I've just been told by the wife of the guy who wrote the song (she's been one of my best friends for more than 30 years) that they think the author of the book is a fantastic person. In fact, since the book was written, he's come to stay with them on occasion, and they've had a great time with him. He was genuinely thanking people for taking the time to read and review his book. That's how he came across. However, there was also an undertone of anxiety, with him wanting to explain himself, and reassure people that his NEXT book would answer any of their concerns about this one, and etc. I still think it's a not-so-hot idea to respond to reviews, unless there is an actual problem with inaccuracies. I would not have thought any less of him if I'd not read a single 'comeback.' In fact, if I had just run across this book by accident, and was reading reviews and found that each review got some kind of response from the 'author himself,' I would probably not have bought the book. The practice doesn't seem so much courteous (which I've been assured he is) as intrusive. A bit on the icky side. It's especially a shame, as, apparently, he's anything but icky. Ach well. Impressions.
Are you 'trolling,' @J? ...And then he went shopping, bought groceries that included a complimentary bottle of wine and chocolates for every reader.
It makes me a bit uncomfortable and would put me off reviewing, even if I only had nice things to say. I need that distance from the creator of a product to write an honest review (and so do most of us, hence Amazon's rule against friends or family reviewing one's books). But I can see there might be some people who would post a review just to get some personal contact with the author...? To me, it reeks uncomfortably of desperation.
Yep. An author once thanked me for a blog post positively reviewing his book. Looking back at that post, I see that I stated the intention of reviewing another of his books, and I never did so. I suspect his thanks made me too self-conscious to want to review it, even though the un-reviewed book was one that I liked even better.
Bingo. Some writers can get away with responding to reviews, but I find the idea of a writer stalking his reviews online quite creepy. I'm not writing a review for the writer, I'm writing it for other readers. Not that I really write them any more, anyway.
