The Extra Cool Group! (of people Michael is experimenting on) discussion

This is the thread to post your GRegrets. Did you start a flame war you wish you didn't? Did you rate something too high or low? Did you wish you never friended a certain someone? Confess all your sins here.

you have to be first, Jimmy!

Damn! I dug my own grave, didn't I? ;)

I regret starting this thread...

ohhh, wow, so soon?


I'm not sure I have any goodreads regrets, I'll have to think about it.


good question, tho--

No regrets, it's all for fun. If someone takes something I say too seriously that's not my problem ;)

Pretty much what Barkless said.

In life generally I tend to regret most conversations about religion v. secularism or vegetarianism/veganism v. omnivore-ism, but especially within the constraints of message board style communication. Other people's dumb ideas give me frustration-ulcers.

I sorta regret even saying this.

I haven't been at GR long enough to have any regrets. Hopefully that'll change eventually.

yes we must live/engage long enough to have regrets...

i've sort of been regretting reading or telling people I read or something recently.

i liked that suggestion

LOL, I think that's an understatement, Mike! That was an epic debate.

I've started some arguments, expressed opinions that created distance with a couple of Goodreads friends, and written some lousy reviews as well. But, I can't think of anything I regret--I think if I didn't speak my mind, I'd regret it more than speaking my mind and dealing with the consequences.

And everyone has some bad reviews. Right?

I completely regret friending anyone who adds thousands of books to their to-read pile every day. First off, are you ever going to read all those? Nope. Second, I don't care anymore about anything you add especially when it takes up 90% of my update email by golly. :D

Seak wrote: "I completely regret friending anyone who adds thousands of books to their to-read pile every day."

I second that - and add regretting friending anyone who rates books before they've even released. I understand wanting to be nice to your new author friends, but I'd prefer honesty.

Playing devil's advocate, Angel, one of my friends who was going to have a book published sent me an email copy more than a month before the book came out. Granted, I didn't get a chance to read it before the release date anyway..but, just because it hasn't been released doesn't mean they haven't really read the book.

Quite true, Michael, and I have had folks do advance reviews for me prior to release. But as the author, I know who has received advance copies and who has not. There have been folks who rated my books whom I know never clapped eyes on them. A very strange thing to do.

Wow, that is bizarre.

I actually have so many trolls on this thread

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

It's actually starting to be so chaotic >.< and the trolls have guts to make a hate thread about me on facebook.

I think if you are a recipient of an galley copy, you should at least have the courtesy of writing a short review. Just rating and not reviewing is not very helpful, and they aren't called "review copies" for nothing.

Also very true in the more traditional world of brick and mortar, large company publishing. In smaller presses and in e-pub houses, authors do tend to be closer to the process, told where ARC's are sent, informed about reviews, etc.

Boy, have I steered us off topic. Sorry.

So now I have to ask, Mike - how many of those, approximately, do you actually read? Does it seem like a good use of time and resources or do most of these ARC's end up in the circular file?

(I ask because I'm nosy :) )

I'll also add that I post reviews of yet-to-be-released books much more quickly when I like them. If I get an advance copy of something and don't like it, I often hide it guiltily and delay reviewing so as not to hurt the feelings or sales of someone who has me a free book.

are you sure your publisher isn't sending out arcs?

Jimmy wrote: "I think if you are a recipient of an galley copy, you should at least have the courtesy of writing a short review. Just rating and not reviewing is not very helpful, and they aren't called "review..."

Technical note: ARC stands for Advanced Reading/Reader Copy.

And the original point of them is for a group of people to give notes to the author about their unpolished version of their book, not to publicize it and base a review on the unfinished version. They just happen to leak out (much like albums on the internet) and regular folks who will not be in direct contact with the author happen to get their hands on them through various channels. For instance, my GR friend Ariel has a boyfriend who works at Little Brown and they're publishing my favorite author's final, posthumous novel and she's going to try and see if he can grab an ARC of it for me. I don't believe that publishers (let alone editors) want ARCs reviewed publicly at all. They're not the definitive versions of the work.

MyFleshSingsOut wrote: "I don't believe that publishers (let alone editors) want ARCs reviewed publicly at all. They're not the definitive versions of the work."

What about in the gr giveaways? I just received an ARC where the official publish date of February 2011 is printed on it. Maybe they have excess copies to get rid of, but they should expect a review if they're providing it here.

Yep, it's bound in heavy paper with "Advanced Reading Copy" printed on the front. On the back, the marketing plan is listed out.

Eh?Eh! wrote: "MyFleshSingsOut wrote: "I don't believe that publishers (let alone editors) want ARCs reviewed publicly at all. They're not the definitive versions of the work."

What about in the gr giveaways? I..."

the back of several of the ARCs at the store include under: marketing strategy, using arcs. I'll see if I can find one that says it in a second.

okay from my survey which is a bias sample based on my taste. both cronin and dorsey are too classy to print he marketing campaign on the book.

relevant listings
Coehlo lists "online prootion; print features and reviews"
in hanuman's hands lists, " online early reviewer programs, including first look and library thing; blog campaign"
geoff dyer lists (inside the back cover cause he's a little classy) "Online outreach and promotion, including literary and travel blogs"

toni jordan is weirdly also too classy to tell us, or has no marketing strategy

sometimes they are printed like readers for school. I hate that.

Angel wrote: "Seak wrote: "I completely regret friending anyone who adds thousands of books to their to-read pile every day."

I second that - and add regretting friending anyone who rates books before they've e..."

I have no friends who write books, at least so far, but I do have access, on occasion, to books before they are published. I think it is a good thing to offer a look ahead, so folks can either keep an eye out for an exceptional book or get a heads up about a dog about to escape the kennel. I never, ever, put up a review without having read the book.

Thank you, Will - that's what it's all about. Read first, then review...it seems such a simple concept.

Unless you're under a deadline. My professors admitted they often reviewed (academic) books without reading past the introduction.

I avoid writing reviews for books I don't like, mainly because I think in my position (one book in print), it is not in my interests to piss people off.

Having said that, I enjoy writing reviews for books I enjoyed and writing honestly about why I liked them.

Also, it's not like I haven't mentioned books I didn't get into, it's just that those comments are found on forums and in private email conversations with others on this site.

I regret over-confidently stating that I had an ARC. My memory is terrible. The book is really an "Advanced Uncorrected Proof." It does have the construction paper cover and "00"s for page numbers in the TOC.

I suppose that makes it an AUP, then. And if you had an Extremely Uncorrected Untouched Unrepentant Proof, it would be an EUUUP.

I hear they drive the authors nuts, too.

I regret regretting almost everything. And then I regret that.

I write my review and rate the book... then a week or two later I go and change my rating a bit. I think 5-stars was a bit exuberant, or 2-stars was a bit harsh..

This tweaking may or may not be influenced by reading the reviews of other people.