WTF - Not every day you get a review from a literary agent! :)

[Annie]

I think it's a good review, Mr Tim! Don't think it hurts you a single bit, actually!!

One of my fave reviews is a 3-star too: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Big hugs,
Ann

EDIT: Wrong link. Oops.
EDIT #2: Again *sigh*

[Annie]

I got ur back, Mr Tim! ^_~

Besides, we can always add our 3-stars together and make 6-stars!!!

*claps excitedly*

Okay. I'm stopping now haha!

Extra hugs,
Ann

[Segilola]

Well done Tim

[Kat]

I heard that "All reviews are good reviews"

But that aside, it's a good review!

[Annie]

I lied. I'm sharing one more thing. Here's a critical 2-star review, which I think really helps me even if it's a total spoiler hahaha:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nik]

Ok, guys, you may be mad, but I pulled down 3 posts. WTF is clearly an adult+ book, while our group isn't. We shouldn't bring out its content onto the threads from the back door, neither to encourage anything unsafe. Not cool, I know.
I personally have no problems with whatever discussions, but we must remember that we have minors here

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

Keep in mind that a ★★★☆☆ on goodreads means they liked the book, an equivalent to a ★★★★☆ rating on Amazon. On goodreads ★★★☆☆ is considered positve, better than average.

I'm assuming deleted posts may have been about goodreads reviews since Amazon flat out prohibits materially connected reviews in with the customer reviews (they allow quoted in editorial descriptions reviews from agents, editors, etc.). I'm just now reading this thread so didn't see the OP.

If not on goodreads or Amazon, you should check to see what that site's suggested rating scale considers a 3-star rating.

Newbie agents, experienced agents or would be agents need to be very careful of reviewing in with consumer reviews on U.S. sites like goodreads; they are considered a commercial interest with potentially a direct material connection to the product (aka the book) and definitely a commercial reason for reviewing (if only to entice potential clients). A selection of U.S. and California laws apply including but not limited to making it apparent to general public anything behind a review other than just uninvolved consumer option, disclosure rules for consumer endorsements/reviews, consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, et. al.

Good news is if you don't like that 3-star review and it's on a U.S. consumer review site, you can report it to site staff for removal if failing to disclose reviewer is literary agent.

[Nik]

Sometimes medium-rare star reviews have more selling power than perfectly well done ones, because they highlight something that can attract lots of readers -:)

[Nik]

Excellent! Hope the momentum starts building up

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

Tim wrote: "Thanks, Debbie. She gave a great review. She obviously loved the book. I don't mind three stars, but because the review is so great I wondered why only three..."

On Amazon, ★★★☆☆ means average (meaning to some readers as good as any other book she regularly reads even if not hitting her personal list of best books ever read).

Ratings are so subjective it might show a better perspective to look at her review average and a sampling of her other reviews. She might not rate very many books higher than 3-stars. Unlikely many actual unconnected/unincentivized customers rate a book with a consideration of what they'll do to the book's average rating versus how they rate books.

Some book industry professionals consider that 3-star reviews get more attention from customers leery of massive 5- and 1- star reviews. If she's new to being an agent or trying to be, she might be getting those studies and other marketing information in class touting the benefits of the average rating (or even calculating exactly what percentage of ratings need to be 2-4 stars to make the others seem more trustworthy -- it's seriously something that's taught and buzzed about. Some of the ethically questionable sites selling authors review services with minimum star ratings even say in their site terms that lower star rated reviews can post provided preapproved to not exceed recommended percentage of reviews and subject to removal when that percentage is exceeded (while frequently ignoring that the minimum ratings and preapprovals both are conditions that need disclosing if posting in with U.S. customer/consumer reviews).

Personally, I kept an artificially high star rating average (4.95 on Amazon and 3.95 on goodreads when I reviewed in those sites) because if I didn't like a book I usually did not finish it so did not review/rate (sometimes on goodreads I'd put a rating-less review if something easily explainable about why I ditched the book, for example, if description and shelves/tags made it seem like a cookbook but it was actually a horror genre book or had some element I loathed that I suspected other readers would love).

[David]

For some reason, 3-stars means average on Amazon and yet is interpreted as poor. I've had trouble on one book of mine with that, because I got 4 3-star reviews, and all of them but one sounded like a 5-star! Eventually, the ratings leveled out, as I'm sure they will for your book!

[Nik]

Many bestsellers are averaging around 4..