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Should You Rate Your Own Book?
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Rena
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Oct 23, 2014 10:39AM

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I did post reviews on my first two books, saying something like "OK, I wrote this book, so I'm biased. Read it for yourself and tell me what you think." I haven't done it since and don't intend to.
I've considered deleting those reviews, but the books were published years ago, so I figure it doesn't matter.



I do use the review space to make comments about the characters or what's coming up next in the series.



I have a 'review' for mine - it says 'my book'.
The only ones I have rated/reviewed are anthologies in which I have stories - and not getting any money for. The reviews are based on the other stories in the anthology.


I would, I hope that is more acceptable then should, focus more energy on writing a strong blurb. If I can feel the passion for your work from the blurb, then I know you feel its a 5* book.

Thank you for motivating me to go scrub it off.


Go to your book, and where your rating is showing, select "edit review". Once you're on the edit page, click "clear" next to the star rating and then save. I think you can also just delete the book from your shelves and then re-add it.

Except we don't read our own books as objective readers, we read them as emotive writers who sweated blood over every word. Ratings are for readers, not authors.
The ability is there and ultimately it's entirely up to you if you give your book 5 stars or not (and many of us choose not to). Readers have expressed their opinion of that practice in a myriad of other threads.

How many people are actually objective about their own work? It's nearly impossible. If I see an author rate themselves at five stars, I assume they are trying to inflate their rating a little. If it's at two, it looks either disingenuous or like low self-esteem. It's not like voting for yourself in a public election; it's like entering a contest and judging your own entry. And it really turns some readers off.

I'm not sure HOW that happened, but if you go to your review and click on the stars, it should let you remove them.

It's obvious to everyone that an author cannot have a subjective opinion of his own work. Ratings and reviews are for readers and are used to determine whether or not they would be interested in reading the book.
Many threads have noted how important the disclaimer on a rating/review is to the reader. You are talking the author who has a financial and emotional interest in the book. How can that be considered of any value to a reader in their decision.
Personally I do not normally read books that have been rated by the author. I have no problem if the author wishes to use the review section to provide additional information or insights and does so without adding a rating. I ignore books whose star rating has been upped by the author rating it.
It really speaks to the unprofessional attitude of the author and is usually associated with ego-driven, self-published authors. It may be permitted here on GR, but readers do not appreciate it.

Any suggestions?

Any suggestions?"
Click edit review, to the right of the stars is the option to clear. I have only just discovered this myself. :)



You can just go to your "read" shelf and click the "x" to the far right of the book to remove it from your shelves completely. Or, you can move it from "read" to "to-read".
To move a book, you can either go it from the shelf page, or just go the book page, and in the section "my review" click the "edit shelves" link.
You can also just create an exclusive shelf called "my books" or similar and move it from the "read" shelf to that one.
I don't think anyone will think anything of you having it shelved as "read", though.

One wrote: "If your book is something you've read and you think it's a great read, why not give it five stars? An author should be able to rate his or her work. If an author writes it and rates it two stars ..."
I did rate my own on Amazon, only because they sent me a list of 'Would you give this book...'.
Noted that the first chapters moves a little slow, some of the language is awkward (it's being revised to correct that) but then pointed out that characterization, complex plot, tension, enough action but not too much made the book an A- at worst, hence deserving of 5 stars.
It bounced. I guess Amazon didn't really mean it when they invited me to rate it! :D
I did rate my own on Amazon, only because they sent me a list of 'Would you give this book...'.
Noted that the first chapters moves a little slow, some of the language is awkward (it's being revised to correct that) but then pointed out that characterization, complex plot, tension, enough action but not too much made the book an A- at worst, hence deserving of 5 stars.
It bounced. I guess Amazon didn't really mean it when they invited me to rate it! :D

My books are marked as "read" as well, because I have read them, many, many times before publishing, and even now I go back over them. I simply do not "rate" them. It would be unnatural to not mark them as "read" in my thinking, to appear not to have read your own book before putting it out there for everyone else to read.
Along with Andrea, I think it would be unprofessional to rate your own book. Of course you would believe it to be one of the best or you wouldn't have had it published, would you?

Except we don't read our own books as objective readers, we read them as emotive writers who sweated blood over every word. Ratings a..."
I read everything objectively, including my own work. If I thought it was a piece of crap, I'd rewrite it before I publish. An authors rating is just one opinion, one that he or she is entitled to.

I just don't count ratings as the word of "God". I've found that a lot of material is over the head of common people and as a result, it gets lower ratings. Some of the material I've enjoyed most for it's ideas and creativeness has been rated average or less than average by the crowd. On the other hand, some weak material has been rated highly, probably friends and family. I really wouldn't be offended if an author rated his or her own work.

It's obvious to everyone that an..."
Everything sold has a financial interest to the seller and somebody is emotionally connected to its production. Car companies purchase ratings and awards. An author rating is own work is cheating and cheesy? I don't think so, it's just one opinion that the author is entitled to have. I guess that's why it's available for an author to do here.

Believe it or not. Many authors can't remember what they wrote by the time they put the story together and publish it. So I think you should read it and rate what you released. It's your personal stamp of approval or disapproval.



I have publicly disapproved of much of my work. Some things I've done I just didn't have the skill to do a professional job of it but I done the best I could, short of my own ideal of perfection due to not having the income to hire professionals. If I put out a book that I feel is not 100%, I won't rate it five star.

My work contains important esoteric and occult information. If I don't necessarily love the way I've presented it, a reader can still have a powerful reading experience from analyzing the information provided in the work. I wouldn't take an average or less than average rating by an author of his or her own book as a signal that the work has no value. It just says that the author feels he or she could have done better and a revision may be in the process.

You have two books listed here and both have been rated 5* by you as the author. They are the only ratings on the books.
What exactly are you referring to when you claim you have publicly disapproved of your own work?

You have two books l..."
I said that "Some things I've done I just didn't have the skill to do a professional job of it but I done the best I could, short of my own ideal of perfection due to not having the income to hire professionals." That would include plumbing, carpentry, roofing, auto-mechanics and other things. After making the above quote, I then returned to talking about the books I've written by saying "If I put out a book that I feel is not 100%, I won't rate it five star." I've done work on things that looks good and it's fully functional but not 100% professional in appearance. If I do a masonry job and it looks a little sloppy, I'm not going to rate it five stars because I done it. I'll publicly tell anybody what I don't like about it. The same applies to what I write, even then, it's just my opinion. You have to see for yourself if the subject matter and book description interest you. I've seen books with several five star ratings and several two star ratings at the same time. Writing is putting down material frequency in print and to the reader it comes off the paper in sound and the sound is interpreted into a stream of material motion. The rating that a work gets depends on how it resonates with each particular reader. You could have 150 five star ratings and 15 two star ratings, with the two star ratings having more value because the two star raters are freer thinkers as opposed to the five star raters being bots of sort, programmed into a certain resonation by their environment(Western, Eastern or whatever). If one writes something, publishes it, I think he or she should read it and rate it honestly according to his or her level of vibration and consciousness.

One wrote: "...I've found that a lot of material is over the head of common people and as a result, it gets lower ratings. Some of the material I've enjoyed most for it's ideas and creativeness has been rated average or less than average by the crowd..."
Onw wrote: "...the two star raters are freer thinkers as opposed to the five star raters being bots of sort, programmed into a certain resonation by their environment(Western, Eastern or whatever)..."
I have copied (above) your condescending attitude toward readers. Your narcissistic ego will push customers away. You are not listening. Other authors in this thread are trying to change what they have done to accommodate their readers.
It has been explained that readers (customers) do not want to have the average rating upped by an author adding his 5* rating. It's cheesy and tacky. In this discussion you've made it clear you don't care what readers want- its about what you want.
So - do whatever you want - but do not expect a lot of readers to buy your book. Take a minute and read the comments on this thread.


Why don't you send each other PMs instead of taking up space here where we could actually learn something positive from one another. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, that's what I'm looking for.
Granted, I'm only the newbie on this site, but this tread seems out of control! Go ahead now, shoot me down for saying it.
There's entirely too much of this that occasionally pops up here. I will say that the moderators generally are quick when they spot it, but that shouldn't discourage you or anyone from calling out childish exchanges.