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| Chichester Cathedral |
It's
difficult, isn't? Here in the UK we're not given to praising something we
consider good but unexceptional. We reserve our praise for the truly great,
exceptional things that occur only occasionally. I had experience of this
difference way back in the eighties when I went to Maine as a Summer Camp
Counsellor and was astonished to hear a US counsellor praising a child to the
skies for something sporty that I thought was pretty mediocre. Not that I would
have told the child it was mediocre, you understand; but I wouldn’t have
praised it, thereby letting it know that there was (lots of!) room for
improvement.
We got
to talking about it later, and I discovered that the US had a system of
praising everything in the belief that all a kid needed was confidence, and
given enough it would blossom and turn into a prize sportsperson if not
overnight, then very soon. In the UK, I explained, a child would have its
shortcomings pointed out and be told where it could improve. Ah, those American
Counsellors said, that's hard on the kid. But then, it's hard to know which
system works best in the long run - constructive criticism versus
praise-no-matter-what. Perhaps it's a case of each to its own culture.
But I’ve
discovered there are metaphorical playing fields where both sets of players
meet head on, and that's the internet where writers, readers and book reviews
are concerned. I read last night that Amazon algorithms give any reviewer the
power to support writers - or to send them on the slippery slope to obscurity.
Reviews of 4 stars or more are rated as good by Amazon. (Authors think they're
good, too.) A three star review slips below Amazon's radar, and will penalise a
book in the Amazon rating system; it may very well deter sales and therefore
destroy any potential income the author would otherwise have received.
I don't
know an author who doesn't read their reviews, nor would I believe them if they
claimed never to look at them. I'm not saying a reviewer should lie, far from
it; there are books that really don't appeal to certain readers, but....in such
a case, perhaps it's better to simply accept that in this case you didn't hit
lucky, and not review it. After all, there may be many people out there who did
like the book. If you decide you must write a review, tell what you liked about
the book and where you think it could be improved, but don't give a mere three
stars if you wish to read more from that author!
Almost
as an afterthought, I should point out that until 1st September, DARK POOL, my
book about Vikings and Christians in eleventh century Dublin, is available on
Amazon Kindle at a special low price of £2.30/$3.61 from 26th August for one
week. Check it out -
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