Have you ever been faced with an issue while reading or blogging and thought: I wonder what other bloggers think about this? No matter what genre or audience you blog for, we all face the same problems. Are you a publisher or author wondering what goes on in a blogger's (and by extension a reader's) head?
Blogger confidential is a series of 12 questions asked to 11 bloggers about the nitty gritty details of blogging. Everything from what prompts a blogger to pick up a book, to what happens when a book doesn't live up to its hype. This series was inspired by
Wastepaper Prose's Author Insight series.
If you feel inspired by any of these questions, leave your answer in the comments, or create your own post!
This week's question:
Which reviews are hardest for you to write? Reviews for books that were great, awful, or somewhere in between? Which are the easiest?
"I find reviews of books that I absolutely loved hardest to write. I end up saying the same things over and over, which really doesn’t equate to a helpful, meaningful review. I also babble when I’m excited, which makes the first drafts of those reviews terribly confusing and disjointed. Reviews of books that I didn’t like are easiest to write because I just pick out the characteristics that didn’t appeal to me. These reviews are generally shorter, which helps."
Sara from The Hiding Spot"The hardest reviews for me to write are for the books I couldn't stand, but had a connection in some way with the author. I like to be constructive, but I also don't like to sugar coat things. So, when these situations happen (they have a few times) it's difficult because I don't want the author to take what I say personally."
The easiest are usually the books in between and sometimes the one's I really liked. With a book that's just middle of the road, it's easy to pick out the pro's and con's with little struggle. Those reviews I can type up, let be and come back to when I'm just about to post and make sure everything looks how I want it to."
Danielle from There's a Book"Well, I would say the "somewhere in between" reviews are the hardest to come up with content for, but the awful ones are the hardest to press "publish" on! :) If I love a book, I can't wait to sit down and type out what I loved about it and share it with the world!"
Andye from Reading Teen"The hardest reviews to write are unquestionably the ones for books that reduce me to a sticky puddle of undying affection. For some reason it’s much harder to write a coherent review when my reaction is deliriously happy than when it is underwhelmed. When I sit down to analyze it, my mind naturally gravitates toward pinpointing what went wrong in the reading matchup that was me and that book. When nothing went wrong and everything was bliss, it’s harder to delineate the salient points that made the whole thing so great. That said, sometimes the words just flow and everything is in synch. I think it often depends on my frame of mind and what other distractions are calling my name. So I try to wait to write the review until I can give it the attention it deserves."
Angie from Angieville"The awesome books that I love and want everyone to read. Those are the hardest. How to write them without sounding gushy or fan-girly."
Pam from Bookalicious"I find it harder to write reviews for books I love. Gushing is for twitter, it doesn't belong in reviews....not much anyway. Sometimes everything falls into place and you love a book without being able to pinpoint specific reasons why. Easiest....plain awful writing. Then it becomes an issue of not sledgehammering the poor author."
Adele from Persnickety Snark"Books that are awesome are the easiest to write as well as books that are really awful. It's those ones that are somewhere in between that have me staring at the computer screen with a blank stare on my face."
Natasha from Maw Books"The reviews that are hardest to write are the ones where I loved the book. I get tongue tied and have fewer words to describe how much I loved the book. I often feel like I can't adequately describe my love, whereas it's pretty easy to describe my dislike or indifference. I guess this is why I use caps and italics and lots of exclamation points in reviews of books I love!"
Trish from Hey Lady! Whatcha Reading?"Honestly, the reviews that are the hardest to write are the ones that do not leave a lasting impression. I may have enjoyed parts, I may have disliked parts, but when it comes time to review, it is hard putting everything into words. The easiest are probably the ones that I dislike or did not finish. Generally, I find that I have a lot to say. But I want to make sure that when writing the review that I am respectful to the novel and its author, and try to find at least a few positives."
Kate from The Neverending Shelf"Reviews for mind-blowingly amazing books. How are you able to express your love for it without it digressing into a brainless rave? Without it sounding like every other review for an amazing book out there?"
Steph from Steph Su Reads"The somewhere in between books. Often these are the forgettable books and they make little personal impact. It's hard to come up with anything to say about them."
Amy from My Friend Amy
