如何不去處理負面評論

How not to handle bad reviews
 Source:Guardian 2011 12.24

Self-published author Jacqueline Howett's online meltdown after a poor review quickly went viral, proving the internet has finally removed the line in the sand between reviewers and authors

個人出版作家杰奎琳•豪威特的線上計劃在經過一番批判的評論後很快的變成病毒瓦解，證明互聯網終於在評論家和作家之間移除藩籬。

 The internet has wiped out the traditional divide between authors and reviewers. Photograph: Alamy

Writers, said the science fiction author Isaac Asimov, fall into two groups: "Those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review."

互聯網已經消滅了作家和評論家之間傳統的鴻溝。攝影：Alamy

科幻作家艾薩克•阿西莫夫說，此可將其分成兩組，說：“一種是在任何惡劣的評論中激戰，另一種是在任何惡劣的評論裡背地的激戰。

” Jacqueline Howett falls into the former category. Her now-infamous online outburst against a two-star review of her self-published novel The Greek Seaman on Big Al's Books and Pals, a website devoted to reviewing the output of the independent presses, is less "bleeding visibly", more an out-and-out gorefest.

 Jacqueline Howett(杰奎琳•豪威特)屬於前一類。她自費出版的小說The Greek Seamanon 在Big Al's Books and Pals網站，該網站是一個致力審查獨立出版評論的網站，較少“流血事件”，更多徹底的凝聚活動，因被定為二星級評論引發她線上論壇聲名狼藉的激發對抗。

 But Howett can perhaps take comfort amid the opprobrium flung her way from the fact that more successful authors are not immune to such outbursts. Authors frequently bite back, and it is rarely pretty. Just this week, in fact, there has been much to-ing and fro-ing in the Irish Times, following literary editor Eileen Battersby's review on Saturday of Dermot Healey's Long Time, No See.

但Howett或許可以猛然地從這種爆發的辱罵事實中運用他的方式採取某種適式而其他成功的作家或不能倖免。著者經常隱忍腹背受挫，且很難看。然事實上，就在這個星期，在愛爾蘭時報追隨文學編輯艾琳巴特斯上週六在德莫特•希利的好久不見(A book: Dermot Healey's Long Time, No See)的評論有往返激烈的回應“。

 Battersby calls Healey's book "difficult; it is slow moving and complacent, and at times dangerously relaxed, lacking the urgency of his life's achievement to date, A Goat's Song." She goes on to opine that the author has "attempted to write a young man's book. It doesn't quite work." 

巴特斯稱 Healey (希利)的書“艱困，動作遲緩和自滿，在重要時反而危險的放鬆，他一生的成就迄今缺乏緊迫性，簡直是一種災難。” 她繼續表示意見認為現時作者“試圖寫一個年輕人的書。但它卻沒什麼用" 。

” On this occasion, it wasn't Healey who bit back on this occasion, but a correspondent named Eugene McCabe, who took issue with the review and turned his ire on the reviewer herself, saying he has taken a ghost story of Battersby's published in the Irish Times, which he calls "stunningly bad", and "used it in a workshop as an example of how to avoid writing 'Shite and onions'." Today, though, the pendulum swung back again, with the novelist John Banville leaping to Battersby's defence against McCabe's rather tremendous Joycean epithet, calling it an "ad hominem and scatological assault". 

在此情境，這不是Healey企圖恢復議論的事，一位名為Eugene McCabe(尤金•麥凱布)的記者，對評論發表議題，引發了他對評論者的怒火，他說，他已採取了發表在愛爾蘭時報巴特斯的Battersby的一個鬼故事“，他稱之為”壞的令人震驚“，”在工作坊使用它作為如何避免寫作變成“特屎和洋蔥”的研討會的一個例子。“ 然而今天，鐘擺又反轉回來，小說家John Banville (約翰•班維爾)越過 Battersby 激烈的防禦對抗 McCabe的驚人的喬伊斯名號，稱這是一個“人身攻擊和污穢的譴責襲擊”。

 But all this was rather civilised, really, when you compare it with Howett's gleefully-tweeted meltdown. Big Al did not get on well with The Greek Seaman, which he summarises thus: "An eighteen-year-old newlywed finds herself on a romantic adventure when she goes to sea with her sailor husband on a large cargo ship. However, the ship owner and captain have plans that could disrupt her wedded bliss."

 但是所有這一切都比較文明，真的，當你比較Howett(哈維特)核熔般興高采烈地喋喋不休。Big Al並沒有和希臘海員相處的很好，因此，他總結：一個“18歲的新婚夫婦發現當她與她的水手丈夫撘乘一隻大貨船出海是一個浪漫的冒險，但船舶雇主和船長有的計劃可能會破壞她結婚的幸福。

“ The review, posted last Wednesday, starts promisingly enough: "If you read The Greek Seaman from the start until you click next page for the last time I think you'll find the story compelling and interesting." But Big Al goes on: "However, odds of making that final click are slim. One reason is the spelling and grammar errors, which come so quickly that, especially in the first several chapters, it's difficult to get into the book without being jarred back to reality as you attempt unraveling what the author meant." And he finally awards the book two stars. 

評論審查，發布於上個星期三，充滿希望地開始已足夠：“如果你從一開始讀 The Greek Seaman (希臘海員)，到你下次點及次頁時，我想你會發現令人信服和有趣的故事。” 但Big Al論壇仍舊繼續：“不過，機會不斷的創造但最終的媒合卻是渺茫，有一個理由是拼字和文法錯誤。它來得如此迅速，尤其是在前幾個章節，當你試圖解開筆者意味著什麼，若沒有刺人耳目的回應你很難回到現實中來，這是它很難進入這本書的原因之一。“ 而他終於頒發此書兩顆星。

 Disappointing for Howett, you would imagine. You would be right. Internet reviews being what they are, it's easy for an author to respond directly to their critic should they choose not to be one of Asimov's secret bleeders – and Howett did so, all guns blazing. Her major beef seems to be that Big Al read the wrong version of the book, when she had asked him to download a "cleaner" copy. 

你能想像Howett的失望。你可能會是正確的。互聯網評論它們是什麼，當作者選擇應該不會是Asimov(阿西莫夫)的秘密流血者時很容易直接回應他們的批評， - 所以 Howett這樣做，所有的槍支熾烈。她的主軸似乎是，當她請求他下載一個“乾淨”的副本時，Big A讀錯書的版本。

 "You obviously didn't read the second clean copy I requested you download," she says, "so this is a very unfair review. My Amazon readers/reviewers give it 5 stars and 4 stars and they say they really enjoyed The Greek Seaman and thought it was well written. Maybe its just my style and being English is what you don't get. Sorry it wasn't your cup of tea, but I think I will stick to my five star and four star reviews thanks." “

你顯然沒有看過我請你下載的第二個乾淨的副本，”她說，“所以這是一個非常不公平的審查。我的亞馬遜讀者/評論他們給它5星和4星級評語，他們真的很喜歡The Greek Seaman(希臘海員)，並認為這寫得很好，也許它就只是我的風格且在英國是從未有的東西，對不起，這不是你要的茶，但我想我會堅持我的五星級和四星級的感謝。“

 And there it might have ended – had Howett not been unable to resist the lure of the comment box. She posts some of her Amazon reviews, to which Big Al responds by quoting a couple of choice lines from the book - including "Don and Katy watched hypnotically Gino place more coffees out at another table with supreme balance." Howett goes ballistic. 

事件有可能已經結束 - Howett無法抗拒的評論框的誘惑。她在亞馬遜發表一些評論，是從 Big Al論壇對該所書所引用回應幾個選擇的路線 –包括 “Don(唐)和Katy(凱蒂)觀看催眠Gino(吉諾)用超級平衡法放置更多咖啡到另一張桌子，Howett 失去理智。

 She says: "Look AL, I'm not in the mood for playing snake with you, what I read above has no flaws. My writing is fine." And: "Besides if you want to throw crap at authors you should first ask their permission if they want it stuck up on the internet." 

她說：“嘿  AL，我沒有心情和你玩，我上述閱讀沒有缺陷，我的寫作很好。” 和：“此外，如果你想對作者丟炸彈，讓它停留在互聯網上，你應該先請求他們的同意權限。”

 And: "You are a big rat and a snake with poisenous (SIC) venom. Lots of luck to authors who come here and slip in that!" Of course, by the time other people have weighed in, linked to the row on their own blogs, and tweeted the exchange – well. Howett is enjoying a brief moment of internet fame, but it's only tangentially for The Greek Seaman. “

而 "你是一隻有毒液的大老鼠和蛇，來到這裡的作者需要很多運氣優遊於此！” 當然，其他人權衡時機，連結掛在自己的部落格，相互交流 - Howett享受一瞬間在互聯網成名，但他與 The Greek Seaman (希臘海員)無關。

 Reviewing's a tough business, and reading reviews of your own work is even tougher. But the traditional line in the sand between a print reviewer and an author – which necessitates taking time to sit down and pen a response, time during which the author will generally come to their senses and decide to take the criticism on the chin – have been wiped out by the internet's immediacy. Howett won't be the last to respond – and she certainly isn't the first. In 2009, Alain de Botton logged on to a critic's blog to denounce a review of his The Pleasures of Sorrows and Work in the New York Times, "driven by an almost manic desire to bad-mouth". Round about the same time, novelist Alice Hoffman tweeted that a Boston Globe critic was "a moron" for his bad review of her The Story Sisters. 

檢討是一個艱難的業務，閱讀評論自己的工作是更加艱澀。但評論家和作家之間的傳統界線已被打破-這需要時間坐下來和回應，筆者將在此期間，幡然醒悟，決定採取聊天似的批評-直接通過互聯網的殲滅。Howett 肯定不是第一次也不會是最後回應-。在2009年，Alain de Botton (阿蘭•德波頓)在“紐約時報的評論家博客登錄，譴責指控 " The Pleasures of Sorrows and Work" 這本書”的評論，“一個近乎狂躁的慾望驅使唱衰”的評論審查。與此同時，小說家Alice Hoffman (愛麗絲•霍夫曼)對於他的著作The Story Sisters.被賦予不好的評論而回應波士頓環球報“的批評是”傻瓜“。

 While it's too late for Howett to learn from these high-profile meltdowns, perhaps she will take on board Big Al's comments. Perhaps next time she'll sit on her hands and count to 100 the next time she reads a bad review. Perhaps she'll adopt Iris Murdoch's philosophical line on reviews: "A bad review is even less important than whether it is raining in Patagonia." Or, given Howett's final posting to the Big Al blog just before comments were closed on the thread, perhaps not. 

雖然對Howett來說學習這些引人注目的融入已太晚，也許她會採納 Big Al's 公開的意見。也許下一次，當她讀一個差評，她會坐下用她的手，數到100 鎮定。也許她會採取Iris Murdoch(默多克)的哲學評論：“一個差評是比在巴塔哥尼亞下雨更重要。” 或在評論的執行線程最終關閉之前將Howett 的評論張貼到 Big Al博客，也或許什麼都不是。

參考資訊 :

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