I made this non-rebloggable earlier because I didnât want it to leave containment, but after discussing this with some other friends who primarily sell their work via booktok and Insta, this is apparently a thing right now where readers are going out of their way to message authors âhonest and valuable feedbackâ because they believe authors need to be told how to improve.
Except theyâre not giving actual valuable feedback, because being critical of something does not actually mean having constructive critical feedback.
Being able to offer constructive feedback is a skill. It doesnât mean âhaving a negative opinion.â
You donât need to be a professional writer or editor, but you do preferably need to have a basic understanding of technical writing skill, an understanding of the genre you are critiquing and a very basic grasp that just because you do not like something, does not make something objectively bad.
Messaging me to tell me you find something âcringeâ isnât valuable feedback. Thatâs you going out of your way to make sure a stranger knows you donât like them.
Doubling down and emailing me back to tell me you âjust wanted to help,â like help where? Where was the feedback?
What am I supposed to do with that except feel bad and stop writing?
You knew what you were doing and I will hold that mirror up. If the reflection you see makes you uncomfortable, thatâs on you.
Also, as a wider note: donât do this in general, donât tag or email authors in negative reviews.
Reviews are for other readers. They belong in reader spaces. If an author invades reader spaces and gets mad about what they see, thatâs on them. But donât go up to the authorâs online door and demand they acknowledge your personal dislike. Thatâs weird. Why are you doing that? Rate the book one star for your own records and move on to the next one.