Merits are “good points”. A critical summary is a short, focused piece of writing. A lack of merits implies a weakness.

‘Grad class’ as in university grad?

Most authors don’t want to hear peoples opinions, they want their butt kissed. I gave up with them when I would spend a good 40 minutes going through the excerpt and being as thorough as I could only to check back later and find they choose the ‘ZOMG this is amazing get this published NOW’ answer. One person has taken the criticism she asked for on board. One. All the others accused me of pretty much bringing them down and (as one put it) ‘crushing my dreams’.

Also half the people on here who post questions like that don’t put the effort in. They don’t give me the basic respect by editing or using yahoo spell check to make it easier to read so why should I waste my time answering them?

I don’t review if it’s a link or it’s if something like 4 sentences.

And then sometimes there just isn’t anything to say. I’ll come across one that’s ok, but I can’t think of anything to add or change. Some are so bad I’d rather not and some are good and don’t really need it.

1. I don’t think the criticism would be well-recieved, and therefore, it is not worth my time to submit a review that will probably just be spit on and ignored.

2. I didn’t actually read it, just kind of skimmed over it because it wasn’t interesting.

3. I don’t have time to review it, and I probably told myself I would get to it later, but I forget and it never happens.

4. I perhaps read the other reviews and see that everyone is saying pretty much the same thing I would have, so it seems pointless to simply restate it.

1. The writer admits they’re lazy. (srry. wrote in hurry. no time to read thru.) That’s lazy. If it’s at the beginning, I don’t even bother to read it. If that’s at the end of the excerpt, I don’t bother to review. And it quite frankly pisses me off. So I normally just write a one phrase sentence of “Come back when you figure out how to write” and that’s it.

2. I don’t honestly have anything to say that I think would actually help the writer. Sometimes, the excerpt is just really really good. Better than what I could write. Sometimes, its so awful that any amount critiquing isn’t going to save it.

3. I didn’t enjoy the story. I don’t review what I don’t enjoy. It doesn’t help the reader to have someone read their book and tell them why they hated it. I think to write an effective review is that you generally have to like something about the story.

4. The author isn’t open for criticism. I don’t review a book where the author is telling off people for not patting them on the back.

5. the author puts conditions on the review. (Just review the story, not my grammar and spelling). Well, I’m sorry sweetheart, but they work as one.

6. I don’t believe in the author. This is the biggest one. And usually what stops me believing in the author is when they do one of the top things I just mentioned. I have met a lot of young writers who don’t write the best in the world. You know that story the wrote is definitely not going to ever see publication. But at the same time, they’re great, because they’re willing to learn. They don’t expect anyone to read something they hadn’t already done all they can to fix it. Those are the kind of writers I believe in. Others, you know will never get any better. They don’t listen. They already made up their mind that they’re great.

Much stuff is poorly (or not) edited, so it is difficult to read, and therefore impossible to review. Some of it is plain senseless. For some reason authors seem to think that you should do them the courtesy of reading their work without them taking the corresponding courtesy of making their work readable

Of the stuff that is readable from that point of view, much is derivative, unoriginal, wish-fulfilment stuff that the author should be ashamed of inflicting on the public.
But there is no point in my saying that because of all the other people hoping to have their work praised who are cooing how wonderful it all is. (And someone who is reviewing your work only in the hope of getting their own reviewed will be a poor critic)

I read very little stuff as a result and write fewer reviews because there is so little to say that will be taken as positive by the author (Learn grammar and spelling, do some research on the background, read lots of good books being generally considered to be negative) – and I have done this kind of thing professionally

Best wishes