Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
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book rating question...what to do?
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Bite the bullet I'm afraid. If you contact the reviewer, it may well come back and bite you on the bum.
Especially in light of the bullying level that has begun to eat up parts of Goodreads. Even calm questioning on the matter could garner you attacks.
J.D. wrote: "So I recently published my second book. I'm doing a giveaway and a couple nights ago I got a 1 star rating but no review. I was bummed because that seemed harsh but whatever, right? Move on. Then..."
J.D.
Your irritation is understandable. That said; try to shrug it off. Ratings and reviews have far less impact upon sales than most realize. Many readers are aware of the fact that quite a few ratings and reviews are now solicited, purchased, or swapped, so they give them little credence. Most readers make up their own mind when it comes to purchasing a book.
I wish you success in future sales.
Has that person been on Goodreads for long? I know that some people have a habit of one-starring books that they're interested in, rather than adding them to their TBR shelf!
Yeah, she appears to have been on since 2007 or so. It's not a big deal. I think you guys are right--I'll just forget about it. :)
That happened to me about a year ago, but eventually it went away. I don't know if Goodreads took it down or the guy did it himself. I think he was using it to rate whether or not he wanted to read the book.
A few months ago I entered a contest on GR. I was on my iPad and I guess I double click at some point. A few weeks later, someone on my friend list added the book and it showed on th daily email. I saw it showed I had read it and rated it two stars. I didn't remember the book so went to check it out and. That's when I realized there was a mistake. I put the book back on to-read but without that friend's update, who knows how long it would have stayed that way ;(I'm not entering giveaways on my iPad anymore. It's too easy to double-click, ;(
Arg... Forgot to say that I can only imagine what the poor author went through in the meantime:( Could be what happened to your book too.
Ah, I bet that's what happened. I often reclick on my iPad because I think I missed the link. I'll take heart in the possibly inaccurate thought that no one who has read the book really hated that much
suck it up and move on. i had that happen and it degenerated into a nasty fight via email... all i asked was what their thoughts were >_> just don't.
Jim wrote: "... Many readers are aware of the fact that quite a few ratings and reviews are now solicited, purchased, or swapped, so they give them little credence..."I think this hurts most of us writers more than a single star review. It saddens me considerably because I have all 4 or 5 star reviews on a novel on Amazon, none of which I paid or solicited for. The closest I came to that was agreeing to read and give a personal critique to an author I know, who in turn read one of my novels. He was the only one I ever swapped with and didn't expect him to post his review on Amazon. I hope he was honest, because I sure was. Other than that, I didn't have any contact with the others. I just know people have seen the positive reviews and think they fall into the category you mentioned. It truly makes me wonder why more people don't utilize the free downloads for the first part of the books to see if they like the writer's story and writing style. I use that quite a bit and quickly find which novels I'm not interested in, and which ones I want to continue reading. That tells a reader far more than any review.
Having just published my first book, I am totally sympathetic. No matter how thick ones skin should be, criticism hurts. Especially when it's unwarranted (a typo!). One writes a book for years. People who choose to review a book should be considerate and thoughtful, and honest. I am looking your book up now! Keep the faith that in the end, good work is rewarded.
Tom wrote: "Jim wrote: "... Many readers are aware of the fact that quite a few ratings and reviews are now solicited, purchased, or swapped, so they give them little credence..."
I think this hurts most of us writers more than a single star review. It saddens me considerably because I have all 4 or 5 star reviews on a novel on Amazon, none of which I paid or solicited for...."
I agree wholeheartedly, and I'm in the same boat with my short-story collections. All reviews were earned honestly, but how does anybody know? My best-selling book is a new one with no reviews at all, and maybe I'm better off because of it.
I think this hurts most of us writers more than a single star review. It saddens me considerably because I have all 4 or 5 star reviews on a novel on Amazon, none of which I paid or solicited for...."
I agree wholeheartedly, and I'm in the same boat with my short-story collections. All reviews were earned honestly, but how does anybody know? My best-selling book is a new one with no reviews at all, and maybe I'm better off because of it.
While I'd never purchase a review, I've swapped a couple times, and I've solicited honest reviews. That's neither unusual nor disreputable--you send out your book to known reviewers and hope yours catches their attention. There's nothing really new about that.I *have* had someone ask me to swap 5 star reviews and I refused politely. I value the few 3 star reviews I got on my first book much more than a dishonest 5 any day.
Before I'd gotten used to the rating system, I gave an article I found very useful one star--because I was starting at the left and planned to click on all five stars!
Tom wrote: "Jim wrote: "... Many readers are aware of the fact that quite a few ratings and reviews are now solicited, purchased, or swapped, so they give them little credence..."I think this hurts most of u..."
I know books with all four or five stars look suspicious to me for this reason. When an author is unknown to me, I actually read the 1 or 2 stars, and ignore the rest. If the complaints aren't on my book pet peeve list, then I'm game. I've been more persuaded to give an author a chance from the "bad reviews" than glowing ones from strangers. Now if a book friend gives it glowing praise, that trumps everything strangers say, of course.
Bite the bullet and move on is the way to go. Unfortunately messaging the reviewer can lead to further scrutiny and that never ends well. Though I feel sometimes people tend to rate books both low and high on here often and I feel as though they probably haven't read the book. Whatever the case may be its just best to carry on.
That happened to me, too. I vented to friends, and one of them politely asked the reviewer how she could rate it when it hadn't been released. I was mortified but Friend didn't mention me or anything.It was as you said - an accidental review. She took it down.
I've accidentally clicked on one star for a book I put on my to-read list. THEN unless you know you've done it and unless you can find the teeny tiny "clear button", it's difficult to undo.I'd just hold onto your cool and wait it out. Besides, it makes your rating look more credible, like all the big authors out there. You gots street cred now! (Silver linings, yeah?)
Send the person who one-starred you a free copy of the book. Then ask them to read and review it. If they made a mistake, they will find it. If they didn't, then forget about it.
A review is a person's opinion. As an author, I have no say in what that person thinks about my work and will never contact the reviewer. Never. Not my job. If the reviewer has crossed some legal boundary and action is required, my attorney will handle it. Even the very best authors will have critics. Let it go and move on with your writing.
Jack, in this particular case the review seems to have been left by someone who hasn't actually read the book.
Even if that's true, Michael, it doesn't change my rule on responding to critics but I certainly can understand the author's frustration.
Melissa, I'm going to take your advice and focus on my newly acquired street cred
J.D. wrote: "Melissa, I'm going to take your advice and focus on my newly acquired street cred "Rock it, J.D.!
Then I was looking at the list of people who had entered my giveaway and by accident I found that someone on that list had given me the 1 star rating moments after entering the giveaway. I'm sure it was an accident--I mean, clearly they haven't read the book at all.
I've got three ratings total on the book, two 5 stars and the single 1 star. So now my average is 3.67 stars. Is there anything I can do? Or am I just going to have to bite the bullet on this?
wouldn't it be ironic if that person won one of the giveaway prizes? :P