or 5 stars. How do you feel about this trend of authors attacking reviewers? Do you think this could harm the publishing industry?

ET: I think authors really need to remember reviews are for readers. ARCs are given in expectation of honest reviews, and if an author isn’t comfortable with someone criticizing their book, then they absolutely should not give out ARCs. Or even, arguably, be a writer. Importantly, negative reviews can and do sell books. Unless it’s a glowing review, reviewers shouldn’t tag authors. And if they don’t, well, authors should stay away from review spaces when it’s their book being discussed. And I absolutely do think it can harm the industry. If I see a book where every single review is 4 or 5 stars, especially if that book has, say, 10 reviews (or another randomly low number) I’m going to assume it’s the authors friends and/or relatives, or people just trying to be nice. If I see a scattering of 3 or even 2 star reviews mixed in with higher ones, I’ll check out those reviews and, more often than not, pick up the book, because usually those lower reviews sort of validate the higher ones. I also think if a platform is overly positive about every single thing they review, I can’t really trust their opinion. (Different for individual book bloggers, as some are more comfortable only posting positive reviews, and they usually state that outright)

As a reader, how do you think it would affect you if there were a lot fewer review sites and reviews available?

ET: One thing I love about this community is the fact it really is a community. I love checking out Ladies of Horror Fiction, or scanning over Sci-Fi and Scary, and checking in to see what GingerNuts are up to. I enjoy podcasts like Staring into the Abyss and Ink Heist. I also follow a number of other bloggers outside Horror, and am part of The Write Reads. I love how one book can produce different opinions across every platform and website, and how every blogger brings something different to the table. Even among our own review team, I love seeing the different reactions to the same media. I think with less people doing this, there would be much less attention shone on indie books in particular. A lot of indie and self-published books would absolutely slip under the radar. And with less people involved, I don’t think these kind of books would get the exposure they deserve. Indie and self-pubbed authors absolutely rely on us to spread the word about their books. With less sites, I really don’t think I would have read as much varied and different horror as I have over the last year or so.

Have you ever felt pressured to change how you review a book based on the author’s race/gender/religion/sexual orientation?  

ET: I haven’t! I do try to keep in mind when reading the author however, and how that might possibly inform the story. For example, I might be a little more critical of a man writing a woman’s POV than I would be of a woman writing it.

However, we recently had a review on the website which went by largely unnoticed. It was highly critical of the book, and part of this was due to the fact the reviewer’s address had been given to the publisher without consent, so they were receiving books they’d not asked for, but did like the publisher so tried to read them anyway. This book could have really done with trigger warnings. We worked on the review together, and a few people reached out to say thank you for highlighting some of the issues. A few weeks after this review went up, there was a spike of hits for that particular review, centreing around particular areas. This caused some other issues, and the increase in hits was alarming. We made the decision to take the review down, due to concern for our safety and the way this seemed to be ‘spreading’. It caused a lot of stress for ourselves, and even now there are still people searching for the review on the website. The book was written by a white man. It’s the only example of an instance where we’ve felt pressured to take down a review. But, to return to the previous question, we are surrounded by a great community, who even without knowing the full situation, have rallied around to support us as we take the website forward. 

To add:

I think the Horror and reviewing communities are great places, and we have shown time and again we absolutely will rally around people when needed. But I think we also all need to remember we don’t know what has gone on with people behind the scenes, we don’t know what interactions they’ve had with others whether they’re authors or fellow reviewers, and I’ve witnessed first hand the way some people will try to turn narratives in their favour when they’ve participated in bullying or harassment or abusive behaviours. There are some people out there who seem to get away with the same sort of crap time and time again, who continuously use people, or plagiarize from others, or participate in other nasty practices. And at times it’s not authors driving reviewers out, but other reviewers. We should absolutely be making better spaces for us to read and review and discuss books and promote books, and when other reviewers start targeting people over reviews, or start attacking them because of a reviewers’ opinion, it’s damaging. And that sort of behaviour should not be tolerated.

Elle Turpitt is a reviewer with Divination Hollow Reviews. For more information, check out @elleturpitt @DivinationBlog and DivinationHollow.com