ONE STAR REVIEWS
I want to talk about one star reviews for a minute. A book that I really liked got a 1 star review this morning that it does not deserve. This book had great writing and a great plot. I reviewed it myself and I gave it 5 stars. It was funny, unique, and I still tell people to read it and I read it a long time ago. Which means that the book stuck with me because it was good. I only give books what I think they deserve. If I really loved a book, the editing was good, and the book flowed well, I will give it 5 stars because it deserves it.
Some books could deserve one star reviews, I am not disputing that. People should always give their truthful opinion. If you don’t like the book, you don’t like the book. What pisses me off is when people leave horrible, negative reviews that the book does not deserve. It hurts the authors and their sales.
Review decorum should always be thought about when writing a review. Don’t post so many spoilers that it ruins the book for people that have not read it yet. Don’t leave headers like, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. Don’t be rude. Don’t be condescending. Don’t be mean! It is simple common courtesy. If you didn’t like the book, give your opinion about why. Find something nice to say about the book as well. Let it be known that it is your opinion. Do not try to sway readers into believing that a book is so horrible it does not deserve their time.
My way of thinking is that everyone has different tastes. What one person likes, another might not. That is why it is just wrong to tell people not to buy this book because YOU didn’t like it. That is why it is wrong to SPOIL it for people that want to give it a chance. One star reviews should be handled with dignity, not with mean spirits. That is my rant for the day.
Posted on December 27, 2012, in Uncategorized and tagged amazon, authors, One Star Reviews, Rant, readers, Respect. Bookmark the permalink. 20 Comments.
Editing Services 
I got a 1 star review recently for my new release Witchlove i have added on goodreads but haven’t even published yet! She hadn’t even read it but had an ongoing dispute with my indie editor! Thankfully I emailed her saying I thought she was being unfair & after a conversation she agreed to remove the rating! Harsh when you haven’t even published yet!
I do not understand people giving bad reviews for books they have not read just because of problems with someone involved in the book. That just shows how petty and mean spirited people can be. I have to wonder if people understand how much it hurts authors? I am not even an author and it bothers me. I am glad that you got the review taken down.
Some people are serious assholes.
I love your rant of the day and we need to speak up about this! It is hurtful and sets my ass on fire!! I agree with you a 100% and reviewers need to think about the author and the blood, sweat and tears that they put into their work. It is their baby, they work day and night and work with their amazing talent they have been given. We the readers, reviewers, etc….should feel very honored. I know I am. I never spoil the books in my reviews and even if there were a book that I wasn’t into so much, I would never be mean spirited. It just is not in me as a reviewer, nor as a human being.
I have also watched a dear friend get a bad review based upon someone not even finishing the book. SERIOUSLY!!?? What is that? How can you base a review upon something you didn’t even finish!!
Anyway….I will stop here. I could go on for days on this issue. Thank you for speaking up about it. This has bothered me for a quite some time.
People that don’t finish books and leave bad reviews should be ashamed. You never know how a book that starts off slow is going to end up. Give it a chance. I will admit to not finishing a book, but I did not leave a review for the simple fact that I could not finish it. I just thought that this should be out there. Maybe it will make people stop and think.
As an author, I truly appreciate this post. I know how it feels when you get a 1 star review. If I truly hate a book that much, I just choose to keep quiet about it. I think people just want to make a splash but they don’t realize that a book is an author’s baby. They put a lot into anything they put out and hateful reviews hurt.
I can understand that books are authors babies. As an editor, I take offense at bad reviews of books that I edited. To me, a bad review of a book I edited makes me sad and a bit angry. I probably get to much into feeling like a book that I edited is my baby as well. I had a hand in shaping them and they mean a lot to me. I just think that people should respect the time and dedication that authors put into entertaining people. Yes, there are a lot of books out that there truly suck, or that need refining to make them better, but even those books deserve a bit of respect. People should at least be nice about not liking a book. It never helps to be mean.
A friend of mine recently got a one star review because the reviewer’s Kindle Fire wouldn’t download the book (her review did state something like she “was sure it would be a good book if she could read it”) . My friend very graciously offered to send her a copy if it continued to be a problem, six or seven other people replied berating the OP for giving the book one star. Hehe. I really don’t think people realise how much effort and guts it takes to put yourself out there. I must admit I find it hard to believe that some reviews are written by adults, particularly in cases like Emma Mills (above), such childish, pity behaviour is quite ridiculous.
I like my reviews (both as an author and a reader) to be informative. Tell me what you liked and what you didn’t, it helps me make an informed decision, about buying a book, or maybe how I’ll write me next one. Thanks for the fantastic blog.
People really should not leave bad reviews because of a technical error. That is insane. I like when people take the initiative to respond to people that are in the wrong. It takes guts to put stuff out there and it takes guts to show that you do not approve of people being unfair. Thanks for reading!
Wasn’t my book was it?
Lol, no 😀
Reblogged this on …And Everything in Between… and commented:
My friend Cynthia posted this today on her blog and I think it was eloquently stated and couldn’t be more true. Please check it out.
Thanks Shannon!
I think this was beautifully stated and absolutely true. Add to that, 1 star reviews where people didn’t finish the book. If you don’t finish it, don’t review it. That me for always being honest. 🙂
Thank you, Shannon. 😀 I agree one hundred percent.
Great post. I also don’t understand why people can’t keep the snark out of bad reviews. It’s enough of a blow to the author without being nasty and mean spirited. If you feel you must give a one star review, at least be kind about it. Thank you for your consideration. It’s nice to know not all reviewers feel the need to make snide comments to get their point across.
Thanks Dana. I think most reviewers are great at being honest and nice. There are just a few rotten bunch that spoil it. I think that people like that probably take out their frustration about theirselves on the bad reviews that they post. It makes some people feel better to take out stuff on others. I will never understand that. It makes no sense to be mean. Thank you for reading! 😀
One star reviews say more about the reviewer than the title they’re reviewing. All a one star review does is make the reviewer feel better about themselves and does a disservice to the author. I make it a rule not to say anyting at all if I can’t give a book more than three stars.
My favorite reviews are the ones that complain about things that aren’t even in the book. People be smrt.
I truly loved this post…I have never received a 1 star review, nor have I ever given one….I have however received a 2 star review y it hurt I’m guessing as bad as a 1 star review….I accepted it in stride after crying my eyes out…I even posted it on FB with a gracias message thanking them for motivating me even more to continue following my dream of being an Author….because the best way to overcome something like this is to be greater than what they wrote but staying true to sus self, sus craft y sus fans….she was the only 2 star review I received all the others were 5 y 4 Star reviews y it seemed that her review was personally motivated somehow….didn’t sabe/know her but I read more in the review intended for me about her….I’ve learned to accept the good with the not so great y take it as a learning experience….it can only better me y my writing…I’m a poet y my interpretation of the world around me is not someone else’s….so when I read y write reviews y other people’s works, I try to take that into account….now bad editing, horrible spelling is another thing….but I feel that tú can still be respectfully constructive about this while still giving an overall good review about the story itself….just my view on things, sonrisa….