Read it or Don't: Review Books with Integrity

Raise your electronic hands if you've ever committed to reviewing a book, but the due date came and you realized it wasn't going to happen (I'm raising my hand). What did you do? Did you email the author and apologize, explaining your situation? Did you post it at a later date?
 
We often read about authors whose work has been plagiarized, but I had a recent experience where a book review (for my book), written by a wonderful and respected reviewer, was plagiarized. Now this is a nasty word, and in the writing community, we don't want to see it happen, but what about the hard-working, honest, and dedicated book reviewers who read the books and then take the time to share their thoughts? I believe they deserve as much respect and consideration as the authors who write the books. 

Thankfully the review was removed from the blog that same day, and apologies sent out to the tour company, myself, and the original reviewer. It was an appreciated step in the right direction. 

I find that most book reviewers are extremely honest, and these are the reviewers we authors love to have read our books, because we know we can trust them.  The community of book reviewers is smaller than some may realize, and the majority of them take their position in that community seriously. We applaud and appreciate all you do for authors.

What it comes down to is either read the book or don't read it, but a plagiarized review could get a book blog or reviewer "blacklisted" from the community. We don't want that to happen! We want new and fresh insights into books. We want to know what you think, and we want you to be a part of the community--just do it the right way. 

Are you a reviewer who has had a book review plagiarized? Have you ever seen it happen to someone else?  (If you do happen to comment, please do not mention specific blogs, reviewers, or other names and book titles. )

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