# Do you always leave a review?



## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

I sold 16 books in June and only got 2 reviews, which as we all know reviews help sales!  Do you always leave reviews even if it's not a 5 star book?  Also, is there a way to get people to leave a review for your book?


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I have 76 reviews on Amazon, but I don't review everything I read by any means.  First, I go through periods where I review nothing .... you know, life happens ...  I tend to review when I read something that moves me to have something to say about it.  I dunno - maybe it's just a matter of writing a review when I feel like it.


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## VincentHobbes (Jun 13, 2011)

I usually only review 1 of every 5 books I read. Mostly, it's a time issue, tho I'm starting to try and review more and more lately.


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## gsjohnston (Jun 29, 2011)

I usually review - but it's hard if the work is really under-par - and if it's not been edited I usually stop reading and don't review

But it is really helpful when people do - and it's really great that Kindle files now ask the reader to review at the end of the book

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

I never review on Amazon for various reasons. I use Goodreads. The main thing I like about Goodreads is that you can rate a book without reviewing it whereas you can't with Amazon. While I do review a lot (and I don't limit my reviews to only 5 star ratings) sometimes I just don't have much/anything to say about a book. I don't really like leaving one-line reviews so if I don't have anything more to say, I don't bother and just let the rating speak for itself. I imagine that mostly happens with books I thought were just average - if I felt passionately about the book, good or bad, I usually have something to say.

Naturally, you can't force people to review if they don't want to. There are programs out there, such as Goodreads Giveaways, which give away free promo copies of books to readers in exchange for reviews but I think they mostly work with physical books so if you published only to ebook, you probably can't participate. Amazon has a program like this called Amazon Vine but I believe they choose the books to give away so you'd have to get in touch with them if you wanted your book to be used (I don't know if they give away Kindle books either, you'd have to find out). http://www.amazon.com/gp/vine/help


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## Adam Kisiel (Jun 20, 2011)

Seems to me that reviews are rather rare


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## dabnorfish (Jun 30, 2011)

I only have 9 sales so far, but no reviews


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

TiffanyLovering said:


> I sold 16 books in June and only got 2 reviews, which as we all know reviews help sales! Do you always leave reviews even if it's not a 5 star book? Also, is there a way to get people to leave a review for your book?


I rarely leave a review. I've read books I hated by authors that should be selling shoes but thousands of others think they're great. So, who am I to judge. Example: I wouldn't read exit instructions on a sinking ship if they were written by Dan Brown...mostly because they'd probably be wrong. Nevertheless, he has his fans.

If the book is so flawed I could write a review with specific comments the odds are others have already done that so why should I contribute to "piling on".

A friend of mine wrote and book and asked me to read it and write a review. I did. I gave it four out of five stars and made one mildly critical comment. The author no longer speaks to me.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

TiffanyLovering said:


> I sold 16 books in June and only got 2 reviews, which as we all know reviews help sales! Do you always leave reviews even if it's not a 5 star book? Also, is there a way to get people to leave a review for your book?


Yes. But it takes me ages to finish a book, as I am usually reading several at once. I was wondering how many leave reviews, too, as I only have one apiece on the US and UK sites (let's not talk about Germany).


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## davidhburton (Mar 11, 2010)

I try to review when possible. At the very least, I leave a star rating.


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## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

I try to write up a review for all the rock fiction I read. I've read a few that were just too bad and finding something good to say was near impossible, though.

As for anything else, it depends on whether or not I'm moved to write a review. And my own time constraints, as well, which is a bummer 'cause I like writing reviews almost as much as I like getting them (yes, even the bad ones. Got one of those last week and just shrugged. Maybe I've reached that place of being able to roll with them?).


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## deckard (Jan 13, 2011)

history_lover said:


> I never review on Amazon for various reasons. I use Goodreads. The main thing I like about Goodreads is that you can rate a book without reviewing it whereas you can't with Amazon.


I was looking at the reviews for a book on Amazon the other day and one review wasn't what I would call a review. The book was rated four stars by the reviewer and the only comment was in the subject line: "Where's the sequel?" is that a review

So, in a way you can rate a book without actually reviewing it.


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## WestofMars (Sep 16, 2009)

Yeah, I'd say that's a review. Not a very long one, but clearly the reader liked the book enough to want to spend more time with those characters and in that fictional world. 

Personally, that's a review I'd be flattered by.


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## scl (Feb 19, 2011)

I don't usually leave a review.  But I will when a book hits me as really good or if it's something I've read because of a kindleboards interaction of some kind.  I also won't leave a review if I don't like something because in matters of taste what I don't like might be what someone else does like.  I would need a truly compelling reason to give a review for something I didn't think deserved at least 3 stars and I don't like to give less than 4, so a lot of stuff I just don't put in a review.  I just checked, and I've left 5 for books on Amazon, so maybe I should be more active in leaving them since it's a boost to people who don't have them.  In several cases I've thought about reviewing a book and when I looked there were already a bunch of good reviews so I decided it wasn't worth bothering with since they didn't really need one more.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

I almost never leave reviews.

I don't care much about reading reviews myself--at least not for subjective things like books, movies etc.  I don't care much about other's opinions on things like that--especially with Kindle books where I can just read the free sample myself.  So I'd feel hypocritical leaving my own reviews!

The only time I'll skim reviews are for things like gadgets, appliances etc. where there's more objectivity involved with whether the product works well, breaks etc.


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## Jeff Rivera (Jun 22, 2011)

I very rarely leave reviews, unless it's a book that has had a significant impact on me (the type of book that has you brooding over it for the next week).


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## Beth Groundwater (Apr 6, 2011)

I follow my grandmother's advice, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," so I don't review the books that I didn't like or couldn't even finish. When I love a book, however, I like to share that. Like history_lover, when I do review a book, it's usually on Goodreads.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

I write a lot of reviews on Goodreads and on my blog. I have a lot of Indie books I read so it comes with the territory that I feel I should review their work and be as honest as I can, even if that isn't always a 4 or 5 star rating. I get asked a lot to read books and review them too. The only time I don't leave a review for an Indie author is if the book was just terrible, I usually still rate it though on Goodreads.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I only put the stars on Goodreads, no written review. And that is mostly for me and my followers to keep track of stuff. 
I think I only have a few written ones.

There have been to many restrictions and demands put on how reviews should look or not look. Must be very very detailed down to plot issues etc. Must not have any grammar errors, no mispellings. Can't be from someone that doesn't review much. 
Must be above 3 stars or be called a drive by, a disgruntled whatever or just an idiot that has a miserable life. 

No thanks  . I don't get paid for the potential frustration and belittling that might follow. I just want to read.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Beth Groundwater said:


> I follow my grandmother's advice, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," so I don't review the books that I didn't like or couldn't even finish. When I love a book, however, I like to share that. Like history_lover, when I do review a book, it's usually on Goodreads.


That's one reason I don't pay much attention to customer reviews. They're always biased as most are from people like you who only post a review of something they loved, or the Debbie Downer types who only post reviews when they want to slam a book. 

So they're just not an accurate reflection of the true average rating of the book across all readers.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

Wow, I am surprised that more people don't leave reviews.  I read an article that said a three star review is better than having no reviews at all.  I agree with not saying anything if you can't say anything nice, but even if I just liked certain aspects of a book, I try to leave a review.  I will actually be leaving more since I have seen how receiving a review can make someone's day.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

TiffanyLovering said:


> I agree with not saying anything if you can't say anything nice, but even if I just liked certain aspects of a book, I try to leave a review.


But again, that defeats the purpose of reviews and makes the review system inaccurate. If you think a book sucked, then there's nothing wrong with writing a review saying so as long as you do so thoughtfully and explain why you hated the book so other's can read your reasoning and see if it sounds like they'd dislike the book as well based on their own tastes compared to your reasons for disliking it.

Same with a positive review. It does little good to just say you loved it. It's only informative to others if you explain why you loved it so they can see how those match up with their tastes.

That's another reason I don't bother with user reviews. Most don't take the time and care that a good professional critic does to explain _why_ they liked or disliked a book or movie or video game etc. Without that I can't look at what they saw as pros and cons and see how those match up with my likes and dislikes, pet peeves etc.


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## Scott Reeves (May 27, 2011)

These days I try to always leave a review if 1) I liked the book and 2) I actually finished reading it. If I didn't care for the book and would be inclined to give a negative review, I won't bother leaving a review unless the book was just so poorly written that I think other readers might need to be warned. Fortunately that hasn't happened yet, and I can't see that it ever WOULD happen, since sampling allows me to screen the book before I ever buy it.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> But again, that defeats the purpose of reviews and makes the review system inaccurate. If you think a book sucked, then there's nothing wrong with writing a review saying so as long as you do so thoughtfully and explain why you hated the book so other's can read your reasoning and see if it sounds like they'd dislike the book as well based on their own tastes compared to your reasons for disliking it.
> 
> Same with a positive review. It does little good to just say you loved it. It's only informative to others if you explain why you loved it so they can see how those match up with their tastes.
> 
> That's another reason I don't bother with user reviews. Most don't take the time and care that a good professional critic does to explain _why_ they liked or disliked a book or movie or video game etc. Without that I can't look at what they saw as pros and cons and see how those match up with my likes and dislikes, pet peeves etc.


I didn't mean I leave a 5 star review for a 2 star book. I rate appropriately and leave reviews that do point out what I like as well as what I didn't like. I do read reviews before I read a book, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I like to know what others have to say, sometimes it helps me decide if I wan't to spend $10 on a book.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

TiffanyLovering said:


> I didn't mean I leave a 5 star review for a 2 star book. I rate appropriately and leave reviews that do point out what I like as well as what I didn't like. I do read reviews before I read a book, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I like to know what others have to say, sometimes it helps me decide if I wan't to spend $10 on a book.


What I meant is that the review system is only accurate if people leave reviews for every book they read. It's positively biased if people only leave reviews for 4 or 5 star books as they don't want to hurt the author's feelings or sales. And it's negatively biased if others only leave 1 and 2 star reviews for books they hated.

Just saying the notion of "only say something if you have something nice to say" is silly when it comes to reviewing things. The point of reviews is to give your honest opinion on things, be it positive or negative. If people only post reviews of things they like (or vice versa), then the review system is inaccurate and biased.

The point of reviews is to be critical when needed. Author's aren't going to improve their work if reviews of it aren't honest. Producing anything for consumption requires a thick skin and ability to take criticism. If a writer can't handle that they shouldn't be writing. I don't write for commercial purposes, but being a professor I write a ton of scholarly research articles so I'm used to getting hammered in reviews during the peer review process. But it's good as that's how my work gets improved.

People who leave reviews of books, movies etc. should be approaching it from that framework. If you're going to do it, make an effort to do it for everything you read and be honest in your assessments. If you're only reviewing things you love, then you're biasing the review system as a whole--not for that individual book you reviewed, but for the ones you don't review as you don't want to give a 3 star or below review for whatever reason. That will bias the score of those kind of books upward if too many people share the attitude of "only say something if you have something nice to say."


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Do I review? Yes but I tend to review indie books more often than trad books. I guess I assume my review won't mean as much to a trad author who already has 160 Amazon reviews, whereas for an indie author, a good review really makes his/her day.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I rarely read reviews, so I rarely write reviews.


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## emilyward (Mar 5, 2011)

If I finish I book, 90% of the time, I'll review it on my blog and Goodreads. I don't always remember to review on Amazon, but I generally do for self-published books I've read. 

If I don't finish it, I don't really feel entitled to review it. I may give it a one or two star rating on Goodreads, but no reviews.


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## Imogen Rose (Mar 22, 2010)

I only leave reviews for 3-5 stars. Anything less than that would mean that I didn't finish it and it doesn't seem right to leave a review in that case.


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

I nearly always review over on Goodreads. Never on Amazon. (I think I have only 1-2 reviews over there.) I use all the stars. 

I will also absolutely review a book I didn't finish, if the reason I didn't finish was because it was just too terrible to continue reading. I believe that's a relevant opinion, and other reader/reviewers who have similar tastes to mine would find that helpful information.



mooshie78 said:


> That's one reason I don't pay much attention to customer reviews. They're always biased as most are from people like you who only post a review of something they loved, or the Debbie Downer types who only post reviews when they want to slam a book.
> 
> So they're just not an accurate reflection of the true average rating of the book across all readers.


 The vast majority of reviews are customer" reviews. You're saying they're "always" biased? Well of course they are, they're the reader's personal (biased) opinion. That hardly makes them worthless, and frequently does make them an accurate reflection of other readers. But whatever makes you feel better...


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

StaceyHH said:


> The vast majority of reviews are customer" reviews. You're saying they're "always" biased? Well of course they are, they're the reader's personal (biased) opinion. That hardly makes them worthless, and frequently does make them an accurate reflection of other readers. But whatever makes you feel better...


Totally love the way you pointed this fact out!


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

Yeah, just call it my daily exercise in stating the obvious.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Imogen Rose said:


> I only leave reviews for 3-5 stars. Anything less than that would mean that I didn't finish it and it doesn't seem right to leave a review in that case.


Why not? A review on why you decided not to finish it could be beneficial to other readers. If I feel I gave a book a fair chance I'll rate/review it regardless of whether I finished it or not. Usually, I don't rate/review books which I only read the Kindle sample for unless I've felt really strongly about how bad it was (which has only happened with one or two I think). But if I've read about 25%+, I usually think I've read enough to form a valid opinion.



deckard said:


> I was looking at the reviews for a book on Amazon the other day and one review wasn't what I would call a review. The book was rated four stars by the reviewer and the only comment was in the subject line: "Where's the sequel?" is that a review
> 
> So, in a way you can rate a book without actually reviewing it.


True but you wouldn't find me doing that. As I explained, I only review when I feel I have something worthwhile to say about the book and as you observed, "where's the sequel?" isn't exactly a worthwhile comment. I'm not going to abuse the system in that way. If Amazon don't want a rating without a review, I won't review with them, period.

Amazon's system also falls victim to "shills": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shill - and therefore I always take Amazon reviews with a grain of salt and rely much more on Goodreads, which I think has less of these problems.



mooshie78 said:


> What I meant is that the review system is only accurate if people leave reviews for every book they read. It's positively biased if people only leave reviews for 4 or 5 star books as they don't want to hurt the author's feelings or sales. And it's negatively biased if others only leave 1 and 2 star reviews for books they hated.
> 
> Just saying the notion of "only say something if you have something nice to say" is silly when it comes to reviewing things. The point of reviews is to give your honest opinion on things, be it positive or negative. If people only post reviews of things they like (or vice versa), then the review system is inaccurate and biased.
> 
> ...


ITA. If an author can't handle constructive criticism, they shouldn't be publishing their work. If I bought a book on the basis that it had only positive ratings/reviews and it wound up being really bad, I'd be particularly disappointed in the book. If it has a mix of ratings/reviews, I can make a more objective and realistic decision. There is no point to a review system that only contributes positive reviews - you're not getting an objective overall view, you're only getting one side of the story, so to speak.



StaceyHH said:


> The vast majority of reviews are customer" reviews. You're saying they're "always" biased? Well of course they are, they're the reader's personal (biased) opinion. That hardly makes them worthless, and frequently does make them an accurate reflection of other readers. But whatever makes you feel better...


I don't think mooshie is talking about each individual review being bias, he's saying that it's difficult for someone to get an objective overview of a book if they are only reading positive reviews and not hearing about the negative opinions which may be out there. When I buy any kind of product, I want to know the good and bad, the pros and cons. Granted, I don't spend quite as much time researching opinions on a book as I would, say, a camera. But I'd still like to hear from both sides and I think that's a pretty reasonable expectation - just because you misunderstood what mooshie was saying doesn't justify sarcastic comments like "whatever makes you feel better".


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

history_lover said:


> just because you misunderstood what mooshie was saying doesn't justify sarcastic comments like "whatever makes you feel better".


Oh. Pardon me. I was responding to an actual comment, rather than a "misunderstanding" of an interpretation of what you think somebody was saying. My bad. I'll take that into account next time.


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

I'd also really like to know if anybody else is getting sick to death of hearing dismissive comments by (amateur) writers about "amateur reviewers," and "customer reviewers?"


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Beth Groundwater said:


> I follow my grandmother's advice, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," so I don't review the books that I didn't like or couldn't even finish.


How did your grandmother feel about Consumer Reports? 

The expression is, by my interpretation, about not being negative for the sake of being negative, mean for the sake of being mean. It's a platitude said to children to garner a certain result and often said before they're expected to understand the complexities of life. It was never, as far as I know, meant to extend to not helping others or warn them.

To be clear, I'm not in any way saying you or anyone else should review if you don't want to, simply that the expression doesn't match the situation or acknowledge that sometimes in life you have to say something that isn't nice because it becomes the right thing to do.

I vote for making _Help a writer before the book is published, help a reader after it's published_ the new thing we tell kids. (Just me? Anyone? Okay, just me.)



TiffanyLovering said:


> Wow, I am surprised that more people don't leave reviews. I read an article that said a three star review is better than having no reviews at all. I agree with not saying anything if you can't say anything nice, but even if I just liked certain aspects of a book, I try to leave a review. I will actually be leaving more since I have seen how receiving a review can make someone's day.


Where does the reader fall into the equation? The people who buy the book because there are no critical reviews and can only assume the okay book was a great read? Sometimes they need someone to make their day too. The fundamental issue I have with the comments here and elsewhere is that so many people seem to be stuck on the default of what we all should do for writers, or _I'm a writer, here's what I need,_" that the thought of helping readers isn't on the radar. Few people are even facing in that direction. Not only do I think helping readers is the right thing to do, I believe it's good for writers in the long run.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Here's the NogDog view, whether you want it or not.

I don't know the exact number of Amazon book reviews I've written, but I suspect I might be able to count them on my ten fingers, or at most I might have to take off one shoe and sock. Besides the fact that I don't actually read many Amazon reviews, I feel no compulsion to help (or hurt) any of you authors. This may surprise you, but I don't actually care how many books you've sold, how many good reviews you've gotten, how many blog interviews you've given. In fact, I couldn't care less if you are an "indie" or have a 10-book contract with Random house at rates approaching those Stephen King gets.

What I _do_ care about when trying a book from a new author is whether it's been recommended to me by someone whose tastes I seem to share, whether the description catches my interest or sounds like just another [insert overused story type here], and then whether or not the sample hooks me or leaves me wishing I hadn't wasted even that much time on it. Very little else is going to improve your NogDog sales. Anything else you try to do is probably more likely to _lose_ sales in the NogDog market, as I tend to react to authors pushing their books at me the same way I do to door-to-door sales people: by closing the figurative or literal door in their faces.

However, your mileage may vary widely outside of the NogDog market.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

MichelleR said:


> Where does the reader fall into the equation? The people who buy the book because there are no critical reviews and can only assume the okay book was a great read? Sometimes they need someone to make their day too. The fundamental issue I have with the comments here and elsewhere is that so many people seem to be stuck on the default of what we all should do for writers, or _I'm a writer, here's what I need,_" that the thought of helping readers isn't on the radar. Few people are even facing in that direction. Not only do I think helping readers is the right thing to do, I believe it's good for writers in the long run.


There is a book out that has 158 reviews and only 8 of those rated 1 star. I read the book because I thought it was going to be a good book, but it was literally the worst book I had ever read. Did I think "well obviously these reviewers weren't thinking about me" or "those reviewers made this an awful day for me" No, I figured that I obviously have a way different scale that I rate a great book. My point being, everyone has their own opinion and no one has to agree with it.

I think pretty much everyone who reads reviews before buying a book knows to take reviews with a grain of salt. There's bound to be a few pumped reviews from friends and possibly a few negative reviews from someone who may not like the author. However, although it does "weight" the overall star average, it doesn't discount every review out there.

I think reviews are important whether positive or negative. It allows the author to know where they may have lost a few readers and lets them know where they excelled. It also lets the _reader_ know that they may be missing out on a really good read or that maybe the areas where the author was lacking are just too much to take a chance on.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

the great thing about kindle books is the fact you can sample.  it costs nothing and usually you can tell whether or not to buy the book.  that's where the reader is in the review equation.  Caveat emptor still applies today, in print, ebooks, music or anything.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

I haven't decided yet if I should leave reviews or not. For now, I don't. If I did, I would do so only for books I either love or feel have cheated the reader in some way. (For instance, I once encountered a book that was being sold illegally by someone other than the author, and I wanted to warn other readers.)


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

I don't review as consistently as I should, but I don't confine my reviews to extremes.  I review books I love, books I despise, and plenty of books that fall in the middle.


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

MichelleR said:


> Where does the reader fall into the equation? The people who buy the book because there are no critical reviews and can only assume the okay book was a great read? Sometimes they need someone to make their day too. The fundamental issue I have with the comments here and elsewhere is that so many people seem to be stuck on the default of what we all should do for writers, or _I'm a writer, here's what I need,_" that *the thought of helping readers isn't on the radar. Few people are even facing in that direction. Not only do I think helping readers is the right thing to do, I believe it's good for writers in the long run*.


I've noticed this as a problem, too.

Too many writers are lost in their sales reports, blogs, promoting and everything else except their readers and, strangely enough, their writing. I hate to use the phrase because it's so cliche, but some writers out there (and there's been times when I've been one of them) need to get back to basics on what they do. Posting on public forums about reviewers as if every one of them is a spiteful low-life might get you sympathy from likeminded authors, but it doesn't leave a good impression on potential readers. Not at all.

I'm not trying to snipe at any one person, author or not, but I thought this was what indies were accusing the traditional publishers of doing, ignoring the reading public?


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

StaceyHH said:


> Oh. Pardon me. I was responding to an actual comment, rather than a "misunderstanding" of an interpretation of what you think somebody was saying. My bad. I'll take that into account next time.


Interesting how you continue to use sarcastic, snarky comments to cover up the fact you don't actually have a response to the topic at hand. Fact of the matter remains that there's nothing wrong with wanting to hear about both the pros and cons of a product before buying it and that can only be accomplished by positive AND negative reviews being contributed.


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## UnicornEmily (Jul 2, 2011)

I really only write reviews when I feel particularly moved to.  This means when it's really bad, or it's really amazing, or my opinion on some detail seems to not be reflected in any other reviews I've seen recently.  I should probably write them more frequently, but too often I'm just lukewarm and don't care enough to sit and write a really thoughtful review.  Also, if I'd rave about it, it probably already has more than one rave review; and if I didn't like it, I don't really like criticizing when I do not have to.

I do talk a lot about books to my friends, though.  (Laugh.)  And I'm always foisting brand-new copies of wonderful books off on friends or family for Christmas and birthdays.


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## Scribejohn (Jul 2, 2011)

I review periodically, but usually ONLY if the books has knocked me out and I feel I have to sing its praises.

I will also never review a book if I couldn't finish it, and those reviews always annoy me. I've had a few books where the first half has been lack-lustre, then the author has pulled out all the stops in the last sections and redeemed himself. How can a reviewer know from erading only half a book whether it was good overall?

Captain Corelli's Mandolin was one such book where it was extremely difficult to get into the first half, then got progressively better and more engaging until at some point it hit dazzling.


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

history_lover said:


> Interesting how you continue to use sarcastic, snarky comments to cover up the fact you don't actually have a response to the topic at hand.


Hmmm, then maybe you want to re-read the very post you are objecting to. Seems you're responding to a misunderstanding of an interpretation of what you think I was saying too. But I can recap it for you:

I review nearly always. I also object to people categorizing customer reviews as "always biased" and "not an accurate reflection" of other readers.

This notion that a review only has value if the reviewer follows some set of "review rules," and also reviews everything they read, instead selectively only reviewing what they feel moved to review, is a ridiculous standard to try and impose. Even "pro" reviewers don't review everything, so does that mean their reviews are worthless too?


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## SSantore (Jun 28, 2011)

I never used to leave reviews, because I read so many books it is hard to keep up with reviews.  But I'm going to make an effort to leave more.  I disagree about not leaving a review if you can't say something good.  Sometimes the most valuable reviews are the ones that point out what they don't like about a book.  (In fact, sometimes those are the deciding factor in whether I buy a book or not.  Sometimes I buy it because of what the reviewer didn't like, because I have a different world view than they do.)


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

StaceyHH said:


> The vast majority of reviews are customer" reviews. You're saying they're "always" biased? Well of course they are, they're the reader's personal (biased) opinion. That hardly makes them worthless, and frequently does make them an accurate reflection of other readers. But whatever makes you feel better...


I wasn't saying an individual review is biased. I'm saying the average star score is biased as so many people only leave reviews for books they love, and some others probably only leave reviews of books they hate.

The average review score is only accurate if people writing reviews leave reviews for every book they finish. The average rating is skewed if a lot of people are like posters in this thread and only leave a review if they have something nice to say (or vice versa).

I don't care about individual's reviews as any one opinion is completely worthless to me on subjective things like books or movies. The only opinion that matters on such things is your own. I will sometimes look at average reviews for movies (i.e. Rotten Tomatoes) or video games (a few review aggregator sites like Metacritic) though to get a general sense of whether reviews are mostly positive or mostly negative. But I only look at the average reviews from professional critics since they're reviewing everything and not only things they love or hate like the user reviews. I haven't found a similar site for book reviews though (something that summarizes/aggregates professional critic reviews).

So just saying that aggregate user review scores (like Amazon's stars) are useless as people tend to only review things they love (and add in the author's themselves, and their friends and family etc. leaving fluff reviews) so they tend to be biased upwards and it's hard to get the other side of the picture. Professional reviews are a bit better IMO as they at least review things they both love and hate as it's their job. If anyone knows of a site that aggregates critic reviews of books like Rotten Tomatoes does for movies, I'd love a link!


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

StaceyHH said:


> Hmmm, then maybe you want to re-read the very post you are objecting to. Seems you're responding to a misunderstanding of an interpretation of what you think I was saying too. But I can recap it for you:
> 
> I review nearly always. I also object to people categorizing customer reviews as "always biased" and "not an accurate reflection" of other readers.
> 
> This notion that a review only has value if the reviewer follows some set of "review rules," and also reviews everything they read, instead selectively only reviewing what they feel moved to review, is a ridiculous standard to try and impose. Even "pro" reviewers don't review everything, so does that mean their reviews are worthless too?


I don't believe reviewers have to follow some set of "rules" so I'm really not following you.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

StaceyHH said:


> This notion that a review only has value if the reviewer follows some set of "review rules," and also reviews everything they read, instead selectively only reviewing what they feel moved to review, is a ridiculous standard to try and impose. Even "pro" reviewers don't review everything, so does that mean their reviews are worthless too?


Again, I'm not saying the individual review is biased.

But that the average score system is biased if people aren't reviewing everything.

For professional critics, an average score is a better indicator as they are reviewing a ton more books than the average person who's only reviewing things they loved like some posting here etc.

At the individual level I find your opinion on a book worthless and I find an individual professional critic's opinion worthless. These things are subjective so everyone's opinion is worthless other than our own. At least for me. I can't recall the last time I actually read a review for a book or movie etc. The only tiny use I have for reviews is seeing that average critic reviews are positive, and that will signal to me that if it's a genre I like it may be worth at least checking out the sample in the case of a Kindle book. The user reviews just don't do much good as I find them usually biased terribly upwards as too many people don't like to be critical and thus don't leave negative reviews. Professional critics at least have no qualms slamming something they think sucks.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> But that the average score system is biased if people aren't reviewing everything.
> 
> For professional critics, an average score is a better indicator as they are reviewing a ton more books than the average person who's only reviewing things they loved like some posting here etc.


I would have to disagree with this. I don't care what someone says about Twilight if I'm thinking about reading Life on Hold.


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## bashfulreader (Jan 29, 2011)

I went through a period where I couldn't decide if I should review or not.  I do read and appreciate other people's reviews, so I'd like to give back.  I left a couple of reviews on Amazon when I felt compelled, but was bothered by people's reactions - both specific to my reviews, and just comments in general, that I read in the forums.  I have always felt that a review is worthless unless it's honest - good or bad. But the thought that my words could hurt an author's feelings worried me.  And getting some negative feedback on one of my comments wasn't much fun, either.

But in the end, I realize that I have to have a thicker skin... and so do the authors.  I still believe that a review needs to be honest to be useful.  And I agree that it's only helpful if I review everything:  good, bad and everything in between.  So, I am now trying to review everything I read, as honestly as I can - but also with respect and kindness, as much as possible.  However, I'm only reviewing on Goodreads, as the other reviews there seem to be more honest as well.  I am also trying to share as much as I can about my own personal likes and dislikes, so that other readers can decide for themselves if following my reviews might help them find books they would like.  I'm still working on this, but I think Goodreads is a great place to find like-minded readers who can give you good recommendations, and eventually I'd like to both benefit from this, as well as help others.

But to respond to the OP, I should also mention that since getting a Kindle, I seem to be acquiring books at a MUCH faster pace than I'm actually reading them.  I have several hundred "not yet read" books, waiting for me to find the time.  It could be a LONG time from the point I buy a book until the point I actually read and review it.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

TiffanyLovering said:


> I would have to disagree with this. I don't care what someone says about Twilight if I'm thinking about reading Life on Hold.


Huh? That has nothing to do with my point. My point is simply that the average reviews are biased upwards by people "not saying anything if they don't have anything nice to say", and thus people should make an effort to review everything they read and also leave negative reviews when they dislike a book they finish. That way the average review score more accurately reflects the overall opinions of the user base, and isn't biased by people only leaving reviews for books they liked and not leaving negative ones for ones they disliked and mediocre ones for mediocre books etc.

That said, seeing what an individual person rated different books is useful as it helps you see if your tastes match their's. For instance, if I see someone gives Chuck Palahniuk's latest book a bad review, and then see that they rated Twilight 5 stars, I can disregard that review as I can tell their tastes are very different than mine. Moot for me since I never read individual reviews, but can be useful for others.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

bashfulreader said:


> I went through a period where I couldn't decide if I should review or not. I do read and appreciate other people's reviews, so I'd like to give back. I left a couple of reviews on Amazon when I felt compelled, but was bothered by people's reactions - both specific to my reviews, and just comments in general, that I read in the forums. I have always felt that a review is worthless unless it's honest - good or bad. But the thought that my words could hurt an author's feelings worried me. And getting some negative feedback on one of my comments wasn't much fun, either.
> 
> But in the end, I realize that I have to have a thicker skin... and so do the authors. I still believe that a review needs to be honest to be useful. And I agree that it's only helpful if I review everything: good, bad and everything in between. So, I am now trying to review everything I read, as honestly as I can - but also with respect and kindness, as much as possible. However, I'm only reviewing on Goodreads, as the other reviews there seem to be more honest as well. I am also trying to share as much as I can about my own personal likes and dislikes, so that other readers can decide for themselves if following my reviews might help them find books they would like. I'm still working on this, but I think Goodreads is a great place to find like-minded readers who can give you good recommendations, and eventually I'd like to both benefit from this, as well as help others.
> 
> But to respond to the OP, I should also mention that since getting a Kindle, I seem to be acquiring books at a MUCH faster pace than I'm actually reading them. I have several hundred "not yet read" books, waiting for me to find the time. It could be a LONG time from the point I buy a book until the point I actually read and review it.


I do try to find something nice to write even if I am giving a critical review. However, there was one book that I just had nothing good to say about it and I left a one star review. Less than one hour later, THE AUTHOR HERSELF attacked my review. I don't mean defended her book, I mean attacked ME! I was shocked because this person had over 100 reviews, only maybe 6 were one star. She didn't feel compelled to freak out on them so why me? I actually had to delete the review after her assistant decided to jump on the bandwagon and tear me down. My point is that authors need to have a thick skin when they put their work out to be read. Everyone has a right to their opinion and not everyone is going to think your book is fantastic.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> Huh? That has nothing to do with my point. My point is simply that the average reviews are biased upwards by people "not saying anything if they don't have anything nice to say", and thus people should make an effort to review everything they read and also leave negative reviews when they dislike a book they finish. That way the average review score more accurately reflects the overall opinions of the user base, and isn't biased by people only leaving reviews for books they liked and not leaving negative ones for ones they disliked and mediocre ones for mediocre books etc.
> 
> That said, seeing what an individual person rated different books is useful as it helps you see if they're tastes match theirs. For instance, if I see someone gives Chuck Palahniuk's latest book a bad review, and then see that they rated Twilight 5 stars, I can disregard that review as I can tell their tastes are very different than mine. Moot for me since I never read individual reviews, but can be useful for others.


Ahhh, I think I may have misunderstood your last post, sorry about that. This makes much more sense to me. TY for taking the time to clarify.


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

Up to this point my response to this thread has been from my perspective as a reader. As an author I know that my books aren't for everyone, and I don't expect every reader to enjoy them. I expect to get raked over the proverbial coals by some readers/reviewers, and it does happen sometimes. All part of the process. To me, criticism = feedback. If something in a review makes sense to me, even if the tone seems abusive, I treat it as input. I try to learn from criticism, and do better next time.


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

For some bizarre reason I leave reviews on Goodreads, but rarely on Amazon. 
I think this may be because at GR, other readers enter into discussions about the review...whereas Amazon it feels as if I'm talking to an empty room (because people rarely comment back.) 

I suspect people feel moved to rate books on Amazon if they really liked, or really loathed a book - strong feelins evoke reactions but an OK book and people just move on to their next read.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

Grace Elliot said:


> For some bizarre reason I leave reviews on Goodreads, but rarely on Amazon.
> I think this may be because at GR, other readers enter into discussions about the review...whereas Amazon it feels as if I'm talking to an empty room (because people rarely comment back.)
> 
> I suspect people feel moved to rate books on Amazon if they really liked, or really loathed a book - strong feelins evoke reactions but an OK book and people just move on to their next read.


See, that's why I don't leave reviews on GR. I don't want to feel as though I have to defend my opinion. The one and only time I had a back and forth on Amazon (with the actual author mind you) it didn't end so well. I can see how GR can be appealing to people though.


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## VincentHobbes (Jun 13, 2011)

Grace Elliot said:


> For some bizarre reason I leave reviews on Goodreads, but rarely on Amazon.
> I think this may be because at GR, other readers enter into discussions about the review...whereas Amazon it feels as if I'm talking to an empty room (because people rarely comment back.)
> 
> I suspect people feel moved to rate books on Amazon if they really liked, or really loathed a book - strong feelins evoke reactions but an OK book and people just move on to their next read.





TiffanyLovering said:


> See, that's why I don't leave reviews on GR. I don't want to feel as though I have to defend my opinion. The one and only time I had a back and forth on Amazon (with the actual author mind you) it didn't end so well. I can see how GR can be appealing to people though.


Both are interesting point of views...


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

TiffanyLovering said:


> I do try to find something nice to write even if I am giving a critical review. However, there was one book that I just had nothing good to say about it and I left a one star review. Less than one hour later, THE AUTHOR HERSELF attacked my review. I don't mean defended her book, I mean attacked ME! I was shocked because this person had over 100 reviews, only maybe 6 were one star. She didn't feel compelled to freak out on them so why me? I actually had to delete the review after her assistant decided to jump on the bandwagon and tear me down. My point is that authors need to have a thick skin when they put their work out to be read. Everyone has a right to their opinion and not everyone is going to think your book is fantastic.


I think any reasonable person would have realized how unprofessional the author and her assistant behaved so I would have left it up for all to see. Let them hang themselves! Either that or report it to the admins of the site, they probably could have and would have deleted the abusive comments and left your review up. Either way, I won't let anyone browbeat me into taking down my valid opinion. But fortunately, I've never experienced anything like that.


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## Mrs. K. (Dec 31, 2010)

Reviewing on Amazon is difficult if you want to have credibility. I think the toughest part about it is reviewing each book on its own merits, based on both my opinion of the _quality of the story_ and its_ value for the intended audience._

By that standard, I should review and rate a book by Julia Quinn (light, witty European historical romance) as highly as I do one by Diana Gabaldon (epic European historical adventure/romance.) The two authors are both worthwhile in my opinion. Both write well and succeed at entertaining me; one clearly has more depth than the other, but both of their styles serve their purpose beautifully. I've read a number of each of their books (and I'd stop if I didn't like them!) Now, I do like Ms. Gabaldon's work more than Ms. Quinn's; would it be fair to Ms. Quinn to give her fewer stars or a 'bad' review (not that she'd care)? Should I give fewer stars to one book by Gabaldon because I liked it less than another she wrote (and let's face it...to give all of her books five stars would make me a "cheerleader" or "fangirl," wouldn't it?) Would it be fair to hand my husband a Julia Quinn book and expect he would give it a five star review? Would it be fair to give a bad review to a book about...uhmm...needlepoint because I wasn't entertained and don't like needlework?

Those reasons alone are enough to limit my reviews to one or two books by an author and skip doing a review on every book I read. When I review indie authors I use these same standards, and do realize that unlike Ms. Quinn they DO care and have much to lose or gain by what I might write on Amazon.


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## Kathy Bennett (Jun 15, 2011)

I never reviewed prior to becoming an author myself. Then I realized the value to the author - not only to help them sell more books, but also for the feedback and the acknowledgment of their work.

It's very frustrating to know there are people out in the world who have read my book and I have no clue whether they liked it, hated it, or were mildly interested. That's the pay-off for me. To know if someone liked my story. So if you bought and read my book, please tell me what you thought <g> -


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## Nick Wastnage (Jun 16, 2011)

Well, to be honest not always and I guess that is the case with most people. It's good when I receive a review, so I try to review as much as possible.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

Kathy Bennett said:


> I never reviewed prior to becoming an author myself. Then I realized the value to the author - not only to help them sell more books, but also for the feedback and the acknowledgment of their work.
> 
> It's very frustrating to know there are people out in the world who have read my book and I have no clue whether they liked it, hated it, or were mildly interested. That's the pay-off for me. To know if someone liked my story. So if you bought and read my book, please tell me what you thought <g> -


I agree. I like to know what my readers think and I think most authors (especially idie) like to know as well. I don't expect everyone to love my books but I still want to know because maybe they'll make a point on something I didn't consider.


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## scl (Feb 19, 2011)

> I do try to find something nice to write even if I am giving a critical review. However, there was one book that I just had nothing good to say about it and I left a one star review. Less than one hour later, THE AUTHOR HERSELF attacked my review. I don't mean defended her book, I mean attacked ME! I was shocked because this person had over 100 reviews, only maybe 6 were one star. She didn't feel compelled to freak out on them so why me? I actually had to delete the review after her assistant decided to jump on the bandwagon and tear me down.


Besides not saying negative things about someone's baby (oops - I meant their book) when I write a review I don't want to get into this sort of a food fight. I would like to get some feedback on my book, and hope it would be positive, but I know that realistically if you say anything at all someone it going to disagree. I like to save disagreeing for important things, not whether I happened to dislike a book.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

history_lover said:


> I think any reasonable person would have realized how unprofessional the author and her assistant behaved so I would have left it up for all to see. Let them hang themselves! Either that or report it to the admins of the site, they probably could have and would have deleted the abusive comments and left your review up. Either way, I won't let anyone browbeat me into taking down my valid opinion. But fortunately, I've never experienced anything like that.


Oh, believe me, I would have left it there for the world to see. However, about three days after the last posts, the author and the assistant deleted their comments so I just looked like a whiny brat. So I deleted my review.


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## Brem (Jun 29, 2011)

I usually try to post reviews on books and other stuff I purchased if I can be bothered to. Sometimes I completely forget to do it, other times I'm just in no mood and some time I actually want to put out a review. 

If something is really bad, I will review it, it's just something I always tend to do. If it's really good I'll do the same.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

TiffanyLovering said:


> Oh, believe me, I would have left it there for the world to see. However, about three days after the last posts, the author and the assistant deleted their comments so I just looked like a whiny brat. So I deleted my review.


I think it's just best to leave a review and then never look at the reviews again. No sense in worrying about people's responses to your reviews IMO.


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## Mark Young (Dec 13, 2010)

No, I don't always leave a review. I know others will disagree with me, but I won't leave a review if I feel that book is not worth reading. I'll try to leave a comment, but the novel must fall in the category of three starts or above. It is hard enought in this world for writers. They don't have to be trashed for everyone to read.

In this market, you need to be proactive. You can't wait for reviews to come to you,although some will find their way to your book. Go on line and find reviews of other books in your genre, then seek out those reviewers to see if they might be willing to take a look at your work. All they can do is say no.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Mark Young said:


> No, I don't always leave a review. I know others will disagree with me, but I won't leave a review if I feel that book is not worth reading. I'll try to leave a comment, but the novel must fall in the category of three starts or above. It is hard enought in this world for writers. They don't have to be trashed for everyone to read.
> 
> In this market, you need to be proactive. You can't wait for reviews to come to you,although some will find their way to your book. Go on line and find reviews of other books in your genre, then seek out those reviewers to see if they might be willing to take a look at your work. All they can do is say no.


How is leaving a 1 or 2 star review of a book trashing an author? I have not left one as yet, because I almost always read the sample first and if that does not appeal, I do not read the book. But I don't see how leaving your opinion of a book is somehow trashing an author. I have seen where authors take it as such, though.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

intinst said:


> How is leaving a 1 or 2 star review of a book trashing an author? I have not left one as yet, because I almost always read the sample first and if that does not appeal, I do not read the book. But I don't see how leaving your opinion of a book is somehow trashing an author. I have seen where authors take it as such, though.


Agreed. A negative review should still be written respectfully and outline in detail why the reviewer didn't like the book and gave it the 1 or 2 start review.

The purpose of reviews isn't only to help authors by recommending books you love to others. It's also to help your fellow readers by pointing out bad books they should steer clear of in your opinion. The review system as a whole only works if both types of reviews--positive and negative--are being written consistently when applicable.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Mark Young said:


> No, I don't always leave a review. I know others will disagree with me, but I won't leave a review if I feel that book is not worth reading. I'll try to leave a comment, but the novel must fall in the category of three starts or above. It is hard enought in this world for writers. They don't have to be trashed for everyone to read.


If an author can't handle some _constructive_ criticism, they shouldn't be publishing their work.



> In this market, you need to be proactive. You can't wait for reviews to come to you,although some will find their way to your book. Go on line and find reviews of other books in your genre, then seek out those reviewers to see if they might be willing to take a look at your work. All they can do is say no.


If you're offering a free copy of the book in exchange for a review, I totally agree. Free promos are a great way to get reviews, though you have to be prepared for some to potentially be negative.


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> Agreed. A negative review should still be written respectfully *and outline in detail why the reviewer didn't like the book* and gave it the 1 or 2 start review.


Why? Why MUST a negative rating be accompanied by details? Why all the rules? You've certainly put a lot of rules in this thread. Why shouldn't a reader be able to write "I really hated this book" full stop? They are not contracted by anyone to say anything (or to refrain from saying anything.) While it is certainly _useful_ to other readers for a review to be complete, or to be written following a certain format or protocol, there is no obligation to state an opinion of a book in a certain way. The opinion is still valid even if it doesn't follow an arbitrary set of rules.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

StaceyHH said:


> Why? Why MUST a negative rating be accompanied by details? Why all the rules? You've certainly put a lot of rules in this thread. Why shouldn't a reader be able to write "I really hated this book" full stop? They are not contracted by anyone to say anything (or to refrain from saying anything.) While it is certainly _useful_ to other readers for a review to be complete, or to be written following a certain format or protocol, there is no obligation to state an opinion of a book in a certain way. The opinion is still valid even if it doesn't follow an arbitrary set of rules.


I can sense your frustration and I join you at slamming our collective heads at the keyboard. I have come to the conclusion that I must live in a different universe. The sense of entitlement that reviews are there to benefit the author and stroke their ego's is baffling to me. Its seems to get worse and worse, the more writers are popping up all over amazon and the boards and here. Poor widdle writers, lets not hurt their feelings. I mean really? 
What about hurting my feeling for having to read awefulness . Where is my pity party as a reader.

We are the one paying money for a product and now we are being told that oh no, you can't be mean. Only leave 3 stars and above. But careful with the 3 stars. Make sure you are very very very specific. I mean make sure you get down to the atoms of the plot and such or its useless. Heck, I am waiting for someone to publish a specific "How to properly review Indy's and make their day" book.

It is starting to insult my intelligence when I keep seeing thread after thread whining about reviewers and the stars and the words and the grammar and how mean they all are and and bla bla bla, and then those threads are followed by threads of "Why don't I have reviews, why do readers not leave reviews".

Really? Its like ping pong some days I swear.

Maybe we are worn out and just don't care anymore


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Seems a shame that more writer's don't come out of their cave cafe more often to read this thread.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

StaceyHH said:


> Why? Why MUST a negative rating be accompanied by details? Why all the rules? You've certainly put a lot of rules in this thread. Why shouldn't a reader be able to write "I really hated this book" full stop? They are not contracted by anyone to say anything (or to refrain from saying anything.) While it is certainly _useful_ to other readers for a review to be complete, or to be written following a certain format or protocol, there is no obligation to state an opinion of a book in a certain way. The opinion is still valid even if it doesn't follow an arbitrary set of rules.


I don't get why you keep misunderstanding my posts. I'm not trying to invalidate anyone's opinion.

All I'm saying is a review--positive or negative--is completely 100% useless to other's if it doesn't go into any detail. I couldn't give a rat's *ss if someone loved or hated a book--that's there own opinion and I don't give a crap about other's opinion on the surface as things like this are 100% subjective. So if they just give it a start rating and say "I loved it" or "I hated it" that doesn't remotely help me make a decision about whether to read the book and it wasn't really worth the reviewers time to leave that kind of review.

On the otherhand if they leave some details about why they loved or hated the book, that gives me more to go on. I can read what they liked or loathed and see if those are the types of things I tend to enjoy or also hate. If they list a bunch of things they hated that are also pet peeves of mine, they that's helpful as I can know I probably won't like it either as those things would also annoy me. If they say nothing more than "This book sucks, don't waste your money" than that gives me nothing to go on and nothing to compare my own tastes too.

And that's why I don't bother with user reviews...that and the fact that the average person is a complete moron. Critics are often just as idiotic, but at least they usually take time to spell out why the loved or hated a book or movie etc. so other's can read through it and see how those likes and dislikes match up with their own.

But it's not invalidating anyone's opinion. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. I'm just saying if you want the review you're taking the time to write to actually be useful to others, take some time and at least write a few sentences really explaining what your opinion is and why you hold it. That's much more useful to others trying to decide whether a book is worth their time and money than just seeing some random person say "I loved it" or "I hated it."


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Atunah said:


> I can sense your frustration and I join you at slamming our collective heads at the keyboard. I have come to the conclusion that I must live in a different universe. The sense of entitlement that reviews are there to benefit the author and stroke their ego's is baffling to me.


I wasn't saying that at all. If someone thinks a book sucks, they 100% should leave a negative review. That's what I was arguing earlier--the review system is terribly biased if people are only leaving reviews of books they enjoyed.

All I was saying above is that if one wants their review to be useful to others, they need to say WHY they loved or hated a book so others can use that to match up with their own tastes. Just saying you loved or hated something isn't very informative to others as everyone has their own likes and dislikes, pet peeves etc. Give some details, and others can judge whether they may have similar (or different) tastes to yours and thus give your review more or less credence in their decision making.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

mooshie78 said:


> I wasn't saying that at all. If someone thinks a book sucks, they 100% should leave a negative review. That's what I was arguing earlier--the review system is terribly biased if people are only leaving reviews of books they enjoyed.
> 
> All I was saying above is that if one wants their review to be useful to others, they need to say WHY they loved or hated a book so others can use that to match up with their own tastes. Just saying you loved or hated something isn't very informative to others as everyone has their own likes and dislikes, pet peeves etc. Give some details, and others can judge whether they may have similar (or different) tastes to yours and thus give your review more or less credence in their decision making.


I wasn't directly responding to you. Sorry if I gave that impression. It was more of a culmination of this and similar threads with many comments in the same vein. Some of us just keep seeing the same again and again.

Although I have to disagree with your last point. If I say I liked or hated something, that "is" my opinion. 
Maybe I don't have the words required or I just don't know how to put it in words. But it is an opinion. A reader has a right I think to just say that if they want to. Its their review after all. But that is another reason I won't bother. 
I just don't always have many words, I don't know about all that plot stuff, or structure, or character study and all. I don't know why something worked for me, it just did, or didn't.
If I can't just say that, then what is the point. 
If someone else has to tell me what words to use, or how to structure a review, it isn't really my review anymore.

Of course those reviews won't be as useful to other readers, but they still count just like someone able to write essays about the book.

I don't have any gift for the written word. I just don't. I am a reader. And I shouldn't be held to some standard for my opinion about something I paid for. If I want to say "This rocked", then I should be able to. If I want to say, I really really hated this book and it was just awful, then I should be able to do that too, without being ridiculed or belittled. Unfortunately I see many times over on these threads that that is not the case. The list of names reviewers get called gets longer and longer. I find it incredibly sad.

This isn't all meant strictly as a response to you, just so you know. 

I just think this is all getting worse and worse. I'll stick to my stars only on goodreads and leave it at that. So far I haven't been berated yet, but there is still time I guess .


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Atunah said:


> Although I have to disagree with your last point. If I say I liked or hated something, that "is" my opinion.
> Maybe I don't have the words required or I just don't know how to put it in words. But it is an opinion. A reader has a right I think to just say that if they want to. Its their review after all.


That's fine. I'm just saying those kind of opinions are useless to others trying to decide whether to give a book a chance. Who cares if some random person says they loved or hated a book? How does that help me decide if a book is worth my precious time or not? It doesn't. At all.

If they at least some brief details on why they loved or hated the book, I can at least assess whether those are things I also tend to love or hate, and thus have a slightly better idea of whether I'm likely to enjoy the book or not. It doesn't have to be an essay. Just some simple reasoning like the book was full of grammar errors, or the plot was predictable or the characters cliche etc. One doesn't have to have a gift of writing ability to be able to say why they liked or disliked something. It can be as simple as the couple of sentences you would say if you were telling a friend they should read (or avoid) a book you read.

Again, I'm not trying to say anyone's opinions are not valid or to offend anyone. It's just that the point of writing reviews is to try to help others to make a decision about whether to read the book or watch the movie etc. So why not try to make your review helpful to others by giving some reasons why you like or dislike a book or movie etc.?

And I'm not really talking about things like Goodreads or rating movies on Netflix etc. Those are--at least in my view--more ratings you leave so those sites can give you better recommendations. At least Netflix as it recommends movies to you based on your star ratings of other movies. I thought Goodreads did the same, but I've not used it much since signing up a couple weeks ago as the site was kind of confusing.

But I'm not saying people have to leave detailed reviews or anything. People can do whatever the hell they like. Just saying simply leaving a rating and saying you loved it or hated it is useless in terms of helping others to decide on a book. It's just another voiceless vote toward the average score which is already biased by people not reviewing everything they read, but rather only things they love or hate and thus have a strong enough emotional reaction to be moved to leave a review.

But reviews on Amazon are going to be be read by people thinking of buying something, so I don't personally see the point of leaving a review if you don't make some effort to make your opinion clear and detailed enough to be useful to someone trying to decide whether to read the book or not.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

history_lover said:


> If an author can't handle some _constructive_ criticism, they shouldn't be publishing their work....


Or at least they should not be reading the reviews.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

mooshie78 said:


> That's fine. I'm just saying those kind of opinions are useless to others trying to decide whether to give a book a chance. Who cares if some random person says they loved or hated a book? How does that help me decide if a book is worth my precious time or not? It doesn't. At all.
> 
> If they at least some brief details on why they loved or hated the book, I can at least assess whether those are things I also tend to love or hate, and thus have a slightly better idea of whether I'm likely to enjoy the book or not. It doesn't have to be an essay. Just some simple reasoning like the book was full of grammar errors, or the plot was predictable or the characters cliche etc. One doesn't have to have a gift of writing ability to be able to say why they liked or disliked something. It can be as simple as the couple of sentences you would say if you were telling a friend they should read (or avoid) a book you read.
> 
> But I'm not saying people have to leave detailed reviews or anything. People can do whatever the hell they like. Just saying simply leaving a rating and saying you loved it or hated it is useless in terms of helping others to decide on a book. It's just another voiceless vote toward the average score which is already biased by people not reviewing everything they read, but rather only things they love or hate and thus have a strong enough emotional reaction to be moved to leave a review.


I understand what you are saying and those that are able can leave more detailed, but I still say there is space for those that don't. For example, I love using the feature goodreads has where you compare books. They compare the books I have in my list with those the other person has in the list and compare the star rating. So I get a percentage rating based only on stars. I then go and look at how many books we have in common and if your stars line up. Then I get a pretty good idea if they give a 4 or 5 star to something if I will like it too.

There aren't any written reviews involved yet at that point, just stars. So for me, it does help. It might not help you or some others, but it doesn't mean it won't help anyone.

I do agree of course on your other point in reviewing all, good and bad if one reviews at all, or it is most certainly skewed lopsided. And I do think it is way more prevalent in Indy books then it is in traditional published books. I see a lot more super duper 5 stars and few lower stars on them, especially if the review number is low. But reading a lot of comments, I understand now why that is.


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## silenceiseverything (Oct 8, 2010)

I started writing a few book reviews here and there on GR a couple of years ago (I decided that, as a college student, I should keep my writing mojo up during the summer, so that I'm not completely slammed by the first essay of the semester  ) on books that I had a strong opinion towards.  That caught on and now I leave a review for every book I read, regardless of whether or not I liked it.  If I don't finish a book, I don't bother reviewing unless it's a Vine book or another book I won on GR or LT.  I write reviews because I tend to go by the synopsis and reviews when I think about purchasing books.  If a person leaves a review saying they loved a book because the romantic leads were only focused on each other, then I know I won't enjoy the book.  If a person writes that they disliked a book because the writing was too descriptive, then I'll probably read that book.  So, I try to do the same and write reviews that state why I liked or didn't like a book.

However, I am a bit weary when I post a negative review on Amazon, GR, or LT, because of some of the die-hard fans some books have.  I wrote a one star review on a popular YA book and one fan on GR left a comment on my review saying that I must be a terrible reader and have terrible taste because I didn't love the book.  Then I had another person comment on my review of an adult book of a popular YA novel on Amazon and this one said that my review was confusing and poorly-written.  Now, I don't mind that someone thinks that when there is merit.  But this particular person only reviewed three books on his/her account and all of them were five star reviews of the author's books.  His/Her review just said "I loved it", while my review explained in detail why I disliked the novel.  Yet, mine was the poorly-written review?


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Atunah said:


> I understand what you are saying and those that are able can leave more detailed, but I still say there is space for those that don't. For example, I love using the feature goodreads has where you compare books. They compare the books I have in my list with those the other person has in the list and compare the star rating. So I get a percentage rating based only on stars. I then go and look at how many books we have in common and if your stars line up. Then I get a pretty good idea if they give a 4 or 5 star to something if I will like it too.
> 
> There aren't any written reviews involved yet at that point, just stars. So for me, it does help. It might not help you or some others, but it doesn't mean it won't help anyone.
> 
> I do agree of course on your other point in reviewing all, good and bad if one reviews at all, or it is most certainly skewed lopsided. And I do think it is way more prevalent in Indy books then it is in traditional published books. I see a lot more super duper 5 stars and few lower stars on them, especially if the review number is low. But reading a lot of comments, I understand now why that is.


That's fine. Like I said, the ratings on Goodreads or Netflix are different than those on Amazon. I see rating books on Goodreads or movies on Netflix as more for your own interests so the recommendations are more accurate, so you can compare with others etc.

Reviews on Amazon or other stores exist only to try to help people trying to make a decisions, so I stick by my guns on that issue. People are just wasting their own time, and that of other customers, if there review says nothing but "It sucked!" or "I loved it!" That, or just a simple star rating, is fine on Goodreads as those are mostly so you can compare your book interests with friends etc., not to directly influence consumers purchasing decisions.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

> That, or just a simple star rating, is fine on Goodreads as those are mostly so you can compare your book interests with friends etc., not to directly influence consumers purchasing decisions.


Oh how I wish this was true . I can not even begin to count the many many books I bought based on the Goodread ratings. 
My gift card weeps.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Atunah said:


> Oh how I wish this was true . I can not even begin to count the many many books I bought based on the Goodread ratings.
> My gift card weeps.


Ha ha. 

Well, I didn't mean to say that Goodreads reviews don't influence purchase decisions. Just that they're more meant for sharing reviews with friends, comparing books with friends etc. and getting recommendations that way.

Whereas Amazon reviews are solely for giving your opinion to any random person who sees your review when deciding whether or not to buy a book. No sharing specifically with friends etc.


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

I do. And they're all three-star or better. The reason: I stop reading books that don't interest me! My [very] "loose" figures on sales in relationship to reviews seems to be an author is "lucky" to get even 10% of purchased copies reviewed. Two isn't bad for 16 sales...  I am super-grateful when a reader takes timeout to review my book! Reviews are precious!


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## John Van Stry (May 25, 2011)

I may not leave a written review, but I -always- rate the book. If I really liked it, or it only has a few reviews, then I take the time to write a review.

I just wish more folks who read my stuff would either rate it, or write a review.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

NogDog said:


> Or at least they should not be reading the reviews.


LOL good point.



StaceyHH said:


> Why? Why MUST a negative rating be accompanied by details? Why all the rules? You've certainly put a lot of rules in this thread. Why shouldn't a reader be able to write "I really hated this book" full stop?


They can if they want but it's not going to be very helpful to other readers, the author or even other writers. I guess it's because I'm a photographer and I attended a photography school that I was taught how to form a constructive, productive critique of something. Not everyone has to follow the same method but it doesn't make me or many others think very highly of them when they say something so unproductive. If I have nothing more to say on a book other than "I really hated it", I won't bother, I'll just give it a 2 star rating on GR and let the rating speak for itself. Again, that's why I prefer GR over Amazon. If I'm going to write a review, I will actually put some _thought_ into it.



> They are not contracted by anyone to say anything (or to refrain from saying anything.)


Unless they have been given a free promo copy in exchange for a review like Goodreads Giveaways. I'm reading one right now that I won through this system and I am expected to write a review when I'm done. If I don't, my chances of getting picked again are reduced.


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## garryg (Jan 14, 2011)

Can I just say that from my writers point-of-view no review is 'worthless' and no opinion is wrong. Any author should want any response, a line a paragraph, a word, anything is better than nothing.
And a bad review is just as useful as a good one. If your review consists of typing "Crap." and you give me one star that is still better than nothing.

*I got a three star review that said:*


> I thought the story had a good start. I lost interest as the story progressed due to the fact the paragraphs and the dialogue were not indented. On the up side I thought the storyline is strong with timeless possibilities.


Now, although some may say this sounds petty, it was in fact extremely helpful, in that it made me realise how important this is to some readers, when reading an e-pub. I am sorry they didn't finish the story, but it was entirely my fault, and something I was able to easily change.

*Another one said:*


> Gary Grierson has a well fleshed out character named Arthur. You will quickly identify with him no matter what your background or demographic. That said, there are grammar issues in the text that slowed me down a bit.
> 
> I find Gary to be an articulate writer who can paint a realistic picture. I enjoyed The Vagrant's Tale and it is worth your time.
> 
> Grammar issues are the only reason it is not 5 stars.


This type of thing could be put down to differences of opinion, but even after the critiques and the re-writes and the editing, sometimes mistakes do still get in there. I've read lots of traditionally published book by major authors that still have what could be called grammatical mistakes, not that it's any form of excuse!
(by the way I did find one typo, that must have got in there during the last edit! Oh, and I fixed a couple of comma-splices that seemed to get away! So I did have definable 'gramatical errors')

Every review doesn't need to be 'constructive' a helpful review is not my (or anyone else's) right as a writer. I do believe the reader is doing the author a favour by leaving any comment and grading at all. The helpfulness of this to anyone (reader or writer) is a different concern.

If you think my stuff is good&#8230; well that's good. If you think it's atrocious I'd very much appreciate you telling me that, and even better if you say why. I don't just want to say I've published, I want to be good or why bother? 
When I get published the traditional way I've got someone coming back and saying, "I'll take it, but can you change this and drop that." And I bite my lip and say, "yes, of course I can."
When self e-publishing you haven't got that last-line of 'safety' so if something is wrong I'm more reliant on the readers to point it out.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Mrs. K. said:


> Reviewing on Amazon is difficult if you want to have credibility. I think the toughest part about it is reviewing each book on its own merits, based on both my opinion of the _quality of the story_ and its_ value for the intended audience._
> 
> By that standard, I should review and rate a book by Julia Quinn (light, witty European historical romance) as highly as I do one by Diana Gabaldon (epic European historical adventure/romance.) The two authors are both worthwhile in my opinion. Both write well and succeed at entertaining me; one clearly has more depth than the other, but both of their styles serve their purpose beautifully. I've read a number of each of their books (and I'd stop if I didn't like them!) Now, I do like Ms. Gabaldon's work more than Ms. Quinn's; would it be fair to Ms. Quinn to give her fewer stars or a 'bad' review (not that she'd care)? Should I give fewer stars to one book by Gabaldon because I liked it less than another she wrote (and let's face it...to give all of her books five stars would make me a "cheerleader" or "fangirl," wouldn't it?) Would it be fair to hand my husband a Julia Quinn book and expect he would give it a five star review? Would it be fair to give a bad review to a book about...uhmm...needlepoint because I wasn't entertained and don't like needlework?
> 
> Those reasons alone are enough to limit my reviews to one or two books by an author and skip doing a review on every book I read. When I review indie authors I use these same standards, and do realize that unlike Ms. Quinn they DO care and have much to lose or gain by what I might write on Amazon.


Each book is its own thing, kindred only to other books in the genre or area of the book world, and expectations are set up due to marketing, cover blurbs, etc. This is how I can rate an erotic romance high. Or a cozy mystery. I'm not comparing them to the best world literature, because it wasn't the goal of the author nor is it why the reader sought out the book. Gabaldon is her own creation, incorporating several types of books and needs to be approached in that spirit, thought given to all the irons she keeps in the fire. Most authors who write romance -- which is one of the top labels her books receive -- are not aiming to do what she does. She is also not the book I want for a fluffy read.

Which is why cover blurbs matter. When done right, they deliver the right reader to the book and they set up reasonable expectations. I also think it matter who the reader/reviewer is -- do they come to the book as a genre fan? Is it someone trying something new or venturing into new territory? As a reader, if I know a genre well, I will relate to reviews from similar people. A review from someone new to that type of book is still of interest, but they might delight at something I know to be cliche. However, their words might assist someone else who is looking to explore a new type of book. This is why the text of a review matters -- and why the more reviews, the better.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

If I didn't like the book, I'm not likely to even finish the book, so I'm more inclined to give a good rating than a poor rating. I'm more inclined to give a review to an indie book than I for one that already gets lots of reviews. I downloaded a free children's book, and my four year old loved it, so I gave it a review.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

That's fair, as you should only review books you finish.

It's very rare that I stop reading a book.  I'm pretty good at picking books (especially with Kindle samples) that I'm not going to loathe, so it's seldom that I dislike a book so much that I stop reading it.  I'm pretty good about finishing books even if they're not super page turners for me.  Otherwise I'd never finish any classics!


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> That's fair, as you should only review books you finish.


For once, we disagree - as long as you're honest about not having finished it, I don't see anything wrong with leaving a review. In fact, I think it's only fair to explain WHY I decided to stop reading a book by leaving a review.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

history_lover said:


> For once, we disagree - as long as you're honest about not having finished it, I don't see anything wrong with leaving a review. In fact, I think it's only fair to explain WHY I decided to stop reading a book by leaving a review.


Well, I'd agree that it's ok as long as you're clear that you didn't finish it.

My issue is that many books, movies or video games etc. improve after they get rolling. There's too many times I've disliked the first 25% of a book or first few hours of a video game etc. and then went on to end up really enjoying it once I got into it, so I generally always finish things I start personally. I'll stop if I'm just absolutely hating it, but I'm pretty good at knowing my tastes so that seldom happens.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> Well, I'd agree that it's ok as long as you're clear that you didn't finish it.
> 
> My issue is that many books, movies or video games etc. improve after they get rolling. There's too many times I've disliked the first 25% of a book or first few hours of a video game etc. and then went on to end up really enjoying it once I got into it, so I generally always finish things I start personally. I'll stop if I'm just absolutely hating it, but I'm pretty good at knowing my tastes so that seldom happens.


I agree that can happen but in my experience, it's rare and even if it does improve, it never improves very greatly, only slightly. I've never come across a book where I hated the first 25% but loved it by the end. I usually try to give a book at least 25%-50% before giving up though.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

history_lover said:


> I agree that can happen but in my experience, it's rare and even if it does improve, it never improves very greatly, only slightly. I've never come across a book where I hated the first 25% but loved it by the end. I usually try to give a book at least 25%-50% before giving up though.


Oh I'd agree with that. There's books I've disliked or been bored by the first 25% and ended up really enjoying it. But none that I've hated the first 25% and ended up really enjoying.

I'm just pretty good at avoiding books I end up hating--especially with Kindle samples. So it's rare that I start anything, beyond a sample, that I end up hating these days.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

I have a hard time stopping something I've started so I end up suffering through the entire book.  Even with kindle samples, I'll kind of like the samples and give the whole book a chance thinking it's got to get better only for things to get worse.  Oh well, I take it as a learning experience.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

mooshie78 said:


> Oh I'd agree with that. There's books I've disliked or been bored by the first 25% and ended up really enjoying it. But none that I've hated the first 25% and ended up really enjoying.
> 
> I'm just pretty good at avoiding books I end up hating--especially with Kindle samples. So it's rare that I start anything, beyond a sample, that I end up hating these days.


Yeah most of the ones I give up on these days are freebies.


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## lib2b (Apr 6, 2010)

I always leave a review on Goodreads. Good, bad, and indifferent. Some reviews are more fleshed out, and some are just quick, general reactions to the book, but I always post one no matter what. Sometimes I crosspost those reviews to Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, etc. I'll crosspost for the following reasons:

it was a review copy and part of the deal for getting the free review copy is posting my review elsewhere
i really liked it and want to spread the word far and wide
i think my review offers a different opinion/viewpoint than the ones already posted


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## Brem (Jun 29, 2011)

I do think reviews should be more than just "I liked this book" and "I hated this book". It helps to have a review with why you like or hate something. I try to go into detail on why I like or dislike something.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Brem said:


> I do think reviews should be more than just "I liked this book" and "I hated this book". It helps to have a review with why you like or hate something. I try to go into detail on why I like or dislike something.


Exactly. And I just thought of a good way to explain this while making it clear that I'm not trying to invalidate anyone's opinion.

Just saying "I loved this book" or "I hated this book" etc. is not a review. It's merely an opinion. And such opinions are perfectly valid.

A review is not merely stating an opinion, but also taking some time to explain why you hold that opinion with the goal of helping to inform others considering the product.

A review is an elaboration upon an opinion, designed to be useful to others considering reading the book or watching the movie etc. by explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the product and why you liked or disliked it so others can see how that matches up with their own likes and dislikes.

I think it's fine to merely state opinions when rating books on goodreads or movies on Netflix etc. as those are more for your own use and sharing with friends etc. But I think if one's going to leave a review on a place like Amazon then they need to do more than just state an opinion and at least say a few words about _why_ they hold that opinion.


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## MEmery (Jun 23, 2011)

TiffanyLovering said:


> I sold 16 books in June and only got 2 reviews, which as we all know reviews help sales! Do you always leave reviews even if it's not a 5 star book? Also, is there a way to get people to leave a review for your book?


Oh, I'm horrible at leaving reviews. I do tend to review books that I loved and leave no review for the ones I didn't care so much for. I should try to leave reviews for the ones I didn't like to explain why I didn't like it and perhaps help someone who is on the fence about purchasing the book. Maybe that'll be my New Year's resolution.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

Even if you don't leave reviews, or very few, do you agree that receiving a positive review is exciting?


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## garryg (Jan 14, 2011)

TiffanyLovering said:


> ...do you agree that receiving a positive review is exciting?


I'd say it is nice... comforting maybe.

An exiting review would be one that tells me something I've missed that can make the book better!

But semantics of a 'review' aside, an opinion (and a score where applicable) is still much better than nothing even, or perhaps especially, if you didn't like it or stopped!

The review in which someone told me they stopped and why helped me to make an easy formatting fix that I would otherwise not have noticed!

Oh, and I always try to leave something for indipendant and start-up writers, for blockbusters not so much unless I've got something very spacific to say.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I am a totaly hypocrite and I admit it.  I wish people would leave good reviews and I do leave good reviews for books that are truly powerful (An Epitaph for Coyote was one), but I often forget to leave reviews.  For me, if there is no review, I take that to mean people like it.  People seem to go out of their way to leave bad reviews.


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

The thing is - when people only leave reviews for books they really love, so give them 5*, you get books with all 5* reviews, so other people assume all the reviews are by their family and friends.

I'd rather have a longer comment and a 4* or even 3* review than a 5* review which says very little (although I'd rather than that than nothing at all!). Or am I just greedy?


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## jayreddy publisher (Jun 13, 2011)

I don't always leave a review. Unfortunately, unless I really love the story or strongly dislike it, it is easy to forget to leave a review. There are plenty of good forums, like goodreads for example, where the readers tend to review your book more frequently. Easiest way to ensure a review to offer your book for free in trade for an honest review. But honestly, the more you sell the more reviews you will get.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

DebBennett said:


> The thing is - when people only leave reviews for books they really love, so give them 5*, you get books with all 5* reviews, so other people assume all the reviews are by their family and friends.
> 
> I'd rather have a longer comment and a 4* or even 3* review than a 5* review which says very little (although I'd rather than that than nothing at all!). Or am I just greedy?


I think I feel the same way. Then again, I'll never turn away or complain about a 5* review no matter how much or how little is said!


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## Kathy Bennett (Jun 15, 2011)

From what I've read, it sounds like people (readers AND authors) want *honest* reviews.

I think of reviews kind of like my critique group's comments...if several people are saying the same thing, there is probably merit in the comment. If only one person has a strong reaction to a particular element, while it may be valid, I won't lose sleep over it (in the case of a bad comment).

This thread has certainly sparked some lively discussion. Interesting stuff!


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

Kathy Bennett said:


> I think of reviews kind of like my critique group's comments...if several people are saying the same thing, there is probably merit in the comment. If only one person has a strong reaction to a particular element, while it may be valid, I won't lose sleep over it (in the case of a bad comment).


While I agree with you on this (strength in numbers), I think some people don't leave reviews if they don't feel they have something new to contribute...


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Kathy Bennett said:


> From what I've read, it sounds like people (readers AND authors) want *honest* reviews.
> 
> I think of reviews kind of like my critique group's comments...if several people are saying the same thing, there is probably merit in the comment. If only one person has a strong reaction to a particular element, while it may be valid, I won't lose sleep over it (in the case of a bad comment).
> 
> This thread has certainly sparked some lively discussion. Interesting stuff!


For a review to be helpful to me it needs to be honest and offer enough details about why the reviewer liked or disliked the book that I can compare their reasons to my own preferences, pet peeves etc. and use that to better gauge whether I'd share the same opinion of the book as them.

Someone leaving a 2 star review and saying nothing more that "I hated this book" doesn't help me much--though it's of course a valid opinion. If they leave a 2 star review and say they hated it because it had too much profanity, violence and sex, then I can disregard that review as those things don't bother me. Their opinion is still valid of course, but just not relevant to my purchase decision as they clearly have very different tastes from mine. On the other hand, if they leave a 2 star review and say it was poorly written, had lots of typos, and had shallow characters and a lame ending, then I can probably write off that book as those things would also probably cause me to hate it.

Same thing with a 5 star review praising the book, if I know a little about what reviewers liked about it, I can judge if those are things I also like or not and give reviews more or less weight in influencing my decision.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

mooshie78 said:


> On the other hand, if they leave a 2 star review and say it was poorly written, had lots of typos, and had shallow characters and a lame ending, then I can probably write off that book as those things would also probably cause me to hate it.
> 
> Same thing with a 5 star review praising the book, if I know a little about what reviewers liked about it, I can judge if those are things I also like or not and give reviews more or less weight in influencing my decision.


I love a bad review with the specifics why they dis-liked it. When I review, either good or bad, I try to avoid plot summaries but instead focus on what works and what doesn't work. If the blurb isn't clear on the type of book, I'll discuss genre or compare to similar books, but I try not to go into specific spoilers whenever possible.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I like helpful reviews.  I hate people who just seem to want to say evil and mean things without really being helpful.  There is a difference between constructive criticism and just tearing someone down.  

Right now my novel RIG has about 3 stars, and I have to agree with that assessment.  I think it is a 3 star book.  So, I guess, in the end, the readers will get it right...at least I hope so.


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## Tessa Apa (Apr 8, 2011)

This made me laugh. I solicited reviews from family when my first free short stories went up. Guess what? My dad only gave me 4 stars! I was so annoyed - and even now, he is reading my new novel in order to review it for me - I know I wont get 5 stars from him on that either because he doesn't believe in 5 stars apparently even for his struggling daughter! What I do get is honesty though, and that is worth it. 

I leave reviews on books I love, even if there's a million already there. I also do review swaps with other indies - we agree in advance on honesty so it works well,


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

No, I don't.  And as an author I should know better.  I do the typical thing, I generally review items I absolutely adore or despise.  

Dawn


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I have considered creating a user account online completely unattached to my name so that I can review honestly everything I read. There's plenty of books I've not liked, been able to get through, or had cure my insomnia that I've love to share those thoughts about. However, I'm not quite at the stage where I can rival Mark Twain's beating of Jane Austen with her own shin bone.

I probably review, currently, 5% of what I read (I'm not including the "hey I read this and liked it" tweets, mentions here, etc). With the anonymouse account, I might review closer to 30%.


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## garryg (Jan 14, 2011)

I may just be naive, but I was genuinely surprised by the assumption that a lot of reviews are dishonest!

I suppose when thinking about it, getting people to write good reviews for you may make someone more likely to read your book, but they may then write a very negative review… so ultimately what’s the point?

This tactic honestly never occurred to me. I’d much rather get real, honest reviews from people who have genuinely read my work. If those reviews are negative then so be it, at least they should be honest!


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## NS (Jul 8, 2011)

I had a dream last night that I received a one star review (still waiting for my first). As my kids say, the good dream fairy didn't come to me last night.   As for me, I do write reviews when I feel it. It doesn't really depends on book, only my mood and timing. And I'm a moody person!


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## PatrickWalts (Jul 22, 2011)

I review things all the time, but then again, I'm addicted to the idea of putting my opinions online.  It's a sickness, and I need help!


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## Evan Couzens (Jul 18, 2011)

I've been reviewing more since I got Kindle. I figure that indie authors could benefit from reader reviews more than traditionally published authors, and I like banking good karma when I can.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

Evan Couzens said:


> I've been reviewing more since I got Kindle. I figure that indie authors could benefit from reader reviews more than traditionally published authors, and I like banking good karma when I can.


Ditto to that! Good karma never hurts!


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## HeadshotHeather (Jan 7, 2010)

I'm a book reviewer, so whenever I read a book I review it on my site and I will also post the same review on Amazon and Goodreads


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## Marata Eros (Jul 23, 2011)

I always leave a star rating at least. Especially on the reader/writer site, goodreads. It's just a way for another reader to do a "quick gander," at whether or not they wish to give the book a try. I leave text for the ones I love. Let's face it, if a book is so bad you can't even finish it, I'm not as inclined to bother with a review...


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## Douglas Dorow (Jun 21, 2011)

I try to always leave a review. First, to pay back the author for their time and commitment to writing the story and entertaining me and second, to give other potential readers some info to use in deciding if this book would be something they would enjoy reading or not.


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

I leave a review when I can. I am a little hesitant in leaving negative reviews, because I never know if I am being objective or not.


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## Bridges (Jul 16, 2011)

I should leave more reveiws... I know how important they are ... you've all just given me a kick up the backside! Thank you!


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## KathyGleason (May 5, 2011)

I almost never leave reviews, but I'm trying start doing it because I know reviews help _me when I'm choosing a book._


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## SimonSmithWilson (Jul 26, 2011)

I always try to leave a review. I don't believe in leaving negative comments. If something doesn't really connect with me I won't leave a review. If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all, lol. If I like the product then I will leave a glowing review. I think the lowest review I have done is 4 stars, lol.


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## tsharp (Jul 14, 2011)

I once left a really bad review of a book by a successful established writer simply because (apart from hating the book) all the reviews were glowing and they didn't seem to notice all the things that bugged me about the book. A week or so later I got a message from anther reader of the book who said she loved my comments and couldn't believe there were so many good reviews for it.


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## Jason Kristopher (Jun 1, 2011)

I have two views on this question.

As a reader, I depend on reviews to give me some insight into the quality of the book I'm reading. If a book has 3 stars or less with more than 10 reviews, I won't bother reading the actual reviews. But if the reviews are decent, then I'll chance the sample, and only if I like that will I actually buy the book. Some reviews are in-depth, meaningful and helpful. Others aren't. I pay attention to the ones that are well thought-out and give solid reasons for/against the book. But I do utilize the reviews as another tool in making my buying decision.

Some books are worth reviewing, either for good or ill. Some make so little impact on me that I don't care to review them. But if I write a positive review, then I post it several places: Amazon, GoodReads, and both my blogs. Negative reviews are rare, but some books are just so bad that I feel the need to warn others away from them. Seriously.


As a writer, I also depend on reviews, but for more obvious reasons, especially on Amazon. Reviews and ratings, combined with sales, give me my book's Amazon Rank. That number is the single most important sales tool I have, bar none. And the only way that I can affect it is through getting more sales and asking for reviews. I can't force people to review the book. All I can do is ask them to consider taking 5 minutes to do so on Amazon, because the more reviews I get, the more sales I get, and the more sales I get, the more time I'll have to write the sequels. So I incentivize them to leave a review.

I understand that some people have moral/personal objections to Amazon. I can appreciate anyone taking a stance on their beliefs, and I would never try to convince someone to go against that. That said, a GoodReads review, while appreciated, doesn't mean much in terms of sales. My book has been available for purchase on GoodReads as an ebook for over two months, and I haven't sold a single copy. I did a giveaway, and had 694 people sign up. Still no sales. I have an ad campaign running. Again, no sales. So either they're all going to Amazon directly and buying it there (yay!) or the fine folks over there talk a big game but have no follow-through. 

So if I have a choice about where to have a review, I'll take Amazon every time. And the more reviews the better, imho. It's five minutes, if that. If the reader likes the book, then hopefully they'll take those 5 minutes to let me - and everyone else on Amazon - know.


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

Jason Kristopher said:


> I understand that some people have moral/personal objections to Amazon. I can appreciate anyone taking a stance on their beliefs, and I would never try to convince someone to go against that. That said, a GoodReads review, while appreciated, doesn't mean much in terms of sales. My book has been available for purchase on GoodReads as an ebook for over two months, and I haven't sold a single copy. I did a giveaway, and had 694 people sign up. Still no sales. I have an ad campaign running. Again, no sales. So either they're all going to Amazon directly and buying it there (yay!) or the fine folks over there talk a big game but have no follow-through.
> 
> So if I have a choice about where to have a review, I'll take Amazon every time. And the more reviews the better, imho. It's five minutes, if that. If the reader likes the book, then hopefully they'll take those 5 minutes to let me - and everyone else on Amazon - know.


I don't know a single person who has ever bought a book from Goodreads. I do know MANY people who have bought MANY books based on reviews they read at Goodreads. Yes, they buy them at Amazon, but the review at Goodreads sold it to them. It's unfortunate that you can't track the conversion from GR, but don't naively assume that because you can't see the conversion that GR has no impact on your sales.


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## Jason Kristopher (Jun 1, 2011)

StaceyHH said:


> I don't know a single person who has ever bought a book from Goodreads. I do know MANY people who have bought MANY books based on reviews they read at Goodreads. Yes, they buy them at Amazon, but the review at Goodreads sold it to them. It's unfortunate that you can't track the conversion from GR, but don't naively assume that because you can't see the conversion that GR has no impact on your sales.


Hence the "going to Amazon directly and buying it there (yay!) " part of my post.  I never assume anything, which is why I still appreciate the reviews on GoodReads. I wasn't trying to discount the conversions, at all.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Well I have bought many books on recommendations from Goodreads. At this point, I tend to rank Goodreads reviews a bit higher in my personal vetting I do. I still look at the Amazon ones too. I follow a lot of people on Goodreads and I can see how they rate and review stuff.

So for me, Goodreads reviews tend to outrank Amazon reviews in my decision what to buy and read next. I don't do reviews, but on Goodreads I get to give stars without writing one.


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## John Dorian (Jul 23, 2011)

I like to review anything I experience. Music, games, books, it's all analyzed up here in my brain dome. From there it's just a matter of putting it into words.


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## KateEllison (Jul 9, 2011)

deckard said:


> I was looking at the reviews for a book on Amazon the other day and one review wasn't what I would call a review. The book was rated four stars by the reviewer and the only comment was in the subject line: "Where's the sequel?" is that a review
> 
> So, in a way you can rate a book without actually reviewing it.


Yeah, I'd say so. I would take that as somebody loving the book enough to want to keep reading, so it's a favorable review.


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2011)

Whether you love or hate the book, you should always write a brief review as a courtesy to other readers - and even the author. If you spent your money and it turned out to be a waste, share why you thought so and spare other readers from losing their money too.

If you loved the book, then encourage the author to keep writing by doing a little advertising. We all buy things based on others' reviews so writing a good review will have a direct impact on the author's sales and - by extension - his/her desire to keep writing.

I see reviewing in a Golden Rule way: I would want people to review my books - good or bad - and so will therefore do so for others.


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## Jason Kristopher (Jun 1, 2011)

Z.D. Robinson said:


> Whether you love or hate the book, you should always write a brief review as a courtesy to other readers - and even the author. If you spent your money and it turned out to be a waste, share why you thought so and spare other readers from losing their money too.
> 
> If you loved the book, then encourage the author to keep writing by doing a little advertising. We all buy things based on others' reviews so writing a good review will have a direct impact on the author's sales and - by extension - his/her desire to keep writing.
> 
> I see reviewing in a Golden Rule way: I would want people to review my books - good or bad - and so will therefore do so for others.


This.

Times ten.


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## Nick Wastnage (Jun 16, 2011)

Z.D. Robinson said:


> Whether you love or hate the book, you should always write a brief review as a courtesy to other readers - and even the author. If you spent your money and it turned out to be a waste, share why you thought so and spare other readers from losing their money too.
> 
> If you loved the book, then encourage the author to keep writing by doing a little advertising. We all buy things based on others' reviews so writing a good review will have a direct impact on the author's sales and - by extension - his/her desire to keep writing.
> 
> I see reviewing in a Golden Rule way: I would want people to review my books - good or bad - and so will therefore do so for others.


 I agree with you. Of course I prefer good reviews but all reviews are a source of feedback and authors need that. I try to review all books I read.


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## TiffanyLovering (Jul 1, 2011)

Z.D. Robinson said:


> Whether you love or hate the book, you should always write a brief review as a courtesy to other readers - and even the author. If you spent your money and it turned out to be a waste, share why you thought so and spare other readers from losing their money too.
> 
> If you loved the book, then encourage the author to keep writing by doing a little advertising. We all buy things based on others' reviews so writing a good review will have a direct impact on the author's sales and - by extension - his/her desire to keep writing.
> 
> I see reviewing in a Golden Rule way: I would want people to review my books - good or bad - and so will therefore do so for others.


I agree with this completely. As I have learned since originally posting this, I am amazed at how many people don't agree with this philosophy.


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## mscottwriter (Nov 5, 2010)

I'll review anything but books I couldn't finish.  But even when writing a one or two star review, I do what I can to find something positive about the book.

A good review doesn't necessarily mean a five-star review.  A good review is thoughtful, well written, and insightful.  I've learned a lot from some of the less-than-wonderful reviews I've read.


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2011)

Jason Kristopher said:


> This.
> 
> Times ten.


I'm so glad someone else takes such a stand! 



Nick Wastnage said:


> I agree with you. Of course I prefer good reviews but all reviews are a source of feedback and authors need that. I try to review all books I read.


Indeed. I have a friend who is reading my book for the purpose of writing a review. Now I'm not so sure since he isn't liking it they way I thought he would. Still, there is no such thing as bad publicity, and even though my current book is locked and won't be changed further, any constructive notes he gives me will only improve my next book.



TiffanyLovering said:


> I agree with this completely. As I have learned since originally posting this, I am amazed at how many people don't agree with this philosophy.


It truly is strange how so many people - whether we are talking about writing or not - wants someone to scratch their back for free. It's simple, isn't it? You want people to treat you well? Then you should treat others the same way - in advance. And in this business, our livelihoods depend (sometimes) on others taking a few seconds to rank the book on a scale of 1 to 5. Not a total inconvenience.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

_***just want to post a gentle reminder -- this thread is in the Book Corner where self-promotion is not allowed.  So please do not reference your own works. The discussion is about whether YOU leave reviews, not whether you like to get them.  Thanks for understanding.***_


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## PatrickWalts (Jul 22, 2011)

I can't write a decent review, anyway.  I can't pick apart a book, album or movie and analyze what I did or didn't like about it in any kind of coherent manner.  I do leave reviews frequently, though.  They're just brief and to the point.  If something stands out to me, good or bad, I might make note of it, but it doesn't get much more detailed than that.


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## VincentHobbes (Jun 13, 2011)

I never post negative reviews. Only good ones, and only if i'm inspired to do so by great writing.


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## JChris (Jul 18, 2011)

I've downloaded a few kindle books. The thing is, I only download them if I liked the samples. I'm pretty good about picking good stuff. I've only downloaded one poorly written ebook, but I kinda knew that when I downloaded it. It was free. I wrote a review for it, but I tried to keep it positive. It did have some good ideas and it was certainly interesting, just didn't read well. But it was free.

The good books I read, though, I felt compelled to review. As a self-published writer, I think doing so helps the market so people feel more comfortable about making an indie book purchase. However, I think it's realistic to believe that sometimes people just don't finish books. It happens. Maybe they got sidetracked. It's easy to get distracted and apparently it's very common. I think they call it the Netflix effect. It's a sign of the times.


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## Michael_J_Sullivan (Aug 3, 2011)

First off...for all those people who do leave reviews (good, bad or indifferent) thank you!! Authors, especially new ones, need third-party validation and while we would prefer to get all 4's and 5's we'll take lower numbers as it is what you truly feel and we really would rather hear from you than not.

I would love to do more reviewing, than I do but I'm VERY critical (I usually have my own opinions about how I would have taken the story etc). And I don't want to either censor myself or rate poorly which could seriously harm another author.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

Z.D. Robinson said:


> Whether you love or hate the book, you should always write a brief review as a courtesy to other readers - and even the author. If you spent your money and it turned out to be a waste, share why you thought so and spare other readers from losing their money too.
> 
> If you loved the book, then encourage the author to keep writing by doing a little advertising. We all buy things based on others' reviews so writing a good review will have a direct impact on the author's sales and - by extension - his/her desire to keep writing.
> 
> I see reviewing in a Golden Rule way: I would want people to review my books - good or bad - and so will therefore do so for others.


I agree in THEORY. But I just can't bring myself to leave a bad review. Even if, in theory, it would help others. It leaves a vile taste in my mouth. I feel I might as well go up to a kitten and kick it. I only feel motivated to leave a review for books I love.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Michael_J_Sullivan said:


> First off...for all those people who do leave reviews (good, bad or indifferent) thank you!! Authors, especially new ones, need third-party validation and while we would prefer to get all 4's and 5's we'll take lower numbers as it is what you truly feel and we really would rather hear from you than not.
> 
> I would love to do more reviewing, than I do but I'm VERY critical (I usually have my own opinions about how I would have taken the story etc). And I don't want to either censor myself or rate poorly which could seriously harm another author.


Agree 100%. As I said repeatedly earlier in the thread, I pay very little attention to the average ratings on sites like Amazon as I know they're biased heavily toward the extremes. Many--like many in this thread--only leave positive reviews. And aside from them the main reason many jump online to post their opinion on something is when they hate it or had problems (if it's a gadget etc.) and want to complain.

So it's just not an accurate rating of the true average opinion on that book among the user base as some are only reviewing things the love (and thus we're missing their reviews for books they though were average or poor) and others only leave bad reviews (and thus we're missing their reviews for books that were average or good).

So I just don't much bother with reviews on those sites. Even critic reviews I'll just skim over and see if the summary of the book makes it sound like something I'd enjoy, and then I'll go check out the sample for myself and go from there. I occasionally do that with Amazon reviews, but too few customers put much detail into why they liked or hated a book. I can usually get a better sense of what a book is about, and it's strengths and weaknesses from a professional review.


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