Would you tell a friend their book is awful?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I'd only criticize it if I was genuinely asked for constructive feedback, and prepared to give it.

My friend wrote two books, one of them I disliked and one of them I didn't read because I know I won't like it. If she asked me point-blank what I thought about it, I would lie. She is smart enough to not do that, though. As an author you have to understand that not everybody is going to like your work. If you seek feedback it needs to be from people who are going to have constructive, helpful criticism, rather than expecting praise from everybody.

Wow, upon re-reading this comment, I am chuckling at how horribly written it is. That's another thing about writing: it's hard to write well! Honestly even if a book sucks but it has a beginning, middle, and end, I think it's an accomplishment. That's a genuine complement I can always give.

[Anonymous]

This is a similar situation OP to yours https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/1009510.page

[Anonymous]

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like movies I find books to be very subjective. There are books (and movies) that I really hated, but many others liked and vice versa.

So you saying her book is awful - which is an objective statement- isn't fair.

It's poorly edited, lots of typos, a few glaring plot holes, some consistency issues. Yes, it's published by one of the Big 5 (or 4 or 3 or whatever they're done to now). I was honestly surprised at the quality.

Were editors not involved??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I'd only criticize it if I was genuinely asked for constructive feedback, and prepared to give it.

My friend wrote two books, one of them I disliked and one of them I didn't read because I know I won't like it. If she asked me point-blank what I thought about it, I would lie. She is smart enough to not do that, though. As an author you have to understand that not everybody is going to like your work. If you seek feedback it needs to be from people who are going to have constructive, helpful criticism, rather than expecting praise from everybody.

In this case it's too late for constructive criticism, because the book is already out. It's not like OP's friend can call her editor and be like, "Hey, my friend just gave me some good notes about some plot holes and bad editing. How about we recall all copies and fix these, then go again."

OP - just tell your friend how proud and excited you are for her. Go to a reading. Buy a copy. Of course you don't tell her the book is awful - what kind of a monster would even contemplate that thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I'd only criticize it if I was genuinely asked for constructive feedback, and prepared to give it.

My friend wrote two books, one of them I disliked and one of them I didn't read because I know I won't like it. If she asked me point-blank what I thought about it, I would lie. She is smart enough to not do that, though. As an author you have to understand that not everybody is going to like your work. If you seek feedback it needs to be from people who are going to have constructive, helpful criticism, rather than expecting praise from everybody.

In this case it's too late for constructive criticism, because the book is already out. It's not like OP's friend can call her editor and be like, "Hey, my friend just gave me some good notes about some plot holes and bad editing. How about we recall all copies and fix these, then go again."

OP - just tell your friend how proud and excited you are for her. Go to a reading. Buy a copy. Of course you don't tell her the book is awful - what kind of a monster would even contemplate that thought.

Our mutual friends.

[Anonymous]

No I would not. I would identify the best things about the book and praise them a lot, then identify the worst single thing about the book and suggest she work to improve that. And then I'd go back and praise whatever I liked about it again. Compliment sandwich.

I would never tell anyone that their book is "awful." It takes so much work to write a book, any book, even a bad one. People who bother to go to the trouble honestly deserve encouragement. If they try to sell the bad book, it won't go well and that feedback will help them either get better with their next book or move on to something else. But as their friend, your job is not to give an objective assessment on the quality of their book -- you are not an agent or editor. Your job is to support their dreams and encourage them to keep working at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like movies I find books to be very subjective. There are books (and movies) that I really hated, but many others liked and vice versa.

So you saying her book is awful - which is an objective statement- isn't fair.

It's poorly edited, lots of typos, a few glaring plot holes, some consistency issues. Yes, it's published by one of the Big 5 (or 4 or 3 or whatever they're done to now). I was honestly surprised at the quality.

Were editors not involved??

Honestly, it seems like they weren't. I know that's not the case, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I'd only criticize it if I was genuinely asked for constructive feedback, and prepared to give it.

My friend wrote two books, one of them I disliked and one of them I didn't read because I know I won't like it. If she asked me point-blank what I thought about it, I would lie. She is smart enough to not do that, though. As an author you have to understand that not everybody is going to like your work. If you seek feedback it needs to be from people who are going to have constructive, helpful criticism, rather than expecting praise from everybody.

In this case it's too late for constructive criticism, because the book is already out. It's not like OP's friend can call her editor and be like, "Hey, my friend just gave me some good notes about some plot holes and bad editing. How about we recall all copies and fix these, then go again."

OP - just tell your friend how proud and excited you are for her. Go to a reading. Buy a copy. Of course you don't tell her the book is awful - what kind of a monster would even contemplate that thought.

Our mutual friends.

They might be your friends but they aren't hers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I'd only criticize it if I was genuinely asked for constructive feedback, and prepared to give it.

My friend wrote two books, one of them I disliked and one of them I didn't read because I know I won't like it. If she asked me point-blank what I thought about it, I would lie. She is smart enough to not do that, though. As an author you have to understand that not everybody is going to like your work. If you seek feedback it needs to be from people who are going to have constructive, helpful criticism, rather than expecting praise from everybody.

In this case it's too late for constructive criticism, because the book is already out. It's not like OP's friend can call her editor and be like, "Hey, my friend just gave me some good notes about some plot holes and bad editing. How about we recall all copies and fix these, then go again."

OP - just tell your friend how proud and excited you are for her. Go to a reading. Buy a copy. Of course you don't tell her the book is awful - what kind of a monster would even contemplate that thought.

Our mutual friends.

Honestly, I never say this - but I would guess they're being jealous and catty. The book may be terrible - plenty of books are - but it's really a pretty big deal to get a novel published, esp by a big publisher. Your friend made it through some terrific odds, so someone thought the book was worth putting out.

Maybe some of them are frustrated writers, too. Or maybe they're just jerks. Or letting off steam. I don't know. But no, under no circumstances do you tell your writer friend that you hate her book, and here's what you wish she'd written instead.

If someone asks you to read an unpublished manuscript that they are using to shop for an agent or a publisher, you can offer actually constructive criticism (if you want). But no, once a book is published - your job is to be supportive. Vent and be mean in private if you must, or if that's your friend dynamic, but you never express anything except exuberance and support once the book is out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I'd only criticize it if I was genuinely asked for constructive feedback, and prepared to give it.

My friend wrote two books, one of them I disliked and one of them I didn't read because I know I won't like it. If she asked me point-blank what I thought about it, I would lie. She is smart enough to not do that, though. As an author you have to understand that not everybody is going to like your work. If you seek feedback it needs to be from people who are going to have constructive, helpful criticism, rather than expecting praise from everybody.

In this case it's too late for constructive criticism, because the book is already out. It's not like OP's friend can call her editor and be like, "Hey, my friend just gave me some good notes about some plot holes and bad editing. How about we recall all copies and fix these, then go again."

OP - just tell your friend how proud and excited you are for her. Go to a reading. Buy a copy. Of course you don't tell her the book is awful - what kind of a monster would even contemplate that thought.

Our mutual friends.

They might be your friends but they aren't hers.

To be fair, we're all more like acquaintances at this point. I'd still never say anything to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like movies I find books to be very subjective. There are books (and movies) that I really hated, but many others liked and vice versa.

So you saying her book is awful - which is an objective statement- isn't fair.

It's poorly edited, lots of typos, a few glaring plot holes, some consistency issues. Yes, it's published by one of the Big 5 (or 4 or 3 or whatever they're done to now). I was honestly surprised at the quality.

Were editors not involved??

Honestly, it seems like they weren't. I know that's not the case, though.

I've had two novels published by traditional publishers. The editing process is a lot lighter than you'd imagine. I recently had to go back and re-read one of the novels and it was torture - there were typos, mistakes, some plot holes, some pacing problems. And yes, this went through editing - substantive editing, plus copy editing. It happens. Editors are overworked. They have to do more with less.

I have a book that my agent is shopping around now - it's been a year; I can't quite give up hope - and we've tried to get it as close to perfect as we can, because we know that few editors want to take on a project. They want something that's close to finished, because they don't have the bandwidth to take something that's good but needs work and transform it into the book worthy of going on a shelf. I got notes back from one publisher that wanted tons of revisions before they would consider publishing it because they want to buy a book that is ready to publish. (I made the revisions... eight months ago. This industry is torture except for the few people for whom it is not torture.)

Anyway - just to say that probably the editor did what they could. Your friend did what she could. Shyt happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I'd only criticize it if I was genuinely asked for constructive feedback, and prepared to give it.

My friend wrote two books, one of them I disliked and one of them I didn't read because I know I won't like it. If she asked me point-blank what I thought about it, I would lie. She is smart enough to not do that, though. As an author you have to understand that not everybody is going to like your work. If you seek feedback it needs to be from people who are going to have constructive, helpful criticism, rather than expecting praise from everybody.

I mostly agree with this, except that I think it's actually okay for writers to send their work to friends and expect some praise. Like even if the praise is "oh my gosh it is so impressive that you finished this book." It is okay to expect your friends to praise and encourage you -- that's a normal function of friendship. There are limits, of course, you can't expect them to offer continual praise and you can't expect them to lie constantly. But it's okay to turn to your friends for support and encouragement.

Being a writer is very hard. You get a lot of rejection from the industry itself, some of it constructive but plenty of it not. Writers have to develop a thick skin in order to submit and persevere. But having supportive cheerleaders in your friends and family is basically essential. I can't tell you how useful it is to have a friend you can reliable send a link to who will say "Oh my gosh, I loved this, you're amazing." Not every day, but like on the very rough days when you need the encouragement. Everyone needs encouragement.

Also, most excellent writers were once quite mediocre. There are exceptions, and some writers are better than others at ensuring their failure happen in more private settings (MFA programs, writing groups, etc., and not in publication) but I can pretty much guarantee that most books you read and love were written by someone who has a graveyard of bad short stories, poems, books, plays, etc. behind them. Again: writing is very hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like movies I find books to be very subjective. There are books (and movies) that I really hated, but many others liked and vice versa.

So you saying her book is awful - which is an objective statement- isn't fair.

It's poorly edited, lots of typos, a few glaring plot holes, some consistency issues. Yes, it's published by one of the Big 5 (or 4 or 3 or whatever they're done to now). I was honestly surprised at the quality.

Were editors not involved??

Honestly, it seems like they weren't. I know that's not the case, though.

Sounds like yet another industry forever changed by covid - now even book editors just don't care about their jobs.

[Anonymous]

No I wouldn’t say anything since it’s already published. I would say congrats and find something I liked about it to mention.

I have a friend, whose books I don’t like, who asks for positive reviews on Amazon (doesn’t ask if I like it, just asks for reviews). I won’t do it because I think it is misleading and compromises the system.