Skip to main content

You should explain why you rate books with one or two stars




I was scrolling through profiles on Goodreads. Many of them look like trolls, they read about 200 books and rated them with 2 or 1 star. 

Now, I am wondering, are those people just haters, do they throw books in the trash or is it something else behind this?

As a reviewer, I always like to explain my choice. If I give a bad mark, I will tell you why I think so. I will never be a person who will just rate a book without explanation. Even worse, some people rate book on Amazon, you can't see who did it, there is just this one star, like an egg to your face.

Tell me that my book is a piece of trash, it is boring and terrible, but don't be an invisible troll who is just bragging about numbers. You remind me of a kid who throws a rock at a neighbor's window and runs away before he finds out who did it. 

To be objective, I don't like five stars rating without a review, too. 

Someone wants to help me, but he did not read a book? 

He did not buy a book but he brags it is excellent? 

Spare me of this, please. Fake compliments don't help authors. 

A brief, objective analysis, does help. I want you to talk about my characters, what you like, what you did not like, why you can't read this, or why you could not stop reading this.

I will recognize your interest in your sentences. If my book helped you, give you a smile or tears, let me know.

Ignorance and fake interests are enemies of books. The real reader will know how to show his affection. 





Comments

Stephanie Jane said…
So true!
I've been persuaded to buy far more books by thoughtful four- or three-star reviews than by a heap of 5-star ratings with little or no comment.
Susie said…
I didn't even know that rating without reviewing was possible, until I noticed one of mine had 4 stars, but couldn't find the actual review.

Popular posts from this blog

The book based on true events

  A paperback version is on Amazon.  Genre: Contemporary romance, young adult short novel Place of action: Croatia Alert : based on true story The blurb:   Valentina lives in a small town. The priorities for women are to get marry in twenties.  Fighting with prejudices, Valentina has an open relationship with a local hooligan. The love story will develop in a wrong direction. Valentina will learn important life lessons. The review: Clear, sharp, legible, written in Kristina's recognizable style. An interesting, powerful, instructive story - when an intelligent woman falls in love with a bad man. This is a real-life story that happens to many women. The story shows that intelligent women and common sense are not immune to falling in love with bad men and the thought that they can change them. A love story that is not really a romantic story. Love is one-sided. Love is stronger than reason, but until a moment when everything has changed. Purchase link:  Seduced by...

Swapping books - a devil's deal

  "I will read your book if you read and review mine." This is an example of author's deal when it comes time for reviews. Reviews is hard to get. If you sell books, it is still not guarantee you will get reviews. If I could get a review for every book I sold, it would be great. People will buy book to collect it on the shelves and leave it un-read. Or, they will read but not rate it. Many reasons are for not getting reviews, but some people don't know where and how to write reviews or are not eligible. That is the reason why authors will turn to other authors, with a proposition for review. The danger of such review is on Amazon rules: author can't review other's author books on request. I love to read indie authors and they inspire me, but I have my circle and I never accept offers to read someone I never heard about. Once I got a proposition :" Hey, I saw your review for XX author, can you write it for me, too?" I ignored it. When you have a deal ...

Should we respond to negative reviews?

Recently I had a discussion in my social media about negative ratings. There was a situation in Goodreads, where I got two negative reviews on my two books. The point was in the way how the ratings were set up. First rating for my book "Body in the waves" was placed under 5-star review from another reviewer. While the reviewer praising my book, the troll came under to say "This is really bad book." Second rating was described as " Poor author needs writing lessons." Both reviews broke standards of reviewing, because there is no visible evidence that book was downloaded in Kindle unlimited or purchased. It was a clear troll act from a new page, without a profile photo and with a nickname. I reported this to Goodreads and they responded me they are processing this. Meanwhile, I heard from other authors that Goodreads failed to do anything about trolling.  In these terms, Goodreads should delete such profiles and forbid the access because of breaking rules. T...