My friend Joelle had a contest going on her blog. You download a free e-book that's around
27k and review it and then you're put in a drawing for a free e-book
that's around 54k. Sounds like a sweet deal. (Which it is if you are
into BDSM.) She's had several downloads of the free e-book, but no
new reviews.
This makes me wonder
why people don't leave reviews on books. I will, if I finish the book
and it's a 3 star rating or above. If it's lower than that, I won't
leave one. There are too many authors and readers out there who will
attack anyone who leaves a low score and I don't feel like being
bullied. If I can't finish the book, I don't feel I have a right to
leave a review.
I do believe in
supporting authors with a positive review if I can. I know that does
tend to skew the numbers a little, but I just feel that unless I have
something nice to say it's better not to say anything at all. I'm
sure a number of you disagree with me. That's okay. It's more
interesting to have different opinions. It's what makes discussions
more enjoyable, as long as there's no bullying or name calling.
That's another thing
I don't like about book reviews. The fact that people can be bullied
for leaving an honest review. It's why I won't review anything on
Goodreads anymore. If I feel strongly about a book, I'll review it
here on my blog and I'll leave a review on the source of where I get
it. Usually Amazon, though I have picked up a few from Smashwords.
Those sites have a marginally lower instance of bullying.
Why do people bully
others for having different opinions? It's not just book reviews.
It's all over the place online. And offline, though it's not as
pronounced there. Online you're protected by the anonymity of a
computer screen. You can say what you want without repercussions. For
the most part, at least. It's harder offline because you're face to
face and can be penalized for it.
Bullying doesn't
just happen about book reviews. When I was in high school, I was
bullied for being awkward, a bookworm, not being pretty enough, being
slightly overweight, not being able to keep up with my classmates
physically, not being able to keep up with them mentally in some
classes and exceeding them in others, etc. I couldn't get away from
it. I made friends with similar problems, and we banded together to
give each other support. But it wasn't enough and there were times
where I considered suicide as a viable option. It didn't help that I
wasn't getting any support at home. My parents wouldn't believe me
about being bullied because most of it was psychological and
emotional bullying, not physical.
We need to stand up
to the bullies. We need to offer support and help to the bullied. We
need to make sure people know that bullying – online or off –
isn't right. People talk about children and teenagers being bullied.
They need help and somewhere safe to go where they can feel secure
and protected. But it's not just them that are being bullied. Adults
get bullied too. I've spent a good portion of my life being bullied
until I decided enough was enough and started standing up for myself.
It led to more trouble for a while, but it started getting better.
That's the message we need to send: stand up for yourself and it will
end.
* climbs off soapbox
*
