Spoilers in Reviews

I’ve run into this a lot and feel the subject needs to be addressed.  There are book reviewers out there who fail to put spoiler alerts and often give away key plot points, including the ending.  This is detrimental to the book, potential readers, and the author.  Many people, including myself, are less likely to buy a book if we already know what will happen. The point of reading a story is to take the journey and discover what happens as we go along.  Sure, we all try to guess what will happen, but it’s the anticipation of seeing if we are right or wrong that makes it so much fun.

Yes, there are some people out there who may not have considered this or prefer to know what will happen in a book ahead of time.  A couple of people I know actually read the end of the book first before starting at the beginning.  They may even be the ones that like reading reviews with lots of spoilers.  While this is weird to me, they are free to make their own choices.

My problem is revealing plot points/endings to those of us who don’t want them is rude and inconsiderate.  Most of us prefer to be surprised.  Not to mention it more than likely results in an author losing sales.  Whether you enjoyed the book or not, and are revealing certain points to make an argument, there will be those who don’t want to know.  Let them have the chance to discover the story for themselves.

Another alternative is to mark the portions of your review that give away too much as being a spoiler.  Then at least people can skip that part if they don’t want to read it.  I’ve done this in cases where I really felt something in the latter parts of the novel needed to be addressed.  I put a clear ***Spoiler Alert*** so no one would accidentally read it.  Most of the time, though, I just try to be vague while still addressing a concern or a scene I really liked.

A good rule of thumb you can use for full length novels is to not reveal anything too specific beyond chapters two or three (depending on when the twists and turns start).  Also, if it’s in the novel’s synopsis you should feel safe writing about it (provided you don’t go too far and reveal the outcome).  For novellas/novelettes you don’t want to give away anything beyond the first chapter and should probably even use care there.  A good reviewer can give an opinion without revealing too much (or at least mark it with a spoiler alert).  If you know you have reviews where you may have said too much, PLEASE go back and fix them or add alerts.  Do it for the good of all the readers out there who don’t want a story ruined for them.  It’s just a common courtesy.

I truly believe this is a major issue within the reading community and it needs to be addressed.  On Amazon you can report the review, but this option isn’t always available on other sites.  If you are with me on this, I’d love it if you would discuss this on your own blogs.  Spread the word (and encourage others to do so) until everyone understands that unmarked spoilers are wrong.  There will be a few rebels who continue to do it anyway, but maybe we can shame them a bit by making it a public discussion.  Feel free to quote me or reblog this if you don’t have time to put it into your own words.  So long as you’re helping address this issue I’m happy.

Also feel free to leave a comment below or add your own thoughts.

~ by Suzie on January 26, 2013.