Top 30 SF Signal Posts for October 2013

Posted on November 2, 2013 by John DeNardo in Meta // 3 Comments

In case you missed them, here are The Top 30 SF Signal Posts for October 2013 (excluding the much-loved daily link posts and free fiction posts):

top posts

Tim Ward // November 2, 2013 at 7:48 am //

That’s interesting how only one of those posts was a book review (Carl’s). That and what I hear about what readers read reviews, or how few do, just makes me think about the time spent writing them, especially if I’m going to go below a four-star rating. Cheers to SF Signal for the diverse content. There are some, like the Max Gladstone article, that I missed and look really interesting. I started reading him last night and wow, the guy has some serious talent.

John DeNardo // November 2, 2013 at 9:31 am //

>>…makes me think about the time spent writing them, especially if I’m going to go below a four-star rating

I’ve heard several reviewers take that stance and I think that’s a mistake if one cares enough about maintaining reviewer integrity. Posting only positive reviews prevents readers from getting a true sense of what a reviewer likes, which includes books they *didn’t* like.

Also, if you are concerned about review hits rates…negative reviews typically draw more attention than positive ones. Posting only your positive reviews like you suggest would only contribute to the problem you see, not solve it. (And let me be clear: I expect and require all reviews to be written honestly and respectfully, i.e. not drummed National Enquirer style up to generate hits.). For the record, I don’t see reviews not making this list as a problem. It is what it is. The 10 reviews we posted last month did over 1,200 views. that’s not bad, is it?)

I understand that writing honest, negative reviews is hard, believe me. It’s especially difficult when we folks in the blogososphere are so casual with the writers on social media and at conventions, or when that writer was gracious enough to be interviewed for our blogs or write a guest post. How do you negatively review an online friend? A reviewer has to face these questions. Even so, I still think it’s a disservice to the readers, the reviewer, *and* the writer to pull punches.
- Paul Weimer (@PrinceJvstin) // November 3, 2013 at 7:17 am //
  
  Yes, I agree. Like Tim, I have noticed my reviews generally get much less traction than other stuff.
  
  It’s the meh reviews that I am most hesitant to publish. Meh is the worst reaction I can have to a book, since its not even negative, its…lifeless. I didn’t submit a review of a book I read recently to SF Signal precisely because it was Meh.