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Ken
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May 09, 2014 07:37AM
I just received two one-star ratings, which didn't do the book's overall standing much good. Turns out neither member has read the book, much less listed it as to read. Does this sort of thing happen often? I would welcome any guidance as to how to fix this and restore the book's pristine (and well deserved I might add) 5 stars.
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That way madness lies. I've gotten some stupid and/or ax-grinding reviews, but I shrug them off. There's no law that says people have to like my stuff, and juvenile reviews are self-refuting.
Um, I'm always a little dubious about pristine five stars, but there is a goodreads glitch that sometimes assigns random two stars. Contact support.If, on the other hand, actual humans gave you two stars for reasons of their own, GR will regard that as legitimate.
Linda wrote: "Why does everyone always assume a 1-star rating is "mean"?"I don't know.
I do not. I bet you do not.
When I get one it tells me someone did not like my book. It's not a personal attack and I don't interpret it as one. Under most circumstances, anyway.
Sometimes the rater will leave a review with some detail. I may disagree with the review, or they may be complaining about something I'm not inclined to change, subject matter, for example, but I'm still not usually going to assume any kind of malice.
By the way, the reason I am suspicious of books with pristine five-star ratings is that I wonder how critical the sources of those ratings were. Not that there is necessarily anything underhanded, but that they were bestowed by people whose motivation was to be nice, rather than give an objective assessment. Many, many readers, myself among them, routinely hand out three and four star ratings to books we've enjoyed.
Linda wrote: "Why does everyone always assume a 1-star rating is "mean"?"I looked at the two one-star ratings. One member marked it as to-read, the other not-read - which I take to be something like owned and not read.
Those members might use the one star as a marker of some sorts, who knows, but I don't see it as being "mean". Perhaps those members don't realize they are skewing book rankings?
*shrugs*
The playground belongs to Goodreads and they get to set the rules and be the referees, just like Amazon does. If I don't like the rules, then I go and find another sandbox to play in.
One-star ratings on Goodreads are given for many reasons. I got one when I first listed my book, same circumstances--never got it, never read it. Eventually it disappeared. Some readers do this to show that they've already looked at it, decided it wasn't for them, and marked it to show that they've already considered it. Other's low rate a book because they don't want it recommended to them. I wouldn't worry too much about it; the only ratings that count are the ones you get on sites like Amazon, where you sell your books. Again, don't worry about it, and never argue about it. It's the reader's prerogative.
I received a 1 star rating from a Goodreads reader because they just couldn't get into it. They never gave the story a chance. Damn that hurt.As a writer I scatter sharks teeth in the surf for readers to find during a nice walk on the beach. The skimmers with their surfboards ride the waves, the speed readers roar past in their sleek racing boats. Both bitch and complain because they didn't find anything.
There are always those readers, those naysayers, but really, what do they look like when the vast majority of readers are providing 4 and 5 star reviews? What kind of reader doesn't give the story a chance? I have my opinion, but it can't be expressed adequately without dipping down into my four letter word vocabulary.
Some things don't have to be said.
Readers wanted. Skimmers and speed readers need not apply.
Ken wrote: "One-star ratings on Goodreads are given for many reasons. I got one when I first listed my book, same circumstances--never got it, never read it. Eventually it disappeared. Some readers do this ..."Thanks Ken for usual words of wisdom. I'm not really worried, and I doubt very much there is even a suggestion of ill intent, just mystified by the process. My remarks about my pristine and well-deserved 5 stars, I only have two incidentally, were not meant to be taken seriously - will I never learn!
Ken wrote: "Ken wrote: "One-star ratings on Goodreads are given for many reasons. I got one when I first listed my book, same circumstances--never got it, never read it. Eventually it disappeared. Some read..."Unfortunately, all too many "writers" have meant it seriously, without a trace of irony.
And um, really, no wrong way to read a book. (Usually anyway--I have a funny story about my husband and the last Harry Potter). Some people will not "get into it." Happens to all of us.
I've had books that I was trying to assign a bookshelf show up with a rating when I hadn't read it or rated it. It may be a glitch but it could be some way that those particular members of goodreads track there books, everyone has there own system.I wouldn't worry to much about it, the more readers you get the less noticable those marks will be. I always figure reviews are to be taken lightly when choosing a book to read, I base my decisions on what the books are about.
Ratings without reviews are just background noise to me, whether they're 1-star or 5-star ratings. I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not going to invest a lot of time wondering what they mean.I do read all my reviews and I appreciate them all.
When I'm choosing a book to read, I only read the one-star or two-star reviews. I can almost immediately determine if said reviews are valid and reflective of an intelligent, well-read, thoughtful person who actually read the book. If not, I dismiss their rating and pick up the book anyway. If I were an author, I wouldn't stress too much on the numerical ratings because I'd trust my potential readers to sift through the reviews and differentiate well-validated reviews from shallow reviews.
As a writer I'm still new to the publishing game but Heather's comment urged me to stick my oar in because I do the same thing as a reader. I go straight for the one and two star ratings too, and read the corresponding comments to judge whether or not I should pick up a book. Martyn's comment rang true as well. As I said I'm new to publishing but as a writer I take comments as feedback so star ratings alone don't say much (though they're appreciated).
I like to see what a reader has picked out as positive and negatives for them in my work. It's good to grow in the craft by recognising your strengths and improving on weaknesses.
That's just my tuppence worth :p
The reviews before release could be a publicity stunt where they offer ARC (Advance reader copy) to readers. (Taken from Wikipedia: It's the book privately released by its publisher before the book is printed for mass distribution.)The high sales without stars could be from a few recent days of 'free' download. It's recent so still on the chart but people didn't have time to read and review yet (they may never do it either).
The low sale and many reviews is harder to spot because it can be so many things. The ranking change every day, so the book might have sold or have been offered free a while ago, and reviews are just getting in, yet the ranking has already plunged. It could also be from read and review on goodreads or other site. It could be from buying the book (or getting it free) on another site such as Smashwords.
Julie wrote: "I hadn't been on the thread in a bit and just now caught up and while it may be mildly off topic my thoughts are related. Does anyone happen to notice that often the overall star rating or even nu..."Yes, I have noticed this too. I often wonder why books with bad reviews (repeated one and two stars) end up at the top of the tables. I suppose it just goes to show that readers don't follow star ratings too much.
Although sometimes a particularly bad review can pique my interest. I won't buy the book because I know from certain comments that what irked the reviewer will irk me too. But maybe others do follow through and buy the book just to see how good/bad it is.
All I can say is that I am a lot better educated now than when I started this thread. Unfortunately, as is often the case when I get educated, I am still none the wiser. On the other hand, it seems wisdom is not a factor when it comes to the publishing game. So my next promotional strategy will be to stand at a busy street corner with a big drum and a pile of books. Maybe a street corner in the BIg Apple outside a bigwig publisher's head office. Might that work? Has anyone tried this?
Ken wrote: "So my next promotional strategy will be to stand at a busy street corner with a big drum and a pile of books. Maybe a street corner in the BIg Apple outside a bigwig publisher's head office. Might that work? Has anyone tried this? ..."
Not me. I'm afraid it'll make somebody mad.
Not me. I'm afraid it'll make somebody mad.
Ken wrote: "So my next promotional strategy will be to stand at a busy street corner with a big drum and a pile of books. Maybe a street corner in the BIg Apple outside a bigwig publisher's head office. Might that work?"It might if you give away a Starbucks gift card with each copy. Or a subway pass.
Ken wrote: "So my next promotional strategy will be to stand at a busy street corner with a big drum and a pile of books. Maybe a street corner in the BIg Apple outside a bigwig publisher's head of..."Make sure you have a sign that says "Starving artist will write for food!"
