Nothing Personal
One thing I should probably clarify (not that anybody wants that, particularly), but in the endless promotional footrace on the Twit and, say, Goodreads, there are people who manage to get piles of ratings and reviews, and those who don't (aka, me).
So, whenever someone who's able to get those scads of ratings, reviews, and boosts puts one of their books out there, I always think "Well, they clearly don't need MY help."
Whether those boosts, ratings, and reviews actually drive sales is up for debate, but as someone who is routinely underrated and underreviewed, who has around 700 Twit followers after 13 years (!!) contrasted with folks who have thousands of followers (whatever those actually mean) after being only a few years on the Twit, I hope you'll understand my reticence toward lifting boats that appear to already be lifting by those rising tides. I mean, look at my body of work again:
RELICT: 66 ratings (3.82 avg), 15 text reviews
SAAMAANTHAA: 26 ratings (3.88), 5 text
SUMMERVILLE: 24 ratings (4.0), 10 text
THE CURSED EARTH: 15 ratings (4.2), 15 text
NIGHTFISH: 11 ratings (4.82), 5 text
SUCKAGE: 9 ratings (4.44), 4 text
CHOSEN: 8 ratings (4.62), 4 text
THE HAPPENING: 8 ratings (3.75), 1 text
THE THING IN YELLOW: 6 ratings (4.5), 4 text
NORM: 3 ratings (5.0), 1 text
Only RELICT has garnered a decent number of ratings; the rest? Not so many. Are ratings and reviews indicators of quality? Not really. But they're indicative of successful book-pushing.
In fact, in most cases, when I see others touting their books, they're begging for 80, 90, 100+ ratings and reviews for their books. Most often because they're already gotten piles of ratings and reviews. They're higher on Ratings & Reviews Hill and want to get higher still.
For me, it's like when somebody's got 3K, 4K, 15K followers on the Twit, and they're begging for more followers. Me, sitting on my paltry 700-ish pile of followers, I only look at that and think "What, YOU need more help from ME?"
Give me a break. I mean it when I say it's nothing personal to those of you who've managed to garner those ratings & reviews (however you got them, whatever they precisely mean).
All I know is I'm most certainly swamped by that supposed rising tide folks claim is lifting everybody. Most of the booster brigade (hell, who am I kidding -- nearly all of the booster brigade) are boosting other books that aren't mine. From my POV, that's a game they can all play with themselves; I'm clearly not part of that game -- not just because their books don't appeal to me; but also because I have nothing to give.
That's why I don't tend to boost other books beyond the obligations I already have. I leave that playing field to the players who're supposedly crushing it.
Will these literary luminaries still be here in another five years? Who knows? But right now, they're all scratching each other's backs (among other things), and I'm not putting myself in that prone position to be a stepping stool for them to scale ever higher.
Call it envy, if you want. For me, it's just common sense.
Similarly, I'm not going to help a millionaire get richer -- why? He's already rich; he doesn't need my help, and I don't want to humiliate myself in so doing (not that many indie writers at all are remotely at risk of being millionaires).
"Won't you do YOUR part to lift me still higher, Plebe?" No chance. I guess that means I'm not part of "the community."
So, whenever someone who's able to get those scads of ratings, reviews, and boosts puts one of their books out there, I always think "Well, they clearly don't need MY help."
Whether those boosts, ratings, and reviews actually drive sales is up for debate, but as someone who is routinely underrated and underreviewed, who has around 700 Twit followers after 13 years (!!) contrasted with folks who have thousands of followers (whatever those actually mean) after being only a few years on the Twit, I hope you'll understand my reticence toward lifting boats that appear to already be lifting by those rising tides. I mean, look at my body of work again:
RELICT: 66 ratings (3.82 avg), 15 text reviews
SAAMAANTHAA: 26 ratings (3.88), 5 text
SUMMERVILLE: 24 ratings (4.0), 10 text
THE CURSED EARTH: 15 ratings (4.2), 15 text
NIGHTFISH: 11 ratings (4.82), 5 text
SUCKAGE: 9 ratings (4.44), 4 text
CHOSEN: 8 ratings (4.62), 4 text
THE HAPPENING: 8 ratings (3.75), 1 text
THE THING IN YELLOW: 6 ratings (4.5), 4 text
NORM: 3 ratings (5.0), 1 text
Only RELICT has garnered a decent number of ratings; the rest? Not so many. Are ratings and reviews indicators of quality? Not really. But they're indicative of successful book-pushing.
In fact, in most cases, when I see others touting their books, they're begging for 80, 90, 100+ ratings and reviews for their books. Most often because they're already gotten piles of ratings and reviews. They're higher on Ratings & Reviews Hill and want to get higher still.
For me, it's like when somebody's got 3K, 4K, 15K followers on the Twit, and they're begging for more followers. Me, sitting on my paltry 700-ish pile of followers, I only look at that and think "What, YOU need more help from ME?"
Give me a break. I mean it when I say it's nothing personal to those of you who've managed to garner those ratings & reviews (however you got them, whatever they precisely mean).
All I know is I'm most certainly swamped by that supposed rising tide folks claim is lifting everybody. Most of the booster brigade (hell, who am I kidding -- nearly all of the booster brigade) are boosting other books that aren't mine. From my POV, that's a game they can all play with themselves; I'm clearly not part of that game -- not just because their books don't appeal to me; but also because I have nothing to give.
That's why I don't tend to boost other books beyond the obligations I already have. I leave that playing field to the players who're supposedly crushing it.
Will these literary luminaries still be here in another five years? Who knows? But right now, they're all scratching each other's backs (among other things), and I'm not putting myself in that prone position to be a stepping stool for them to scale ever higher.
Call it envy, if you want. For me, it's just common sense.
Similarly, I'm not going to help a millionaire get richer -- why? He's already rich; he doesn't need my help, and I don't want to humiliate myself in so doing (not that many indie writers at all are remotely at risk of being millionaires).
"Won't you do YOUR part to lift me still higher, Plebe?" No chance. I guess that means I'm not part of "the community."
No comments have been added yet.
