Leave E.L. James Alone Already
Recently I was part of a group discussion with some fellow authors on the topic of whether we – as women authors – should publish a bad (or even mediocre) review of another woman author if we don’t like or appreciate her book. If your 3, or 2, or 1-star review will lower the overall rating of a book – published by another woman in the industry – should you hit “Submit”?
Responses ranged from “How can we be true to our fans and our readers if we don’t tell the truth?” to “No. Way.”
My own response is an unequivocal “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.”
I would never tell readers and friends that I absolutely love a book if I don’t. I would not even tell them I like a book if I don’t. I just won’t say anything at all. You won’t see me posting a Goodreads review or mentioning a book on my Facebook page unless I love it. (Yes, I love a lot of books. Many of them are by women authors.) I
f I haven’t mentioned a popular book, it may be that I didn’t read it yet. Or don’t exactly get it. Or am having trouble finishing it. Or a host of other reasons. But I guarantee you’ll never see me raking the book (and certainly never the author) over the coals because of my opinion. Because books are art. And art is subjective. And art lays a soul bare. And who the heck wants to be responsible for stepping all over someone’s soul?
Well, certainly not me, thank you very much.
Which is why, when I stumbled upon the #AskELJames thread on Twitter this week, I cringed visibly and then promptly closed my Twitter feed.
Yes, it was a terrible idea. Yes, it was a publicist’s nightmare. But mostly, what saddened me in the thread was to see actual women authors shredding another woman author. E. L. James has experienced tremendous, unexpected, somewhat unprecedented commercial success. That fact does not make her less human. Less vulnerable to attacks on her art. Impervious to personal insults.
Leave her alone already.
It is no secret that the publishing industry skews heavily in favor of male authors these days. Last month, acclaimed author, Kamila Shamsie, in her article in The Guardian, challenged the publishing industry to designate 2018 as the year of only publishing women, after citing facts and statistics about the heavily male dominated world of publishing.
And at least one small press, And Other Stories, headed up by publisher, Stefan Tobler, has accepted the challenge, stating that they would be digging “harder and further than usual” to find great women’s writing to publish in 2018, and publishing only women in that year.
My own award-winning publisher, Nancy Cleary, of Wyatt-MacKenzie, has focused her efforts on seeking out great women authors for the last nearly 20 years (but still includes quality male authors on her roster).
Recently, I was invited to join the Tall Poppy Writers, a group of women writers committed to raising the bar in the world of women’s fiction. A community of writers and readers who is committed to raising up the voices of women writers, not tearing them down.
The success of the Tall Poppy Writers is premised on the fact that we cannot do any raising up, empowering of, or celebrating women authors – by skewering other women authors.
So. We should never, ever, post bad reviews of fellow women authors?
In a word, no.
Leave that task to others. As we well know, there are plenty of other readers who will never shy away from bad reviews. And by the way, there are legitimate book reviewers and critics to take up the real business of critically analyzing the newest releases for public consumption. Leave it to the professionals, as we say.
Post your 4 and 5 star reviews when a book warrants it. Sing from the rooftops (read: post on your Facebook page, blog, or Tweet immediately) when you close a book, sigh deeply, and say to yourself “Now, THAT was good.”
Don’t lie. Don’t be insincere. If you don’t like a book – especially from a fellow woman author – who would blame you for politely excusing yourself from the conversation?
Well, certainly not me, thank you very much.
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Amy Impellizzeri is a reformed corporate litigator, former start-up executive, and award-winning author. Amy’s first novel, Lemongrass Hope (Wyatt-MacKenzie 2014) , was a 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Bronze Winner (Romance) and a National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist. A favorite with bloggers and book clubs, Lemongrass Hope was named the #1 reviewed book in 2014 by blogger, The Literary Connoisseur.
Amy is also the author of the non-fiction book, Lawyer Interrupted (ABA Publishing 2015), and numerous essays and articles that have appeared in online and print journals including: The Huffington Post, ABA Law Practice Today, The Glass Hammer, Divine Caroline, Skirt! Magazine, and more.
Amy is a Tall Poppy Writer and a volunteer for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, three kids, and one energetic weimaraner, where she is currently hard at work on her next novel, Secrets of Worry Dolls.
Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing
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I’m afraid I find the whole attitude of “If you’ve got nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything at all” extremely problematic because way too often it is used to stifle discussions on topics like racism in publishing. In addition, it is far to often used to erase the voices of marginalized groups (just look at what happened in m/m recently – though in that case it was “Don’t shit on my happy,” a argument closely related to “If you’ve got nothing nice to say.”).
To use the #AskELJames as an example of where “If you’ve got nothing nice to say…” should have applied, is perhaps particularly unfortunate because what happened on that hashtag was that many people called James out for romanticizing emotional abuse and for depicting BDSM in a way that was not just plain wrong, but also extremely dangerous. James had been dismissive (and that’s putting it politely) about those concerns in the past, so I think it’s no wonder that this hashtag was taken over. Yes, there were also people who were simply making fun of James’ writing, but don’t throw them all into one pot.
I think that the issue can sometimes relate to mass marketing and publicity that promotes the book and raises expectations. I also don’t like leaving one or two star reviews, but find it harder to be sympathetic when the book is hyped beyond belief. I think a lot of readers were disappointed by ELJ on that basis. There is also a degree of resentment, when we all work so hard on our work. However that’s life. There is always an element of luck when you hope to be published as in any other walk of life. I have read some brilliant self published books and wondered why they hadn’t been picked up.
In my youth and before I published, I left some very scathing reviews of books that had disappointed me. A few years later, I went back and deleted them. I was absolutely appalled with myself that I could be that cruel to anyone about something they had lovingly created.
These days, with my own books on the market, I feel that even more strongly. Readers are able to draw their own conclusions about long-published books without many reviews. There’s no need for me to put anything there at all if I don’t like something. I just close that book and pick up the next one.
Yes!
My own perspective on this issue has changed over time as well!
I agree wholeheartedly with “say something nice or don’t say anything at all”. I don’t leave bad reviews.
Well said Amy!
Women need to support one another and often Twitter and other online forums can feel one step removed enabling people to say things that they wouldn’t were they face to face, despite the fact it can be just as hurtful. I would advocate treating everyone with respect – online or off.
Thank you for raising this important topic.
Warm Regards,
Paula.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment!
I agree with everything you say, except for this ‘especially for fellow women authors’. If a man said ‘especially for fellow male authors’ he’d be shot down for sexism! Women authors are no more susceptible to despair than our brothers.
Whereas I would never trash a book, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing to write a balanced review. Apart from anything, they counteract all the ones from 5* review swap groups between authors, posted regardless of the standard of the book. I’m getting fed up with seeing them; they’re misleading and negate the whole review system.
Thank you for reading and commenting. I have never heard any author say publicly (or privately) that they will post positive reviews of a book regardless of the standard, so I have to respectfully disagree that this is a widespread problem – at least in the women’s fiction genre.
Amy, there are groups on Facebook that provide this service. The authors buy each others’ books and post 5* reviews without them having been read. I’ve been invited to join one. I have also had other authors tell me that they’ve had 5* review swaps suggested to them, and have had two authors suggest them to me. I told them both what I thought, in no uncertain terms.
I’m just pleased for you that you haven’t come across this apalling behaviour!
Great article! Was inclined to agree with you on some points but I have to disagree when you advised us to leave bad reviews to the professionals.
You were totally right when you stated that ad hominem attacks and snarky reviews dis-empower other women writers. But I think withholding a middling ( or even bad) review does a disservice to the writer. How else is your writing going to improve if no one (respectfully )points out the flaws in your work?
Thank you for your thoughts – there has been great dialogue on this issue – and for that I am so grateful!
I agree. I review for a review blog, where we decline to review if we can’t post a 3*, but even with a 3* we are still careful to balance the less positive comments with the good. I think my own writing has improved partly because of negative comments – no book is 100% brilliant, and it’s unrealistic to suggest that it is. Laying out anything you’ve created in front of the public is a risky business; are we such babies we can’t deal with a little constructive criticism? I don’t think so 🙂
You have raised important issues around reviewing and cyber-harassment. As a published author (mainly non-fiction, but also a book for children) I welcome reviews by both men and women and find constructive criticism (not snarkiness) can improve my craft. I too have posted the odd three star review where I thought a book could be improved – one on the menopause, for instance, that I felt was under- researched. This is to support other readers and if I were the author I would find such feedback useful. I don’t discriminate on gender but my reviews from men have been more glowing! As for EL James, much of the attack, which I don’t condone, came because she didn’t address the issue of BDSM and abuse. These days, you cannot ignore your audience ESP on such important subjects. Thank you for an insightful blog.
Thank you for your insight! You raise a very interesting point about under-researched non-fiction where readers might actually be mis-led without further information from fellow readers. In the case(s) you raise, the review might truly be objective, rather than subjective. I appreciate your thoughts!
I agree. Word for word. Agree. Thank you. Even as a professional book reviewer, when a publisher asks me to review a book that I end up not enjoying, I tell them privately my concerns and offer advice to hone their marketing to the population segments I think may be most likely to enjoy it. You will never see me mention that book publicly. However there is no mistaking books I loved. I review, post, tweet, share, talk, gift, interview, any and all.
I will never ever stomp on someone’s soul. Not ever. Not purposely. Especially not a woman’s. We’re stronger together.
Best of luck with your books, Amy. Lemongrass hope is in my TBR pile! 🙂
~MM
Love this. And love hearing how you take the time to express concerns privately – that’s the true definition of constructive criticism in my humble opinion. I’m honored to make your TBR pile – I’ll look forward to hearing your thoughts!
🙂
I need to add that I have, even at the height of SHADES fever when I felt alone in my concern, been uncomfortable with the relationship behavior in James’ books. I am relieved that I was not. I think the discussions about abuse in this case are imperative. Our girls! Our sisters, friends, selves. Though the author herself should not be attacked. All of this said, the EL James/SHADES issues are very different than most negative book reviews. I stand by praising what you love and explaining why so others can tell if they’d feel the same way. Give others room to praise what they love in the cases when you didn’t.
I think that’s a really important distinction to be made – I have tried making it myself – but you put it much more eloquently. Whenever a book raises an important social topic (however inadvertently) – discussions on that topic (here, abuse) should never be suppressed.
not more eloquently at all. 🙂 I simply echoed you.
It’s the personal attack and the vitriol that I had a problem with. I also subscribe to the philosophy that it’s better to advocate for something than to rail against something. It’s a matter of energy concentration and, for me, karma. Literary criticism can be a wonderful thing, even when it isn’t positive. I, too, have chosen not to review a book of a friend because I didn’t enjoy it. When I find one I like, I made sure to offer my support. I think your points are well-taken and the whole Twitter thing about E.L. James reminded me of a riot or mob mentality – disturbing.
Ah yes, karma. I agree wholeheartedly. And I tend to think that positivity can be just as contagious as negativity – so I’m happy to see so many focusing their efforts there instead!
while i do agree with your notion of not attacking el james as a woman/a “bad” writer i do not agree that we should leave her alone.
her inaccurate portrayal of bdsm and romanticized abuse in her writing should be addressed and not just forgotten. it has hurt people both metaphorically and in a literal sense and that should be discussed
So many – including survivors – have stated that the topic of romanticized abuse is a discussion that should be and has been generated by her books. Definitely a different topic than her writing style, influences, or writing experience which have been the subject of volumes of unkind public reviews.
What is that saying? “Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.” I’ve seen a meme like that going around the Internet lately, and it may seem cliche, but it is so true. I do feel like a good review should help me decide if I should take time to read the book, and hopefully a good writer can do that without “bashing” the book entirely.
Melissa,
I’ll have to look for that meme.
I think that sums it up very well!
If I were an art critic, and you rushed to my side with only ten minutes to peruse the Louvre, would it be more useful to you were I to provide a 20-page list of the artwork I thought you should avoid, or if I named for you the three works I thought you shouldn’t live without seeing and told you where to find them inside the museum?
We all agree, unanimously, on the answer to that question.
My theory on book reviewing — both personally and professionally — aligns precisely with this conceit. There are so many books out there that we will never have time to read, and as such readers need guideposts to the books I love, not the books I loathe, for those can just be let to lie undiscovered. This opinion has nothing to do with the gender of the author, but instead my commitment to helping readers find books I consider to be great, burgeoning, works of art. The Mona Lisa, or Starry Night, in textual form.
I turned down the opportunity to review the last book sent to me by the books editor at a national paper. “I cannot review this book,” I responded, “as my review would only hurt the author without providing any real benefit to readers, who in the face of our silence won’t pick up the book anyway.” I take it as a mark of a sound moral compass that the editor agreed. The Golden Rule is a good one by which to live AND review.
I absolutely love the art critic at the Louvre conceit, Ellen.
5 Stars 🙂
Hi Amy — There’s a lot I’d like to say in response to this very thoughtful article of yours. So much, in fact, that I wrote a weblog post rather than hijacking the discussion. But I do want to say two things here: First, that Twitter thread was not a review. That was a coordinated attack. To attack someone publicly is to expose yourself as less-than professional and immature. It says more about you than it does about the person you’re attacking. Cyber-bullying is tolerated (and in some quarters, celebrated) but shouldn’t be.
Second, a thoughtful negative review, one that provides constructive criticism and remains respectful, is a good thing. One of the reasons the wider reading world is suspicious of (so-called) women’s fiction or romance fiction is the abundance of positive, breathy exclamation mark-laden enthusiasm for work that is poorly put together. No one — not the author, not the readers or potential readers — is served by false praise.
Please do leave the link to your own post. I’d love to read it.
Reviews: the good, the bad, the shaming is here: http://rosinalippi.com/weblog/reviews-the-good-the-bad-the-shaming/
Please let me know what you think.
I don’t agree with the mentality that you shouldn’t leave bad reviews. I don’t like leaving one-stars, and for that very reason I stopped reviewing for the most part, but five-stars mean nothing without one-stars. Reviews are not for the author. They are to tell readers whether or not to purchase a book. Too many people leave five-stars they don’t really believe in for us to interpret “no one-star ratings” as the same as “good.” For every one-star we refuse to leave on a book we feel deserves it, it takes away the value from those books who truly do not have one-stars because no one legitimately thought it rated that way.
Plus, negativity sells. Fifty Shades of Grey’s popularity partially has to do with the backlash. It makes people talk about her book, and how most of her fans became informed of its existence. Not that I’m promoting the treatment of her, but if we could remove all bad reviews, we’d just be talking about books less and with less interesting things to say.
I need to add that this was addressed in the blog, but I mean that I don’t think writers should refrain from leaving bad reviews because “enough people are willing to give them.” There aren’t enough three stars, two stars, or even one stars currently for the review system to be taken seriously.
It’s not okay to attack someone and tear them down, but we should be willing to share our experience of a book with others considering buying it.
I’m happy to agree to disagree with you. Although we are in agreement that attacking even authors is wrong. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.
You put this more clearly than I did. If everything is five stars, five stars means nothing. A thoughtful three star review, respectfully put together, is more use to other readers and to the author as well.
When someone is actively hurting other women with their writing, it shouldn’t matter what their gender is when it comes to telling them how harmful their words are to others.
I don’t disagree with you, but there have been many reviews have nothing at all to do (on the surface at least) with that subject.
There’s a difference between reviews and writer misbehavior. Reviews are a reader’s opinion and they are entitled to like or not like books. Writers really should stay away from reviews entirely because it’s a lightening rod for them.
But there are also a lot of writers who go on the attack for any writer who is successful. It’s like they can’t stand that this writer has a blockbuster when the book is flawed while their book is garnering rejections. So they will point at words and sentences and say it’s a terrible book and miss the reason entirely as to why it’s selling in the first place.
Linda,
I do believe that writers (male or female) who begrudge another’s commercial success need to re-evaluate their own motives before putting pen to paper (or, more accurately, before hitting “Submit.”)
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
Great article Amy. I felt the same way. My heart broke for her when I read quickly through some of the Twitter feeds. In my opinion the woman just set out to write a romance novel not Pulitzer Prize. No one would have ever predict; and certainly not E.L James that the novel would take of the way it did. I’m happy for her. I hope she bounce back from all this craziness and keep it moving.
Renee, Thank you for reading and for your thoughts. There has been a great dialogue today – and I really hope it continues!
Hmmmm. I agree with some, but not all, of this. I approach reading as I approach writing: as a person with sensibilities, standards, and preferences, and I do not judge a book based on the gender of its writer. I read fiction by both men and women; my favorite novels are a mix of books by both men and women, and I approach my perspective (i.e., reviews, critique, etc.) with the same lack of gender bias. To do otherwise is, to me, a strange reverse-gender bias which seems counter-productive to what it is women are pushing against in the marketplace: gender bias! I don’t want my work to be judged based on my gender, so why would I do that to anyone else, male or female, good or bad?
And, come on: we’re big girls; we can take a critique… if we can’t, or we expect women writers to treat us with kid gloves based on our shared gender, we might want to rethink our choice of career.
But I do believe in being constructive with my reviews, leaving out snark, unnecessary denigration, or thoughtless ripping apart, which is never necessary… or acceptable. If I’m moved to write a review it’ll be a fair, candid assessment of what did and/or didn’t work for me. If that nets a “3” rating, so be it. If that’s a female writer, so be that, too. If I really hate a book, or don’t feel it deserves even a 3, I move on, male or female writer.
As for E.L.: I read all of the Shades trilogy, originally planning to write a piece on it for my Huffington Post column, but found the books so subpar (for my taste) that I opted out, bowing to the “if you can’t say anything nice…” theory. But look, I applaud her uncanny ability to tap into a HUGE genre of reader clearly looking for easy-to-read soft-core titillation wrapped in the cloak (the dark, red, lascivious!) cloak of a romance novel. She’s found her niche and is looking to milk it for all its worth. Why wouldn’t she? There’s clearly loads of money to be made!
And I’d guess she is not remotely concerned about winning the kudos of writing masters, selective readers of quality fiction, or literary tastemakers. She knows they’re not her audience, just as she knows who her audience is. I’m not too worried about her being crushed by the onslaught… she’s laughing all the way to the bank!
But I think it’s a very slippery slope, particularly in these times of quid-pro-quo review swapping, padded reviews from family and friends, and the wholesale selling of reviews in order to unauthentically raise rankings, to push for “special treatment” from our sisters in the field. I say let’s be fair, thoughtful, and constructive no matter who we’re reading and reviewing, and let the chips fall where they may.
Thank you for your thoughtful response, Lorraine. I also agree with some (actually most!) but not all of your words. I do not advocate for treating male authors differently – and like you, LOVE fiction written by both men and women, and sometimes HATE fiction written by both men and women. And your point about quid-pro-quo review swapping and other inauthentic review efforts is a good one. I advocate for honesty, silence when warranted, and constructive treatment of fellow authors, and sometimes knowing that a better forum for honest feedback is a (relatively!) private – rather than public – one.
I have mixed feelings about this. I always look for the strength in a book and focus my review on that. I never post a 1 or 2 rating. And for a 3 rating I note that it just wasn’t for me. Feedback critique can be honest and even helpful without being unkind. The thing is, there are great books and not so great books. Im not sure we help the cause of women writers when we don’t acknowledge that and review respectfully and honestly. Does that lower the bar?
I know I am a much better writer because I braved getting honest feedback
Carol, great points! We do NOT want to lower the bar, and I definitely don’t want anyone to think I would advocate otherwise – so thank you! I definitely think there are ways to address “not so great books” without public skewering. I just wonder if honest feedback through critique groups, writer forums, etc, might be a better place than Twitter feeds and Amazon reviews.
Thank you for writing this, Amy! It was on my heart to write a response about this fiasco and I hadn’t set down to do it yet. You took the words right out of my mouth.
Thrilled to hear that, Mary!