Recourse if you have a concern about a review?

[Sarah (Presto agitato)]

James wrote: "Question fo readers: how much weight do you put on a 1 or 2 star rating with no comments, just the rating?"

If it's from a reviewer I know, it might influence me. I may ask them about it. If I don't know the reviewer, it has little to no impact on me.

[James]

Sarah (Presto agitato) wrote: "James wrote: "Question fo readers: how much weight do you put on a 1 or 2 star rating with no comments, just the rating?"

If it's from a reviewer I know, it might influence me. I may ask them abou..."

That makes a lot of sense.

[Alicia]

James wrote: "Question fo readers: how much weight do you put on a 1 or 2 star rating with no comments, just the rating?"

I wouldn't give it much weight. If someone gives a book a low rating, they have a reason - and I want to know what it is before I give it any credence. Without knowing where a reviewer is coming from, how would I be able to evaluate their rating?

I find that people who write reviews tell you as much about themselves as about the book - which is what I need to evaluate their words. Heck, I might even like a book precisely because of what someone else dislikes. But I won't know without some words to go with their rating.

[James]

Alicia wrote: "James wrote: "Question fo readers: how much weight do you put on a 1 or 2 star rating with no comments, just the rating?"

I wouldn't give it much weight. If someone gives a book a low rating, they..."

I agree with you, Alicia. There are many aspects to a book about which one can comment. And like Sarah says, only if you know the reviewer can a rating alone have a meaning beyond "I recommend" or "I don't recommend."

[David]

Actually, I've found that occasionally 1 Star reviews can actually be good. Regarding my novel:

The Reflections of Queen Snow White

I got drilled in a 1-Star review on Amazon (Still the only one almost 2 years later by the way) because the reviewer didn't like the sex and violence in it. Of course it was obvious to me that they had gone into the read expecting the Disney rather than the Grimm version of the story. They went into pretty graphic detail about how much they thought it was SO inappropriate and the very next day after it was posted I actually had the biggest sales day ever - before or since.

[Alicia]

David wrote: "...the very next day after it was posted I actually had the biggest sales day ever - before or since."

That will show them! I'm sure your book description told readers who were paying attention what to expect.

If you're going to spend a chunk of your life with a book, the least you can do is read a few pages (Look Inside), the description, maybe a couple good and a couple bad reviews...

It's not the money, it's the time! You can't get those hours of your life back.

[David]

It even had a disclaimer.

[Alicia]

David wrote: "It even had a disclaimer."

All publicity is good publicity? Even bad publicity?

[David]

Apparently so.

[[deleted user]]

Sometimes people get it and sometimes they don't. It happens to us all. In the beginning, it can be jarring. But if you want to survive as a writer, you'll have to acquire that thick skin and trudge ahead.

[Zippergirl]

Alicia wrote: "Heck, I might even like a book precisely because of what someone else dislikes. But I won't know without some words to go with their rating."

I always read the 1 & 2 star reviews, because I can guess that the five stars are going to gush. lol

If a book looks interesting, I look to see why the low ratings were posted, and if they are for language, sex or religious issues, I have no problem with reading it. If readers mention torture or animal abuse, I pass.

[Justin]

I've found that if you have a real nasty review you feel isn't constructive criticism and abusive and you want to submit a complaint to GR your going to be waiting a while. I still haven't heard back from them regarding a similar issue and I wrote them twice back in the beginning of January.