Can you delete a negative review?

[Anthony]

I've had a reviewer that signed up on goodreads and all he did was give me a one star review. Found that strange since his only friend also gave my work a one star review which was okay since he has a history of being critical. It's his right to not like my work and rate it according to his standards. I took exception to his friend (if he's not actually the same guy doubling down) that repeated the low review with some sort of obvious vendetta against my work. Leaving the one star review is all he did. I notified Goodreads and asked for help in removing what I consider an illegitimate review. The active member I didn't have a problem with. They were absolutely no help at all. So, good luck and I wish you the best. Please let me know how it works out.

[Jim]

A book rating and/or review from an individual is merely a personal, and therefore, subjective, opinion. The publication that prints personal reviews determines their legitimacy, not the author. Most literary classes, seminars, books and periodicals strongly recommend that authors not take a poor rating or review personally and to never attempt to contact anyone who issues a rating or review, positive or negative, regarding their work.

The vast majority of avid readers choose never to post a rating or review. Sales drive reviews more than the other way around. Sales reports and the resulting royalties paid to the author provide an accurate measurement of a book's success, not reviews.

My advice: ignore the rating in question and focus upon striving to continuously improve upon your basic writing skills. Whatever you choose to do, will be the right decision for you. I wish you success in your writing career.

[Miss M]

Nobody owes ANYbody an explanation for how or why they rate books here. Very rarely you may see a bogus account that has
one-starred thousands of books and that would be something you could report to Goodreads for possible fraudulent activity. And authors commenting on negative reviews or ratings is a quick way to get reported and lose your Goodreads Author status.

[Laura]

Thank you!!! I appreciate your feedback.

[Mellie]

GR users can rate/review/shelf however they want. Some users will put a placeholder star until they get around to reading. Some people simply won't like your book (shock horror) and they do NOT owe you an explanation.

Also stalking a user and asking them to explain themselves is one way to get yourself marked as a BBA and get on the wrong side of a large number of GR readers. I would delete your comment, leave the user alone and STOP looking at your book page if this is how a single 1-star affects you.

[Spencer]

My first rating on Goodreads for "Collecting the Dead" was almost a year before it was published and it was a one star. What was frustrating was that the only person who had the manuscript was my editor (and no, he didn't give me the one star).

That said, there's nothing you can do about a bad rating expect realize that no matter how good your book might be, there will always be a small percentage of people who dislike it. You could write the next "Gone With the Wind" or Harry Potter book and at least five percent of the population will hate it.

The equation flips at the other end of the spectrum: No matter how bad your book is, there will also be some who rave about it. Take comfort in the good reviews and just make sure your writing is the best it can be.

Oh, and "Collecting the Dead" went on to consistently earn four and five star ratings . . . with the occasional one-star or nasty comment to keep me humble :-)

[Jimmy]

I gave a one-star review once and was harassed by the author. There is no excuse for that. I usually have high reviews. Readers have the right to vote in any way they choose.

[Steven]

If it makes you feel any better a well known author recently had his latest novel published. I noticed on amazon that 25% of the mere 8 reviews after 3 months on the market are one or two star reviews. I am sure he is not exactly thrilled, so I guess we're all vulnerable. I have had same experience, but in my case only with a short story with a theme that could've been construed by a simplistic, knee-jerk mind as being morally objectionable; this person simply saw what he or she wanted to see in the story, the theme of which was not controversial in the least.

[Rita]

You wish!

[Yen-Tzu]

Hi Laura,

We actually do not allow specific reviews/ratings or members to be singled out in our official groups. Given this, I have removed your comment and closed this thread.

It's also worth noting that it is against our author guidelines for an author to reach out to members who give their book a negative rating or review. If you are concerned about a specific member or their rating/review, please contact support(at)goodreads(dot)com instead so our policy team can look into the situation for you.

I'd recommend taking a look at our author guidelines if you'd like to find out more about best practices for authors on the site:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/guid...