Do you listen to reviewers?

[Zjelani]

For purchasing decisions, I only look at reviews for products that I'm on the fence about. Most I generally know whether I want to get it or not, but sometimes I'm waffling. However, since I tend to buy most of mine over the net, I don't have the ability to flip through it. Therefore, the biggest thing I look for is a review that lays out the books contents. Next to that, I can usually tell from the reviewer whether they like the same apsects I tend to like or focus on the stuff I ignore, and weigh their opinion accordingly.

The other main way I look at reviews is to regularly read some of the better reviewers out there to get some insight into what the community is generally looking for, and use that to guide my writing. Now, I don't look only at the reviews for this information, but that is an important aspect.

As for reviews of my own work, I'm usually flattered. I haven't had much reviewed yet, but usually they see less faults in it than I do!!

 

[Psion]

As for reviews of my own work, I'm usually flattered. I haven't had much reviewed yet, but usually they see less faults in it than I do!!

Out of curiosity: what did you work on?

 

[Davelozzi]

I understand internal consistency. That's not what was at issue. The reviewer was trouncing the setting because the background material didn't add up, in the reviewer's opinion. In essence, the reviewer rationalized why it could never have come about in the first place. Let me give a made-up example that is along the lines of what was in the review: I'm reviewing a product in which Orcs and Bugbears rule the world. Then I go into detail why this setting couldn't exist or would fall apart based on my assertion that Orcs and Bugbears would never cooperate. That's more of a subjective opinion rather than the discovery of a quantifiable flaw.

Well in that case, we're on the same page.

 

[Zjelani]

Out of curiosity: what did you work on?

Well, only since you asked - I've done some work with Brannon Hollingsworth mostly at Bastion:

• Danger in Deadwood
• Dark Welcomes the 64 page intro adventure in the Oathbound setting book
• A sizeable chunk of Arms and Armor
• And some contributions to several products with a variety of publishers (i.e. a couple monsters here and there, some stuff in Waysides: The Book of Taverns)
• Also I can say that I contributed to the Ennie Award winning Portable Hole!!

The Oathbound work (including the upcoming online adventures we're doing) are the biggest projects we've done to date. However, there's more in the works, but nothing signed yet. So I haven't had a great deal of experience with reviews of my work, but there's been a bit.

 

[Psion]

Well, I can think of at least two of those I saw plenty of flaws in, if it pleases you.

Best hopes for Oathbound, though!

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I think you'll learn that there are some authors out there who can separate the authentic points from the grousing and make a genuine effort to improve their work. Then there are others who will always take any criticism as without merit and continue to put out crap.

I definitely take criticism to heart-- though I think I have gotten more great feedback from Joe G. just in messageboard conversation than in any review.

I don't have a problem with "bad" reviews-- I understand this is part of the process-- but incomplete reviews (especially from the "pros") drive me up the wall. I got better, more in depth reviews from "regular joes" than I did from the pros. While on the one hand I can appreciate that the pro might be so swamped with product that he can't give my work a thorough read, I have a really hard time with a review that spins negative without a single specific point that I can learn from.

Wulf

 

[Zjelani]

Well, I can think of at least two of those I saw plenty of flaws in, if it pleases you.

Best hopes for Oathbound, though!

Thanks! And I definitely saw those reviews and learned from them (although much of what you and others pointed out I was either already aware of or it was out of my hands). But there were other things I wasn't happy with that were never brought up. Either way, it's a learning experience, both from taking a "post mortem" and reviewing my work myself, as well as seeing what others liked and didn't like in their reviews.

Both with the experience of some work under my belt as well as my "real life" being more amiable to freelance writing, I'm hoping future products will be much better.

I have a really hard time with a review that spins negative without a single specific point that I can learn from.

Agreed. I haven't had nearly enough product out there to have many reviews, but at least as a consumer, I hate these kinds of reviews. When a reviewer just spouts off on how much they liked or disliked it without no explanation of why, it is just utterly useless.

 

[Hammerhead]

Maybe it's just me, but I've often been finding many of the "official" reviews less useful than others. Some of them seem more summary than review. They've been reminding of grade school book reports. While lists of the things in the book can be useful, there often isn't a good deal of explaination on why things are good or bad.

However, reviews are pretty useful. I generally examine reviews for things that I already have to get a feel for reviewers.

 

[Psion]

And I definitely saw those reviews and learned from them

Actually, I only wrote a review of one of those products (Danger in Dreadwood.)

The other -- Arms and Armor -- I have yet to write a review for. To summarize my take on it, it was an interesting book that really captures the imagination, but it didn't take me long at all to expose that the values in the book cannot be trusted. For example, a sash described in the book provides a +4 bonus to two statistics for the same price as a single-stat enhancing item. In reality, since there is a second function, it should cost three times as much!

 

[JoeGKushner]

Maybe it's just me, but I've often been finding many of the "official" reviews less useful than others. Some of them seem more summary than review. They've been reminding of grade school book reports. While lists of the things in the book can be useful, there often isn't a good deal of explaination on why things are good or bad.

However, reviews are pretty useful. I generally examine reviews for things that I already have to get a feel for reviewers.

I hate to say it but I'm sometimes guilty of that. Half the time I feel that readers want a summary. They want to know how many prestige classes, monsters, feats, etc... are in a book. The other half, I think they just want a broad opinion that narrows with examples.