UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion
Agony Aunt
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Amazon refuse to remove spiteful review
It's frustrating, I'm sure. On the bright side, I looked at the review and I don't think many potential readers will take it seriously. No such review in the U.S. store, if that helps :-)
I wouldn't exactly call this spiteful but maybe that is me.I feel like Amazon takes this stand because people could definitely take this opinion a lot of reviews. If they don't understand the book it could come across wrong. Although not so severely as this case.
#devilsadvocate
Steven, people may not take the review seriously, but it's still dragged the rating down by half a star.Louise-Lesley, it might not be spiteful if there actually was porn in the book, but given that it's an outright lie, it's very spiteful.
I'm really sorry you're going through this Rosen.:(
It's only one review. It's more the principle that's upsetting me. If Amazon don't act over things like this, it makes it very easy for spiteful individuals to harm authors.
I wouldn't be so fast to condemn them though. Maybe they are just *very* prudish and something set them off. It doesn't have to be my type of porn but it could of been something mildly dirty, no?I haven't your book so I wouldn't know but I'm just saying it might be just something that set them off.
The protagonist has to use handcuffs to fix a dead dog in a suitcase. You'd have to be very sick in the head to perceive that as an attempt at titillation!
Not so much sick as just tight-assed. You never know with some people.
I agree with you that their refusal to remove it plays into the hands of people who want to have a go at a particular author. I don't know what the answer is but I'm sure readers are wise to this. Many reviews can be taken with a pinch of salt, good as well as bad. I often find a book has a couple of rave reviews by people who have never reviewed a book before. Some have bad reviews which don't make sense in the context of the book or are not explained (for example 'This book is rubbish') You just discount them. As you say though, it's bad because the overall rating goes down.
I've read it Elle.There is nothing remotely porn-like in it.
Thanks Ignite. It's reassuring to be reminded that reviews are not the be-all-and-end-all. And Patti, good to hear you say that. I was beginning to wonder about the leather strap!
Rosen, it looks as if the review has been removed, from the US site at least. Or was the review on the UK site?
Oh. I forgot about the leather strap. ;)All joking aside, I think amazon should be taking a more pro-active stance on targeting of authors.
I know of at least one author who was targeted spitefully by another (petty, jealous and not nearly as talented) author. Thankfully amazon did take some steps to rectify the matter but I'd have liked to see the author completely banned from all things amazon as there was indisputable proof.
Not saying that this is another author targeting you, Rosen. I certainly hope not.
Anyway. Once your story gets more honest reviews the spiteful one won't matter a bit anymore. :)
I've down-voted* the review. No idea if this makes any difference, but... maybe worth a try of lots of people doing this?* Was this review helpful? NO!
Another writer did that? That's awful!It did occur to me that perhaps the troll was a competitor, but it could just as easily be a total stranger who just likes causing trouble.
Thanks for voting down.
I can't really see any author thinking of another as a 'competitor'.It's not like you folk are selling houses or yachts or something.
We all buy more than one book, yeah?
Thousands, in my case...
I don't personally consider other authors to be competitors, the more talented indie authors out there, the more people will read.However, I wonder if there is some sort of chart ranked by rating or something like that. I imagine that some people could get quite nasty to get ahead.
Ah. Hadn't thought of that. Good point.
Patti (Stir Crazy) wrote: "I can't really see any author thinking of another as a 'competitor'.It's not like you folk are selling houses or yachts or something.
We all buy more than one book, yeah?
Thousands, in my case..."
Then we have to spend hours.....days....weeks ..
sorting them into collections
I gave up doing that Janet. I've archived practically everything. Only kept our author books and few I paid a lot for.
"0 of 9 people found the following review helpful"Thank you guys. :-)
Patti (Stir Crazy) wrote: "I gave up doing that Janet. I've archived practically everything. Only kept our author books and few I paid a lot for."I am archiving a lot - but there are still lots to sort.
Sorry Rosen - I will now put one of your books at the top of my TBR list as an apology for taking your thread off topic :)
~~ just need to find it ....somewhere on my kindle ~~
Rosen - I have a 1 star review on this site from a lady who did not leave a comment and admitted that she only read a few chapters because it was not for her. I pointed out that it was aimed at teenage boys and not middle aged women but she has still left her 1 star rating?Sorry about your issue. Hope you get plenty of 5 star reviews to wipe it out. :-)
Ha ha! Well, I won't complain.If only I got a favour every time a thread trundled off into irrelevance! ;-)
That reminds me that someone gave one star to Darren's book, Goodnight My Dear!!
I've only given a one star review once to a book, and that was because the formatting made it completely unreadable. I don't think people should hand out one stars indiscriminately. There are some ignorant people around..
:0/
I've only given a one star review once to a book, and that was because the formatting made it completely unreadable. I don't think people should hand out one stars indiscriminately. There are some ignorant people around..
:0/
Oh I've had plenty of bad reviews and yes, they hurt, but at least they've been the genuine opinions of people who've read the book.
I also have a 1 star review for Tollesbury Time Forever on Goodreads. No comments. Just the 1 star. I like to think maybe the person thought 1 meant the best...
I notice it is the only review the person has written Rosen which makes it even more suspect.I too read this book and there was nothing remotely porn in it.
maybe that is the actual complaint. they have thought that when the games console went off the porn would start. In that sense it is disappointing porn :)
altho, and I hate to say it Rosen, that might be how they felt. just proves the old adage, you can't please all of the people all of the time.
For a while this short was accidentally mis-categorised amongst Mills and Boon novellas. Perhaps the reader accidentally downloaded it expecting bulging trousers and instead, got a bulging suitcase.
Perhaps, as there is no porn in it, it IS a poor attempt at porn. You know what you gotta do, don't you Rosen? Prove him wrong.
I look forward to your next new release. ;)
as the wife looks forward to mine... ; )
Stuart wrote: "as the wife looks forward to mine... ; )"Wow!!! That comment belongs in the naughty thread ;-)
I'm shocked and amused, Stu!
Have to say it's kinda arrogant for anyone to not expect someone to hate your book and some people will definitely not leave a comment. It's there choice. I've given a lot of books I just didn't like 1 star. It's my personal opinion, doesn't mean the book is bad.
And MJ just cause your book is aimed at one group, doesn't mean another group can't read it. And if that lady did read it, maybe it was the type of book she likes to read but just didn't like yours.
I don't see why it's up to Amazon to help authors.I don't mean that as a rude thing. I just kinda want to know why you are of that opinion.
Louise-Lesley, who are your comments aimed at?I wasn't being arrogant. My suspicions are the sincerity of the review are to do with its content, not the rating.
M.L., I'm shocked that indies have been behaving so badly on Goodreads.
Stuart wrote: "as the wife looks forward to mine... ; )"that's not what she told me :O
M.L. wrote: "They receive billions of dollars on book sales- i imagine you are not an author? They have no interest in authors- Woah. Okay no I'm not an author. But authors aren't the only people who bring Amazon their money. And you are the ones who choose to sell via them.
You need them as much as they need you and believe me I think they can survive without indies well enough.
I suppose my point is that we are on the internet. Trolls like to come out from under their bridge. Afters years of gaming I know you can do everything in your power to stop them and you never successfully will.
Amazon is merely taking the hands off approach. Very good option. Dirtying your hands with trolls makes them more rabid and more eager. They simply let them run wild and trust their customers are smart enough to actually tell the difference between a crap review and a real one.
Don't tell me you think we are so stupid that we can't? Because sometimes I certainly feel like that.
From Amazon's point of view, trolls happen. They'll happen once or twice for every 10,000 products sold. From the point of view of a writer for whom every review counts, they could be devastating. I'm lucky in that that particular book has many reviews. Imagine if I only had one or two reviews - one troll would make a huge difference.
Ye and that is devastating but you kinda just have to live with it.And the internet isn't there for people to be held accountable. It's there for people to roam free.
I suppose I'm being an advocate of free speech here even if it is hateful speech. I'm a true believer with the good of publishing your thoughts into the world comes the bad.
I don't get too wound up about Goodreads ratings. I tend to see it as a place where people rate their personal enjoyment of a book, rather than a book's overall quality.For example, if I read the world's best book on steak cooking for manly men, I'd give it one star on Goodreads to reflect my taste. However, I wouldn't review it on Amazon because, as a vegetarian feminist, I wouldn't feel qualified.
sorry but you are responsibly for everything you put into the universe. why should we have to accept the bad, and why should people not be accountable for their actions and views?
I view both of them the same Rosen.I didn't say you had to accept it, I said you have to deal with it. (apparently you have to deal with my bad typing and me first. LOL)
People who don't accept it often get angry and what is the point of more negative energy. And those exact same people are the ones who fuel the trolls.
And I didn't say they needn't be accountable but for a simple bad or bitter review. It's not exactly a crime is it. It's free speech.
And NO-ONE should be accountable or PUNISHED for their views. NO-ONE.
Leaving your views on a book is one thing. Leaving some nonsense that's got nothing to do with the book is not a view, it's an attack.
UK Amazon Kindle Forum
Books mentioned in this topic
One Day (other topics)London, the Doggy and Me (other topics)
It was generally non-specific except for a point that related to 'a poor attempt at porn'. There is no porn in London, the Doggy and Me, or anything that could seem like porn.
Therefore, I can only assume that the reviewer is being spiteful.
I have written to Amazon about this twice, and they are refusing to remove the review, saying that it falls within their guidelines - guidelines that clearly prohibit spiteful content.