Does the Writing Matter?

The latest in my ongoing interior monologue on the question I wrestle with every day: Is there a disconnect between what appeals to editors and what appeals to the reading, book-buying public?

I had a nicely successful book by a first-time author in 2012. Success was driven largely (I think) by good reviews and word of mouth. The book has about 60 reviews on Amazon and about 50 reviews on Goodreads.

I was doing a sort of post-mortem on this title, reading over all the reader reviews and trying to suss out... whatever I could suss out. The professional reviews were uniformly positive; the Goodreads and Amazon reviews were the usual mix of 1-5 stars, fortunately heavy on the 3-5 scale.

And what I noticed as I read through the reader reviews is this: So few of them comment on the WRITING. The professional reviews often comment on the craft, at the author's facility with the language or mastery of the genre conventions. Can it be that the "average" reader (if this is an appropriate term to use for the "typical" Amazon or Goodreads reviewer) doesn't give a hoot about the quality of the writing?

Herewith some statistics, based on my parsing these reviews to the best of my ability. Please note there may be some overlap among categories:

AMAZON: 50 reviews

8 commented on the pleasurable writing style

28 said they liked the characters, 4 said they found at least one character annoying or unlikable

16 said it was a fast read

22 liked the setting

36 did not mention writing at all

4 did not like the point of view

3 complained that it was not "realistic"

3 liked the sense of humor

2 seemed to be written by reviewers with a personal vendetta against someone or something

2 do not like reading mysteries (So, I ask myself, Why did they read this book?)

2 thought it would be fun to hang out with the author

 

GOODREADS: 60 reviews

14 commented on writing

46 said nothing at all about the writing

12 wrote one-line reviews with almost no content

36 rated the book without saying anything else

16 liked the protagonist and/or supporting characters

3 said the setting was not to their taste

8 complained that certain characters were not likable enough

8 said they "cared" about the characters, 6 said they "did not care" about the characters

 

I guess I could start speculating about what this all means... or I can let the readers of Mysterious Matters do that by clicking on the "Comment" link below!

 

Comments

[JosephDAgnese]

More and more I suspect that just because a person is an avid reader does not mean that that person can write about what he or she has read. That said, most reviews of fiction I see are primarily reacting to the story. The writing is invisible unless it's so bad/so good/so obvious that it begs comment.

Short answer: I dunno.

[Lance C.]

It could be that the people who commented on the plot, setting, characters and pace are actually commenting on the writing, but not in the explicit way that professional reviewers do.

In a way, this is more useful to a lay audience. When a pro reviewer likens the author's style to Stanley Middleton or likens her approach to religious themes to those of Muriel Spark, it's meaningless to 99.9% of people who don't have MFAs.

[Pepper Smith]

I love to read, but I find that I can't rate books or offer much in the way of constructive criticism, unless I've specifically been asked to do so on a work in progress, at which time my editor mode switches in.

I either liked a book or I didn't. I either connected with the protagonist or I didn't. I either loved the pace or I was bored stiff waiting for something to happen. If you want more, I have to approach it as a project rather than something I'm reading for pleasure.

[Charlotte]

This chimes with the vastly differing responses that my book club has to books we read - a few comment on the writing, many don't. I think most readers respond emotionally, unless they have either been taught or have learned professionally (as writers or editors) to respond intellectually.

[Howard Sherman]

As Joseph said - the writing should be invisible. Readers buy the books and the readers are the one who need to enjoy the story. If the pros enjoy it too then so much the better.

[barry knister]

For me, the quality of the reviewer's own writing determines whether I bother with what follows the first paragraph. Someone hopelessly ignorant regarding writing basics is free to express himself/herself, and I am free to ignore the review.