Thursday, August 26, 2010

Book Embargoes

Even if you don’t have pre-teen or teen kids, you probably remember the brouhaha about trying to keep the Harry Potter books a secret before the due date for them to be bought. The cover was kept secret, bookstores were threatened with retaliation if they sold them before the official premiere date and so on. We heard a lot about that embargo, but embargoes are not all that uncommon.

GalleyCat reports that Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins was recently broken. The LA Times reviewed it and included spoilers. GalleyCat also asked if reviewers should be bound by embargoes.

I’m including a link to the LA Times review, but if you are a fan of the series, you might want to read it after you’ve read the book.

Most of us don’t have embargoes on our books. We send out review copies and ARCs and are ecstatic when someone reviews the book, even before it comes out. But, if you’re a big name or you have an anticipated book coming out, you might be hoping for a big splash and don’t want anything leaked that might spoil the excitement.

So, what do you think? If the publisher asks for no spoilers before the official pub date, should reviewers abide by the request? If they don’t, should that publisher take the reviewer off their list? Or would the publisher just be shooting themselves in the proverbial foot by doing that?

27 comments:

  1. I think it should be by mutual agreement.

    My Darcy Mutates…

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  2. Movies are released to reviewers knowing key plot points will be revealed. I think if reviewers state up front there are spoilers, then early reviews of books are fair game.

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  3. As a reviewer, if a publisher asked that no spoilers be released prior to the official pub date I would honor that. I think doing a review without spoilers is some times a challenge. But at the same time if you like the book you want to entice others to read it. Giving away too many spoilers takes away from a book to me.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  4. I would think that if the publisher requests no spoilers, the reviewer should respect that.It is rather underhand to not do so.
    But again, I can understand what drives some reviewers to include them.

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  5. Books need both pre-publication publicity as well as PR when the book's available, so I think Galleycat is just trying to build up interest in the book as well as suspense. It worked quite well for the Harry Poter series. And removing reviewers from the list because they jumped the gun is just plain silly.

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  6. Reviewers should always assume that spoilers are off-limits, but especially in a pre-pub review. If this reviewer were in my rotation, I would definitely kick them off.

    Speaking of YA books, I happen to be giving away an award-winning one today on my blog. Comment to win at http://stephaniebarko.com/2010/08/26/book-giveaway-7.

    Stephanie Barko, Literary Publicist
    Austin

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  7. YES, reviewers should not ruin a book for hundreds or thousands of people, popular book or not. I'm waiting for my copy of Mockingjay and am worried someone will ruin it for me with a Facebook post. I've been avoiding reading reviews for the same reason.

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  8. Enid, your link says "My Darcy Mutates..." Eiikk! Now you know I have to hop over and see what that's about!

    That's an idea, Alex. Then readers could decide whether to read the review or not.

    Mason, I don't think I would mind a minor spoiler, but don't tell me the ending or the big reveal!

    Rayna, I've been sent a book by the publisher a couple of times and not once have they mentioned not doing a spoiler. In fact, they haven't even asked for a review.

    Jean, I bet there were enough reviewers for Potter that punishing one or two didn't matter. Wouldn't be the same for a new author, though.

    Stephanie, I can see your viewpoint. You're working to get publicity for the author. If readers of a review decide not to buy the book because they already know the end, the reviewer (who got the book for free) has hurt the author.

    Hope you can avoid the spoilers, Theresa!

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  9. Reviewers should be talented enough to review a book without the spoilers that can ruin the experience for readers. That said, it should be stated in a contract that spoilers aren't allowed.

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  10. Spoilers are a bummer. Especially in a book we've all been waiting so long to read. Especially if the publishers ask them NOT to print spoilers.

    If a reviewer feels the need to reveal key plot points, there should be a disclaimer boldly posted stating that fact, so readers can choose to skip over it. Online movie reviews do this quite often.

    But Helen is also correct when she points out that some of us newbie authors don't mind so much if it gets more readers to notice our books ;-)

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  11. I would rather reviews not have spoilers. And if they do, they notify you so you can decide whether you want to read the review or not.

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  12. As someone who has reviewed for print publications and a number of online sites, I know there are ways you can do a review without spoilers. I never give the ending of a book away. Then why would the reader buy the book? If a reviewer does not abide by the publisher's wishes, then, yes, that reviewer should be dropped.

    As an author, I hate it when a reviewer does give the ending away when reviewing one of my books.

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  13. I think reviewers should stick to the agreement or be struck off.

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  14. Unfortunately, in this day and time, spolier alerts are an evil we live with. Its too easy for people to spread the word. No information is safe anymore.

    Stephen Tremp

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  15. I do think reviewers should honor the embargo. Getting a book early is a privilege.

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  16. I put my hat into to enforce embargoes. I do remember the buzz about Harry Potter. The press did giveaway that in the sixth book a major character would die which sparked a lively discussion in my reading group at the time. Everyone had an opinion, I was the one who guessed correctly, but my experience as a writer gave me an advantage.
    Nancy
    N. R. Williams, fantasy author

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  17. When I read a book, I don't want to know the ending before I get to the end. Revealing the end or some important twist spoils the read.

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  18. If it's a thriller or crime book it's damn frustrating if the ending is revealed. In other books that I read more for the artistry in the use of language, and the underlying themes, I may not be that worried about the "surface story" >:)

    I've read The Gambler by Dostoyevsky about ten times, and I still enjoy it. But I can not say that the story is surprising anymore >:)

    Cold As Heaven

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  19. I have read a book before and was well into it before I realized I'd already read it.

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  20. I think people should respect the wishes of the publishers - but it's probably not going to happen :)

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  21. Asking reviewers to hold off is asking a lot though!

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  22. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot the publisher or author can do. But if *readers* are upset with spoilers and tell the reviewers, they'll probably listen to them. :)

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  23. It's not like publishers can wait until a week before the book debuts then send the book to a reviewer. They have to have it ahead of time so they can read it and write the review. And they have to put it in the schedule of all the other books in the line-up. So there has to be trust.

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  24. I think the embargoes help sales for the big name books, but probably IMPEDE for the rest of us. Micro authors have a vested interest in bookstore workers having already READ the darned thing. Later books in a successful series... DEFINITELY ban it. For a first book or an unknown author? we are shooting ourselves in the foot.

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  25. That's true, Hart. Unless you're a huge name, you have to get your books out to reviewers.

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  26. There are two issues here: breaking the embargo, and including spoilers in the review.

    Organizations place embargoes on news items and press releases too. If you sign up to get pre-release info that is embargoed you are essentially contractually agreeing not to break the embargo. To do so is a breech of faith. The organization would be perfectly justified in yanking pre-release access for such action. Whether or not they can afford to do so (yanking access from The New York Times would be sheer folly) is dependent on the situation.

    As to including spoilers in a review, that's just poor form.
    ~jon

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  27. Jon, I recently read a review online that seemed to lay out the entire book, including the ending. I though, hmm, do I want to read it now that I know how it ends? 'Course I can't be sure it did, since I haven't read the book.

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