New Blog Post on My Profile: 1* Star Reviews – They were bound to happen……

[Arch , Mod]

I am a writer, not an author and I strongly believe that a writer or author should write their story for themselves. Write the stuff that they like. It's okay if people read your story and like or not like your story, because every story is not for everyone. I do not like a lot of the stories that I read and that's fine or at least should be fine, because the story wasn't mine, it was the writer's or author's story. If I don't like a story, I will give it a 1 star or sometimes if I don't finish the book, I will not rate it at all. If I own the book, I will give it away.

Authors and writers stay true to your story. Some people will like it and some will not. Embrace both feelings towards your work.

[SassafrasfromAmazon]

Alvina & Arc: As a reader, I tend to stay away from books that have themes about which I would not enjoy. I am not a professional reviewer. I like to read, and I find enjoyment in writing/sharing my reviews. I have been wary of giving negative or 1 star, DNF, or abandoned reviews. Nevertheless, I sometimes feel compelled to write such reviews. I give my reasons with specificity so readers know why I’ve given a negative rating—and it is rarely because of the plot (unless it is stupid or totally unrealistic or if one or more of the characters have no redeeming qualities IMHO).

I personally detest negative reviews where the reasoning is incoherent or when it is based on something OTHER than the story itself. In fact, years ago, I commented on a reviewer who gave a 1 star rating because if the price of the Kindle book. This is untenable and unfair to any author.

I have read books that I loved, but found that there were 1 star reviews or vice versa. My belaboring point is that there are as myriad tastes in books as there are in women’s apparel. I don’t think authors should totally discount a succinct, well-written negative review because it could be instructive to the author. Others that are not constructive, I would discount—as a reader I certainly do.

In the end, an author should not get “down” about negative reviews—there are bound to be some. Think about it this way—Lolita was a critically acclaimed book, but had I read it, I would have written a scathing, rebuking negative review of it. See? Everyone is going to have an opinion of a particular book, good or bad. Take the meat and spit out the bones.

[Rachel]

Hey all

Reviews can be a crazy thing.

Everyone's entitled to express themselves and offer their opinions. But as an author, when you really put your all into something and it means something to you and you did your absolute best, of course it can be disheartening for someone to come along and trash it in a few sentences.
People review books in all kinds of ways, some offer genuine critique and some review off the overall emotion they felt from it, good or bad.
I write and also read romance and I also read reviews. I think content disclaimers help a lot when you might have subject matter in your book that veers from typical reader expectations.
Arch is write where she says authors need to write for themselves first. You have to be connected to work and believe in it. It makes it easier to handle negativity that may come from a review

[SassafrasfromAmazon]

Hey Rachel. I believe disclaimers are almost a necessity nowadays-and I think it is a fantastic idea. I am in total agreement with you, with one exception. I am not an author, but I thought authors gaged the demands of readers and wrote their books accordingly. I’ll have to ponder your’s and Arc’s point of view regarding this aspect.

[Justine]

I like to think that if a book is well written, it will receive positive reviews irrespective of the subject matter. As an example: I'm not a fan of paranormal romances especially those of the vampiric or celestial or shifter characters and tend to avoid them; yet I have read every book of the Black Wolf saga written by Sydney Addae and do enjoy them.

[SassafrasfromAmazon]

Justine- I see your point. Years ago, I would not have read certain genres also. I took a chance, and my senses were engaged and my horizons were broadened. Typically, there are some subjects that may abhorrent to me, but necessary to the effectiveness of the book; however, I would review the book high ratings based on how well-written it was. BUT, I may also briefly indicate what I did not like about the plot, characters, etc. Hence, I am open to reading well-written books, but I often find myself steering clear of certain subject matters. Writing a review solely on my likes or dislikes, oftentimes does a disservice to authors. I now understand that authors feel compelled to write whatever they’ve got inside. That fact should be encouraged. Even so, there may be negative reviews.

In sum, I don’t believe any author goes unscathed, no matter what.

[TinaNoir]

Rachel wrote: Reviews can be a crazy thing. "

I think, rather than a crazy thing, they are simply a subjective thing. There is always going to be that book that seemingly everyone loved and you hated or vice versa.

I once read a review by a white reader who took a star off a book because the author had the black heroine -- a Harvard educated lawyer -- speak "street slang' when she was with her friends. I read the same book, what that reviewer saw as 'street slang' I saw as a code switch. Which to me made the book feel authentic because everyone, even white folks, code switch to some extent.

I've read some reviews where people praise the book to the skies and give it 5 stars. I can read the same book and appreciate the story, but get frustrated because it is riddled with typos, grammatical errors and malapropisms a book like that will never be a 5-star read for me. So some people just have a higher threshold of ignoring bad grammar than others so that stuff won't make it into their reviews whereas it will become the only thing that will be talked about in another review because that is the major takeaway of the book for that person.

You can write an exquisitely written and plotted book and I guarantee somebody will give is 1 star because it was boring or they couldn't connect to your characters you made one of your characters cross the reader's own personal invisible line of no return. I know of one reader who can't abide any whiff of another woman for the hero in a romance novel. Even if he has a girlfriend before he meets the heroine. She will DNF right at a scene of a hero even kissing another woman. To her credit she knows what she likes and tries to avoid those books, even to the point of asking detailed questions before starting a book.

All this is to say, the fallacy is believing (or hoping) that every person who reviews, reviews objectively and on some universal fairness scale. That will never be the case. Everyone brings some baggage and a personal lens through which they view things. And in then end that as much as the book will determine how they feel about it.