Can I be sued for writing a negative book review?
Posted on October 26th, 2007 by admin
deeze asked:
I want to start a Web site / blog for books examination of physical form. If I write a negative review can I be cited by the author? What is the probability that such a case will be in the author 's favour (which considers freedom of speech)? And finally, using an LLC can protect it from possible damage? Thank you, Nick Thanks for the many answers… What is wrong with the quote lines from the book and say this is dumb? As otherwise dimostrereste your point that the book is waste?
Question posted courtesy of: Greg Schmigel’s Book Reviews
I want to start a Web site / blog for books examination of physical form. If I write a negative review can I be cited by the author? What is the probability that such a case will be in the author 's favour (which considers freedom of speech)? And finally, using an LLC can protect it from possible damage? Thank you, Nick Thanks for the many answers… What is wrong with the quote lines from the book and say this is dumb? As otherwise dimostrereste your point that the book is waste?
Question posted courtesy of: Greg Schmigel’s Book Reviews
of course no! It is your review and you have a right for that! Of course the language must be “careful” I mean no bad words!:)
No
Al u said was ur opinion lol But watch out if u cursed
Wadup007
If writing a negative book review was just cause for litigation, there’d be many poor reviewers! As long as you don’t write untrue negative things (e.g. make stories up about the author, which could be libelous) you should be fine.
Review is opinion. If you place it in a blog it is your opinion and you cannot be sued for having one, unless you affront the author by slandering them in your review.
Be careful and tactful in your words and you should be fine.
Good luck!
You can be sued for anything, and you can never rely on anyone to “shield” you from it. Some people take legal action they know they can’t win just to harass and intimidate.
Of course, if you write anything that could be deemed as defamatory then you can definitely be sued for both compensatory and punitive damages, so be careful.
Just don’t say anything about author’s person, his life or personality. Stick to to book. Use euphemism
No, I think a book review is something that really needs to be written by someone who is totally frank and honest. All you’ve got to do is be a little diplomatic – you need not write a steamily disapproving review. You could be subtle and comment on the book’s negative points with some amount humor – that should make things easier. And never, ever quote lines from the book that you find dumb. And make sure your review is constructive for the author, and helpful for the readers.
You can be sued for libel or slander. The rules for that are different in each country. If the author is a public person (usually true) and you are in the US, you can only be sued successfully for maliciously and knowingly lying in your publication.
As long as you’re truthful, you can’t be sued for your opinion. Just make sure that you don’t misrepresent the facts present in the book or misquote the author. If the negativity of your review is based on your opinion of the book, you’re in the clear.
I don’t think so. i’ve written loads of negative reviews on amazon and nobody has sued me yet.
Not unless you make defamatory statements. A book review is nothing more and nothing else than a personal opinion on a given book.
Allow me this little piece of advice though: try to use a neutral tone and try to explain why did you hate the book. Don’t just say “This book sucks.” We’ve all seen our share of those in Amazon and B&N LOL