Armitstead’s Law of Book Reviewing
A good review is considered nepotism; a bad one professional jealousy.
Source: Guardian Blog 'Reviewing the reviewer' by Claire Armitstead http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/03/reviewing_the_reviewer.html
In her Guardian blog of 1st April 2008 occasional book reviewer (and, with her other hat on, reviewed author) Claire Armitstead bemoaned the lot of the reviewer forced to steer between the Scylla of nepotism (”logrolling for friends”) and the Charibdis of alienated friendship. Reactions to her blog were sympathetic one reviewer recalling:
“I once fell out with a fellow writer. His last words to me were ‘You better hope I’m not reviewing your book when it comes out.’”
Others saw nothing wrong with a bit of logrolling, though likening it more to “throwing a few sticks in a river” for friends.
One group Armitstead need not worry about are publishers. As one anonymous contributor put it:
“No one at the business end of publishing cares about a bad review. Good or bad is equally good publicity. It’s no review at all that worries them.”
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