Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
Author Resource Round Table
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Recourse if you have a concern about a review?
If I were you, I'd let it go. It's not worth getting a reviewer angry, which you'll never know if you will until it happens. And then, it's too late.I don't think that would deter readers from picking up the book. If anything, they might do it to see if you really did that or not.
BTW, even if we don't say anything outside this thread, if the reviewer is on GR, (s)he can see it from your author's page. this is why it's better not to mention anything anywhere. :(
I've received many frustrating reviews myself, and I ignore every single one. It's easier said than done, but it gets easier! I agree with G.G. That review will not prevent someone from picking up the book.
David,A review is posted by readers to share their subjective opinion with other readers, not as a personal message to the author. Your work will receive good, bad and unremarkable reviews over time. Don't obsess over any of them and do not respond to any of them or seek to personally contact a reviewer.
Yeah, I kind of figured. Having it as my very first review is obviously a bit frustrating, to say the least. But I agree it's best to let it go. Thanks for the feedback. :)
You know what they say about opinions, everyone is entitled to theirs, whether it makes sense or not. It's a three star review and what they mentioned didn't seem to detract from their average enjoyment of the book. Just click "like" and move on is my advice.
It's hard to deal with a "bad" or "average" review so you're not alone! I agree with most people here that you should let it go. When it happens to me, I try to go to the next novel idea or the next book in the series. Once I learned how to do that, it's still hard to do but it helps a lot!Patti
Remember, too, that although we think of 3 Stars as "neutral" or even "bad," it says "I liked it" when you mouse over 3 stars. Try to take the positives from what the reviewer said, even if they misunderstood a few points in the book - especially since they assured readers of the review that what they "misunderstood" didn't ruin the book for them.
Let the wrong things go. You can't correct stupid, and trying will just get you dirty. If there is anything in the 3 star review that is true, cherish it. You need both high and low star reviews to give your book that valid feeling. Readers read for different reasons, and every thing the Reviewer points out as bad might be exactly what the next Reader is looking for.
Blah! The Reviewer gave me a 4 star in goodreads, while only a 3 star on Amazon. I'm very happy for the reviews, but color me confused. lol
David wrote: "I've just received my first review of my book on Amazon and it's a three star review, which is average. I asked for an honest review, so if that is the quality of my writing, I'm fine with it."David,
It's amazing, but many people do not actually read what's on the page. There is absolutely nothing you can do about this except play the numbers game. In time, with enough reviews everything will even out. It's unfortunate that your first review is based on something the reader imagined, but the situation will change over time. Just go into a closet and scream at the top of your lungs, then get back to something meaningful and/or fun.
I'm at work, so there's nothing meaningful or fun around. :( lol
Remember the people who buy your book are people. Not perfect and very varied in their openions. We received a review on our book Space Freighter with only one star we were disappointed till we read the review which was in its way very complementary. The guy was disappointed that the excitement started too late in his opinion. But said we were good writers and great story tellers.The review right above it is 5 star thanking us for letting them get to know the characters before the plasma bolts started flying.
You cant please every one so.... you gotta please your self. :-)
Yes, let it lie. That's how it goes, you'll get reviews that don't get what you are doing or why.For example, in my novel Old Habits I created a sort of slang for a character in my fantasy book to represent the fact that he was a gutter thief from a different area. It was less opaque than the slang in A Clockwork Orange, for example, but used words oddly, such as saying "I featured" instead of "I figured."
A couple of reviewers didn't get it; they thought it was strange or poor writing. Oh well. Other people will get it.
it's decent. aim for 3 or higher and keep pumping out books. even some of the 'greats' got their share of bad ones. they bought it and read your stuff. you good
I agree with everyone here. For one, a three star review is considered a good one. Like J.D. stated, high and low ratings are good for your book.You said it was a bad one, not nasty. Just wait until you get those!
And consider that the reviewer didn't say anything about poor grammar, or weak characters, poor writing, or anything along that line. This is what kills a book. But just because one reviewer didn't get it, doesn't mean other readers won't....
David wrote: "My question is, what do I do about it?"My question would be why do you think anything should be done about it? A three star review is good, not bad. If they misunderstood something... so what? Unless that part of your book was not clearly written, there's nothing you should do about it. Just be happy you have three nice stars on your book and move on.
I think the fact that you asked people not to let the reviewer know you've posted this indicates you know you shouldn't address it with them, too. Right?
Dwayne, I've edited out parts of what I originally posted, so it seems like I'm just complaining about the reviewer not following the story. That is not the case. :)My concern with the review is that some of what said is not true. It was said that I did something and I went back and checked, and I didn't do it. Like saying you didn't cross a T, you go back and see the T was actually crossed. I don't believe it was intentional, I think there was just some misunderstanding. So my question and reason for posting this thread was, do I correct something that is wrong, or just let it go. Letting it go is the route I've chosen.
As for asking people not to take this out of the thread, this post isn't to call out anyone, I'm very happy that the reviewer took the time to read and review my book. I was simply asking what people think the best recourse is, the answer to which has been made loud and clear.
Don't say a reviewer spoke "Not true" They said what they felt to be the truth. Ask why they felt that way instead of saying tehy were wrong cause in their mind they were telling the truth.
David wrote: "Blah! The Reviewer gave me a 4 star in goodreads, while only a 3 star on Amazon. I'm very happy for the reviews, but color me confused. lol"The number of stars means slightly different things between Goodreads and Amazon. Maybe they simply got confused trying to match up the meaning of the stars. It can confuse readers/reviewers. It has confused me when I've reviewed books I've read before.
David wrote: "My concern with the review is that some of what said is not true."Let it go. Sometimes reviewers make mistakes. Sometimes they say things we don't like in their reviews. It's not good practice to bring it to their attention, or even post about it in a public forum. You have a three / four star review. That's good. Someone took the time to read your book and share their thoughts on it. That's good. If they bought the book, you got some royalties from it. That's good. Don't turn a good thing into an ugly scene over a complaint about a missing T! They may pull their review, change their rating to a one star, etc. It's best to just be thankful for their time and attention and move on.
David wrote: "My concern with the review is that some of what said is not true. ..."I believe if this is a real problem, another reader will correct the reviewer - that's what the comments and discussions are for.
The author should stay out of it. Of the authors who try to 'fix' something, a tiny fraction occasionally manage it, and then go on to write blog posts about it. They are outliers. The ones who try and get egg all over their face are the vast majority.
Play your odds, and stay out of it.
If something is so bad that it goes against the Terms of Service for Amazon (if we're commenting about a book ON Amazon), it can be reported - again, best if that is done by someone OTHER than the author.
Also, as you get more reviews, readers who read them will vote them up or down, and the more negative ones that are not valid will slowly sink to the bottom of the review list. Readers are smart - they are like the mills of the gods: they grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.
I have had to tell reviewers ahead of time that my books were written for children because of a general problem with getting poor reviews because the reviewer didn't realize the book was for children.
The funny thing about getting reviews is that we spend a lot of effort getting someone to care enough to actually read and review our books. We try everything we can think of to get them to write reviews, trying hard not to poke the bear (Amazon) by using the wrong methods. While we are seeking the reviews, any evidence that someone read our work would be music to our ears.When they finally cough up a actual review, it doesn't live up to our hopes and desires. I want 200 five star reviews on every book in the first month of publication. Maybe, I should stop holding my breath, grow another layer of skin, and write another book.
Just saying, let's chillaxe.
My advice as a reader only is to let it go. The more said about it, the bigger deal it will become. The review is fine to me. It wouldn't sway me one way or the other but a comment from the author on the review would turn me away. The reader explained what worked and what didn't for them. If you try to tell them they read it wrong you will likely turn off potential readers/reviewers.
Just let it go. Reviews are for readers NOT authors. Don't interact, don't read them, don't make a fuss. Go write another book.
Some very very wise advice being given here from everyone.Right on, A.W.--RIGHT ON!! 'Nuf said, case is closed...
(but please continue on if you wish:)
I once had a reviewer say 'ah yes; the ashes in the urn are indeed the simplest form of human' (or something to that effect) and nothing else. (Ashes is the title of my book, but nowhere is either cremation or urns mentioned) It was a five-star review, so that was very nice, but I still don't know what they were talking about. I think some reviewers just get really confused.
I know most of you say that reviews and ratings are for readers and not authors and that we, as authors, should ignore them, but there are certain sites, promotional, for example, that won't take books that don't have a four star average rating or higher.
As well as being an author, I also read and review others books, so I understand what it's like from the reviewer's standpoint as well. I even had an author get angry at me once for something I wrote in a four star review. (I often get books free with no strings attached and I like to do the author the favor of a review.)
If you don't want anything less than a four or five star review, you should tell the reviewer that in advance. If they are unable to honesty give it four or five stars, then they don't have to post anything, and you would then be relieved of your duty to post a reciprocal review. This approach solves the problem of writing and receiving dishonest reviews and the problem of writing and receiving poor reviews which could damage book sales.
Jawanza wrote: "If you don't want anything less than a four or five star review, you should tell the reviewer that in advance..."I have to disagree with this. The reviewer has no obligation to the author to do anything what-so-ever. It seems unprofessional on the part of the author to ask for a four or five star review and unprofessional on the part of the reviewer to agree to such a thing.
Also, the author has no duty to give a review to the reviewer. It's always best to not approach the reviewer at all. There's no need to respond to it, even if it's three stars or less or even if they misunderstood something in the book. Just let it go.
The Just-About-Average Ms M wrote: "I can say, and rather bluntly, I fear, that if any author told me in advance that s/he didn't want anything less than a four- or five-star review, I would immediately rate that book wth a big one-s..."Yeah, this is an email and a book I'd hit delete on immediately. I recommend that you never, ever do this. You cannot prevent bad reviews. Everyone will not love your book no matter how you try to manipulate the scores. You can't possibly control readers who buy your book from leaving a less than stellar review unless you are emailing them and asking them to change and/or take it down . . . so what's the point?
The single best thing you can do if you get a bad review, even one you think is unfair, is say "thank you very much for your time" and move on. Remember, reviews are only meaningful in aggregate, so don't let yourself get too cheesed off by any single review. If you get a reputation for being touchy and hard to work with, it will negatively impact your ability to get reviews. I actually wrote a blog post a while back that deals with this and other promotional issues that you might find helpful. https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
Dwayne wrote: "the author has no duty to give a review to the reviewer...."Reciprocal reviews are against the terms of service of Amazon and Goodreads. Please don't request them or agree to do them. It is impossible for two writers to be unbiased when each is writing a review for the other.
And even if they thought they could be perfectly honest, the appearance of bias is there for any reader who knows what's going on.
David wrote: "The single best thing you can do if you get a bad review, even one you think is unfair, is say "thank you very much for your time" and move on. Remember, reviews are only meaningful in aggregate, s..."And do that mentally. Reviewers do not want to be contacted by the writer. Reviews are for readers. If the writer can take something useful out of them, fine, but that's not what reviews are for: they are for customers to tell other customers about their experience.
Reciprocal reviews are against the terms of service of Amazon and Goodreads..."Very early on when I was trying to get reviews for my debut novel I entered into one of these agreements. NEVER again! Even if it wasn't against policy, there is absolutely no way you can remain unbiased because the danger of getting nailed with an unfair belligerent response to your work if you don't say the book you read in exchange was wonderful is far too great.
What I HAVE found to be infinitely more helpful and productive however are Beta Review Exchanges. After you finish what you feel is your final draft but BEFORE you publish, you should seek out other authors to trade work and give constructive critiques (NOT reviews). Very often a couple more sets of eyes on your work will help you notice weaknesses in your writing or plotting that you never would have noticed otherwise. In the long run this will improve the likelihood that your final product really is a marketable work.
I have received notes in my Amazon deliveries from various companies that say, basically, if you love us post a positive review on Amazon, if there's a reason you're displeased let us know how we can make it better. Would it translate to books?
DJ Zippergirl wrote: "...would it translate to books?"I don't think there is any problem at all with requesting reviews. In fact, I think especially if you self-publish, you kinda have to if you want anyone to ever read what you wrote. However, when an author asks for a review, you should be aware that is a pretty substantial request to make because you are essentially asking someone to spend anywhere from 5-40 hours (depending on the length of your book) reading and then critiquing your work. With that in mind, you should NEVER stipulate what kind of review you want. No reviewer who has a substantial following and has been doing it any length of time would ever agree to that, so in the end it is counter productive, because assuming your work is good, you always want more reviews not fewer. Be polite. Be appreciative, whatever the review turns out to be. In short, if you want to be treated like a professional writer you have to act like a professional.
DJ Zippergirl wrote: "I have received notes in my Amazon deliveries from various companies that say, basically, if you love us post a positive review on Amazon, if there's a reason you're displeased let us know how we c..."That's an attempt to get around negative reviews, and it's dodgy at best. Of course a provider would rather you not post a negative review of its product, including books!
You may respond as you please, obviously, but if it also keeps you from posting an honest negative review where people can see it, you're affecting the review system.
You'd then have to decide which is best: honest reviews, or the off chance of improving the product (which is what the provider claims it will do with your comment).
David wrote: "I don't think there is any problem at all with requesting reviews. In fact, I think especially if you self-publish, you kinda have to if you ..."Requesting reviews is fine and necessary.
Offering to review in exchange for them is not. And it is least good when the offer is between two authors.
There are many schemes to get around the problem of generating reviews. Editorial reviews such as Kirkus cost money, don't guarantee a review, much less a good one, and claim to use unbiased 'professional.' But it is a big money maker.
'Services' on the internet which claim to find reviewers - for a fee - and that this is okay with Amazon and Goodreads, use various ways of justifying what is again, a moneymaker. Read their offers and the details VERY carefully.
Reviews from readers are VERY hard to get. We authors know this, and that we need reviews, and that we probably won't get 'caught' most of the time. The temptation is great, and this is where you have to define for yourself where the ethical line is, and where the appearance of ethical is. We have to live with ourselves now, and in the future if something comes out.
Just make your decision consciously, because you may have to stand behind it, and 'everybody does it' may not be a good enough defense.
Alicia wrote: "Offering to review in exchange for them is not. ..." I agree. I mentioned that in a previous post. I find that I generally have more luck getting reviews by seeking out book bloggers and sending a formal review request with synopsis and cover art per their individual review policies.
My impression, too, is people will review if they LOVE or HATE something, but most of the lukewarm responses probably never get posted.
Never write a reviewer who gave you a bad rating or review. The minute you do you become an author behaving badly and that's a hard label to shed believe me. You may believe the reviewer is misunderstanding something but your better off letting them have their opinion. If you come off defensive..again everything I stated above comes to light again.
Justin wrote: "Never write a reviewer who gave you a bad rating or review. The minute you do you become an author behaving badly and that's a hard label to shed believe me. You may believe the reviewer is misunde..."This. And if they have gotten something wrong, other readers may/should correct them, not the author.
If the review is egregiously bad, it can be reported - but the list of things which qualify (hate speech, personal attacks on the authors, and very few other things) for, say, Amazon to remove the review is a very short list. And Amazon doesn't take kindly to attempts by authors to game their system.
Best to stay out of it.
I agree. Authors shouldn't ask reviewers for just four or five star reviews. The reviewer should be able to write an honest review. An author should never respond to a negative review.
Ignore it. The fallout from arguing is likely to be much worse than an innaccurate review. Sometimes people just don't get it and it is all very subjective.
Question fo readers: how much weight do you put on a 1 or 2 star rating with no comments, just the rating?
If a person has a one star review to me they are saying all they need to say right there. Maybe its followed by a sentence or two but if they leave a 1 star review and a lengthy review to me they want attention and want people to know how bad they think the book is.
So what does a one star rating mean to you?
Goodreads Authors/Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
The Reflections of Queen Snow White (other topics)Old Habits (other topics)
My concern with the review is that some of what said is not true. I don't believe it was intentional, I think there was just some misunderstanding.
My question is, what do I do about it?
Do I send a polite message to the reviewer pointing out what I feel they missed or misunderstood? Or do I respond in the Amazon comments section? Ignore it?
The reviewer is not a member of this group and I'd please ask that nobody say anything outside of this thread.
Thank you, rather frustrated,
David.