14,495 one-star ratings & counting... time to give up reading?
Yes, there really is a Goodreads profile* with 14,495 ratings... and all 1-star!
This curious state of affairs was spotted by a vigilant author who was disturbed to receive a 1-star rating when all of her others were much higher.
I have to admit, this would probably have passed me by. I get quite a few 1-star ratings, especially from readers who object to the present tense!
And, actually, there is a certain masochistic frisson in reading a hostile review.
Of course, it’s a great honour when a reader takes the trouble to write a glowing tribute – it’s what keeps you going when you get stuck with 20,000 words still to go, or find a gaping plot-hole with no apparent way of filling it. Positive reviews provide momentum.
But critical reviews provide direction. Following a couple of stinkers, I completely rewrote the first Skelgill novel. I thought the reviewers had a fair point. (And now it gets much better reviews on average.)
And at a lesser level, minor complaints and gripes help to smooth the rough edges. As a result, although my characters cuss and canoodle when the moment is right, virtually none of this happens in public, where it might cause offence.
As for the prolific (and anonymous) 1-star rater on Goodreads, there has been speculation that this can’t possibly be a real person – it must be a robot that is up to some online trickery.
But maybe it really is just another masochistic aspect of literature, this time on behalf of a reader?
* read more on this thread – you can find the phantom profile with a bit of sleuthing: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
This curious state of affairs was spotted by a vigilant author who was disturbed to receive a 1-star rating when all of her others were much higher.
I have to admit, this would probably have passed me by. I get quite a few 1-star ratings, especially from readers who object to the present tense!
And, actually, there is a certain masochistic frisson in reading a hostile review.
Of course, it’s a great honour when a reader takes the trouble to write a glowing tribute – it’s what keeps you going when you get stuck with 20,000 words still to go, or find a gaping plot-hole with no apparent way of filling it. Positive reviews provide momentum.
But critical reviews provide direction. Following a couple of stinkers, I completely rewrote the first Skelgill novel. I thought the reviewers had a fair point. (And now it gets much better reviews on average.)
And at a lesser level, minor complaints and gripes help to smooth the rough edges. As a result, although my characters cuss and canoodle when the moment is right, virtually none of this happens in public, where it might cause offence.
As for the prolific (and anonymous) 1-star rater on Goodreads, there has been speculation that this can’t possibly be a real person – it must be a robot that is up to some online trickery.
But maybe it really is just another masochistic aspect of literature, this time on behalf of a reader?
* read more on this thread – you can find the phantom profile with a bit of sleuthing: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
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Betsy
(last edited Oct 21, 2015 01:08PM)
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Oct 21, 2015 11:11AM
How long would it take to register nearly 15,000 ratings? It sounds like a troll since it's not likely all those books would be competition for "1-star's" books or that of a friend. Are we to assume that there are no actual reviews? Somebody needs to get a life apart from Goodreads.
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It's odd isn't it? I understand Goodreads are investigating the profile - I hope they publish their findings on the thread (currently suspended).Usually the problem is with fake 5-star reviews ('boosting') - I believe authors can pay unscrupulous operators for this service.
This case is quite the opposite - although I agree entirely with your point about competition; it doesn't make sense!
I have flagged/reported this user, who gave my books 1 stars. Got the least author-friendly response possible from Goodreads. Essentially, Goodreads concluded this user wasn't abusing the system because Goodreads members all use the rating system differently. I'm not kidding.I wouldn't complain about a 1-star review from someone who actually READ the books, but this user has all 1's--nearly 15,000. NO way they read them.
Here's the actual text. Thanks for flagging this to our attention, though we're sorry to hear about the low ratings. We've looked at this user's activity on the admin side, but the profile does not appear to raise any of our standard red flags.
To clarify, it is not our policy to remove ratings posted by our members except in extreme circumstances (see our review guidelines). We also don't have a requirement that members maintain a minimum average rating, as everyone uses the rating system differently. Given this, we aren't able to remove ratings for being one-star alone, and we also aren't able to remove accounts simply because of their low ratings.
As the member hasn't broken any rules and seems to be legitimate, we can't remove any of the ratings. We understand this isn't the answer you were hoping for. However, if you feel a member is being abusive in other ways, please let us know and we'll be happy to look into it for you.
Sincerely,
The Goodreads Team
Thanks for sharing that info - I can empathise with your frustration!I suppose at least Goodreads have investigated and responded quickly.
But I agree - 1-star is fine (-ish) provided you get an explanation - however the bald ratings system exposes the author to criticism without qualification.
If only Goodreads would publish a "% of self" score alongside the rating it would overcome "everyone using the system differently" - for instance if a person averaged 4 stars in their reviews and gave you 5 stars, this would score 125% - and in which case a 1-star from the robot reviewer would be worth 100% !!!
But maybe I should stick to fiction.
This response from Goodreads makes me wonder exactly what does "raise their standard red flags"?
I got ticked off for telling members when they could download a free copy of one of my books!On a related note, today Amazon rejected one of my ad campaigns because it mentioned the reduced price of the novel.
Sometimes you feel like you're walking a bit of a tightrope!
Bruce wrote: "I got ticked off for telling members when they could download a free copy of one of my books!On a related note, today Amazon rejected one of my ad campaigns because it mentioned the reduced price..."
Good grief. Yes, a tightrope is a great metaphor.
