I wanted to make my next blog post a little informative. However, I was never good at writing informative essays in school, so just… hear me out.
As writers, we view things a lot differently than readers. I think a lot differently now than I had six years ago. One of the biggest things I have noticed being the most difficult is my review scale has shifted. Not only that, but I think a lot more about how I speak to an author, and how I post things online. I am also an empath so that adds to a lot of my decisions.
I prefer reading indie authors. Indie authors are a gift. They’re more likely to answer your emails/ DMs/ etc. and they oftentimes do more events than some mainstream authors. And typically, indie authors include their readers a lot more (most likely because it is a smaller reader base, but still!) The opportunities to connect with indie authors are endless. I’ve gotten to message Penelope Douglas and Ivy Smoak, and they’ve replied. That means a lot to someone who has sat down and devoured your hard work.
As an indie author myself, I enjoy reading reviews and messages as well. However, there’s a bit of a stigma with authors being on Goodreads. I’m on there to see what my readers do and don’t like. I think all of us authors are guilty of getting online and reading reviews. We can’t help it. At least, I can’t. I’m nosey. And something that I found interesting when looking at mine is that I have a one-star rating with no text review, and it says my book was read in a day. Those are the reviews, as an author, that I laugh at. You may not have liked it, which is totally fine. I’m not everybody’s cup of tea. But you also didn’t say anything… so how was I supposed to know what you didn’t like? At the same time, they could’ve hated the entire thing. Which is where my indie rating scale comes in…
Indie authors have a hard enough time getting readers. So, in my opinion, that one-star rating looks a little fishy. Out of all the people I’ve reached out to read my book, why is there one one-star rating? Why would I want someone to rate it that?
I don’t. Obviously.
I’ve shared my rating scale before, so I’ll do it here.
Five Stars- I love it. Would read it more than once. Have recommended it to my friends. Can’t stop talking about it. Would buy more than one copy.
Four Stars- Super good. Enjoyed it. Might recommend it.
Three Stars- I read it. Neither liked nor disliked.
Two Stars- Wasn’t my favorite read, but I got through it.
One Star- It felt like pulling teeth to get me to finish it. Might have DNF’d. Felt a disconnect with the story.
But if it’s a book NOT in my genre, I do NOT leave a review.
I’ve noticed it seems to be a thing where someone will see a book is doing well, then read it even when it’s out of someone’s interest range.
WHY would you put yourself or the author through that? (I’m seriously curious.)
It hurts the author’s rating when you rate the book low because it’s either “not your cup of tea” or “not interesting” to the reader. Typically, when that is the case for me, I do not review the book. I let it sit in my read pile and move on about my day.
But some folks feel the need to share the negativity, which is where being an indie author sucks.
That one bad review, to someone who has THOUSANDS of reviews, might not be such a big deal. But for example, my book, has fifteen ratings and one of those ratings are a one star. That’s a bit more frustrating.
I can’t convince everyone to do their rating scales a different way or teach them compassion for indie authors through a screen, but I genuinely think it is something to consider when writing a review. Indie author’s 90% of the time do NOT have the backing trad published authors do. Most of them have an agent, an editor, maybe a manager, a crew to back them up. Versus some indie authors who literally do everything on their own.
I do all of my own editing, my own covers (except Rise of Fame- but I did the cover “designing”), and my own marketing and I don’t have a team that can back me when someone has a bad review or a bad remark. Instead, I’ll sit and strew on how to improve. That’s what we all want to do in the end. Improve our writing and learn from other writers and readers.
I love Goodreads and all the review sites, but at the same time, it can really crush some writers. Luckily, I just don’t care. (It hurts sometimes and sucks, but lol) I love my characters, I love the stories I have told, and I only hope to grow as an author. Those who have read all of my books have said they can see the growth in every new book and it melts my heart. Summer Love: New York City is a book that I am most proud of and I put a lot of my heart into it. If someone doesn’t like it… well...
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