That moment when your mind just won’t stop.

I know and realize that this post is incredibly random, but sometimes one just can’t stop thinking. You know? Today is one of those days for me.

I was thinking about readers, writers and reviewers.

I realize that not everyone is going to like ones book idea as much as one would. That’s a given. But, I can”t help but wonder, “How fair is it when a reader gives a book that he or she has read a low rating … not because it was a bad book, but because it was something they wouldn’t normally read?“

Truthfully, I don’t think that that’s fair at all. Let’s look at the reasons why:

The reader picked that book up and read it voluntarily. It’s not like the author said, “Hey YOU! Yeah, you! You better pick my book up and read it right now, or else!” No. The reader chose to pick that book up and read it. KNOWING that it wasn’t in their preferred genre. Willingly.
Giving a lower rating simply because you didn’t like the genre of the book, after you’ve picked it up on your own accord, will also drop the overall rating of the book. This isn’t fair to the author.
This type of thing can potentially impede the sales of the book which has been scored low due to genre discrimination

I mean, I can totally understand when a reader picks up a book within his/her preferred genre and gives it a low rating due to the book not being good. However, I just really think it’s overall unfair when a reviewer says, “This book is really good, but since it’s not a genre that I normally read, I’m just going to go ahead and rate it a 3 stars, cause that’s the best I can give it since I don’t like the genre.“

A good friend of mine had this happen to her. I’m not naming names, but I’ll tell you a little bit about what happened to her. She wrote a story–a good one I might add. Most people whom have read her story, including myself, has loved the book and she’s never gotten less than 4 stars. These scores were well deserved I might add. The story is outstanding.

Yet, one day, a��person��with whom she networked��offered to read her story and provide a review for it. Here, allow me to reiterate: SHE OFFERED!

So, my friend, being grateful for the potential review to come gave that person a copy of her book, explained what genre it was and the premise of the story, and waited. One day,the review showed up. It read something to the effect of:

“This is a great story, with a great premise. It is had this, that and the other, and I highly recommend it for people that read this genre. However, since this isn’t a genre that I typically read, I can only give it 3 stars.“

That’s so totally uncool! You mean to tell me, it’s just okay to lower your ranking of a perfectly good story just because you didn’t like the genre?! If you don’t like that genre then why in the hell are you reading it?!

This kills me. Are there any other authors out there experiencing the same problem? I’m just curious.

Lots of love to you all,

Rosie