A Bad Review about Grammar - A Rant

[cherrystark]

Just taking a second to rant here, but I am SO tired of readers who think that it's their job to critique your work's grammar. I got another review calling out the editing/proofreading on my book. Now, I am not going to let the review stop me from writing. I am just frustrated by the fact they called it "atrocious". Typos happen. Commas can go anywhere. Prepositional phrases vary based on your region. I can't afford a regular editor, so I have to self-edit. I work hard to do my best work. For the book in question, my audiobook narrator is ALSO an editor. I addressed EVERY error she addressed and reuploaded the work. It feels like a slap in the face because some reader couldn't enjoy the work because I chose to stay "stood up" instead of "stood" or "there was" instead of "there were". It's annoying!!!

[HGohwell]

I absolutely agree. It's one thing if you post here in the feedback/review section, or make it clear to readers you're interested in constructive criticism, but I have no interest in listening to someone who appears out of nowhere, who I don't know, giving me their opinion on my work. Things like stood up vs stood is ridiculously nitpicky and the sign of someone not to be listened to imo. Writing is about flow and style, so for me, as long as it's readable and preferably easy to read, most rules can be broken (although I always recommend beginners don't, of course, you need to learn them before ignoring them). Like, I don't remember the author's name, but I remember there's a one of those classic novelists that everyone says is one of the greatest, and he just doesn't use grammar, but it works because his writing is that strong. I dislike the way some of my favourite traditional authors format their books (speech in the middle and end of big paragraphs is the most common) but it works within the book and got through professional editing. So, generally, I think any time I see someone giving advice that I haven't even hinted I'm interested in, their profile pic and name go on my mental ignore list.

Not quite grammar but related, I am British, so of course use British-English spelling. Do you have any idea how many times people have tried to "correct" me on my spellings of certain words out of nowhere? Like thanks for your unwanted input but that's a common and accepted spelling and you're showing your ignorance so I'm going to ignore you now.

[cherrystark]

And we're all human!!! Yes, it's good to have a second set of eyes on your work, but I've read countless books that have had professional editors that have typos. One book had two whole pages were misformatted. I still read the book. Mistakes happen.

Just because it might be "grammatically" correct to phrase a sentence a certain way doesn't mean it's the way I wanted it. It's just so frustrating.

But, at least even with a bad review - I still made money off them.

[HGohwell]

but I've read countless books that have had professional editors that have typos.

The most recent edition of one of my favourite books has a pronunciation guide on the first page, but it has a spelling mistake that is never repeated throughout the entire book, making the guide just wrong. I've also heard there's an earlier edition where the family name of the main character is spelled wrong throughout the entire book, just for this one brief run before it was caught and reedited, and that wasn't even a first edition. Somehow these changes have happened in reprints of best selling professionally edited and published novels.

[powerplantanimations]

Have you tried talking with the reader to see where they're coming from with their criticisms? Sorta like a way to see what they say holds any weight? That's what I do whenever I get people who seems aggressive with their critiques. Sounds silly, I know, but I end up getting a lot of useful contacts this way.

[denise]

People are pretty entitled and assume they can sneak into places where they are not even invited. Worst of all, they want to force their opinion. So, the best possible thing to do in such situations is to ignore them. Eventually, they will understand that their opinion hasn't influenced your work as you've remained consistent. They are bad readers, and moreover, most people don't respect others' writing styles.

[cherrystark]

This was a Goodreads review. I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of their platform, so I thought it best to let it be. The reviewer was mad enough to comment on another reviewer's post to criticize me.

[SoftWonderBun]

I think goodreads is just kinda like that. When I first started reading romance years ago I would check out goodreads to see what was even available in the subgenres I liked and the reviews were very 'this is the best' or 'this is the worst'. I'm not sure outside of romance but it seems like that's what is happening. Don't let it get you down, sounds like they need to just stick to trad-pub and leave indie spaces alone if minor errors cause them that much grief.

[cherrystark]

Thanks. I will get over it, especially since I don't frequent GoodReads. I'm just annoyed. So far, my work has been called "derivative" and grammar "atrocious". But, I'll take those kind of reviews over the reviews people give about toxic work. And, despite the poor reviews, I still made money off her.

[SoftWonderBun]

And that's all that matters in the end! LMAO! If she can do better, she's welcome to try but in the meantime take her money and let her pitch a fit! If it was all that bad that's what DNF is for...

[cherrystark]

It's funny because I expected people would freak out more about how it's formatted. It's meant to be a serial first and foremost. I have added warnings about the style, but there will still be jumps between story arcs.

[Melinda]

I've experienced the same thing! English is not my native language so i tend to make a lot of mistake (probably now too )
I remember someone commented on my webtoon and said my english is suck and it's hard for them to keep going. I forgot the exact words, but it was very rude... and i even made the webtoon for free. I didn't have any fund to hire a proof reader.

Since then, i'm very reluctant to publish webtoon in english anymore cause i'm a sensitive soul and over thinker .

[BoomerZ]

Think we need to separate the the good natured hey you put "to" instead of "too", as a helpful reader (which I always appreciate) and actually attacking someone's work. We all make mistakes proofreading, specially your own. It's how your brain works, it fills in the gaps of what you meant to say. I would say don't take anything a reader says as an attack unless you KNOW it was an attack. It's so easy to be sensitive over stuff you create, but sometimes people are just trying to help. And realize they cared enough to say something rather than just say "screw this, I'm not reading it."

[cherrystark]

Think we need to separate the the good natured hey you put "to" instead of "too", as a helpful reader (which I always appreciate) and actually attacking someone's work.

I agree, but I think there is a time and a place. For example, if I posted an excerpt on Tapas, I need to be graceful about any feedback that I'm given, but if someone blows up my comments with notes on grammar, etc - that's uncalled for and frankly not helpful. A lot of platforms don't give writers the freedom to delete comments/reviews, so even if you addressed the changes they brought up - the negativity follows you. It's also really disheartening if you aren't a native English speaker or are trying out a new writing style.

And honestly, the grammar reviews probably bug me most because the people either treat the grammar mistakes like it completely incomprehensible or they refuse to comment on the actual story. I had a writing buddy whenever I shared what I thought was a fire scene with her, would routinely pick out the errors. I didn't ask her too. I just wanted someone to be excited about the work with me.

*Note: I do think reviews are the place to discuss glaring errors that future readers should know about, like if a story is hard to actually to read or has toxic elements like racism or homophobia.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

What I dislike is when I stated that some of the mistakes are made on purpose/ to leave it alone before the feedback session starts but they correct it anyway. I also personally think dialogues don't have to be grammatically correct as in real life people make mistakes when speaking.

I can kinda get it since grammar is one of the easiest thing to critique, and many don't put that much effort so they go for the easiest route.

[BoomerZ]

I also personally think dialogues don't have to be grammatically correct as in real life people make mistakes when speaking.

This I do agree with, but you have to be consistent in that way of speaking so it comes off as the dialect of the user. You can put a lot of "character" into a person by making them speak a certain way.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

I thought that's no brainer that I'm surprised it needs to be pointed out.

Though, it can be situational too, a character panicking or in a rush is more likely getting their speech riddled with errors than when they are calm. Plus, their linguistic ability can change if the story calls for it.

[DarkSena]

I'm not writing a novel, but a comic. As a non-native speaker I also got a person ranting about the fact that I should do something about my grammar. It made me feel bad as if there's not enough work behind the work already but I did grit my teeth and tried to run over about ten chapter of my comic to check with translator and improve the translation. I understand your frustration and I think the readers should be a bit more tolerant esp towards non-native speakers and look past the mistakes every now and then, since we don't have a whole crew behind our back to correct us.

[TheLemmaLlama]

Hm ... how would you feel if someone asked you if they could do a grammar proofread for you?

I kind of figured pointing out 'nitpicky' stuff such as grammar is considered rude, but there are also clearly people who would appreciate it (myself included; meaningful structural critiques are fun to read but advice that I'd actually implement has to be minor stuff like grammar that doesn't require me to uproot my whole plot to change while still making sense XD) so it feels like a waste to hold back assuming someone is the type to find it rude instead of helpful Is it okay to at least ask?

[cherrystark]

I think it's okay to ask if you know the right people? My problem is that people are "willing" to read it but it takes an act of congress to get them to actually follow through, but even then, they only read a chapter or two.