I spend lots of time looking at books, blurbs and reviews. I’m astounded at the amount of people who rate books with one star reviews because of issues that aren’t related to a book they’re reviewing.

 

I’ve seen countless bogus one and two star reviews with statements such as: they weren’t happy with the speed or state of their delivered book, the book wasn’t in their preferred genre, and many more ridiculous reviews. Heck, I recently received one of those reviews on my latest book – Twenty Years: After “I Do”. Let’s keep in mind that this book is a memoir about how to keep a good marriage going despite tragedies and circumstances that can happen. I also don’t claim to be famous, I’m an Indie author and proud of my accomplishments. Here was the latest review on my book:  “Really? I thought when I borrowed this from Kindle that it would be funny and have meaning. NO What I got was a memoir from someone that nobody knows.” Yes, there you have it. I have obviously misled a reader into thinking I am a famous author and my book was written as a comedy.

I have no clue why Amazon doesn’t put out any good information to readers about the importance of the rating system. So many uneducated reviewers giving one star reviews for issues totally unrelated to the book itself! I would wager a guess that these reviewers have no clue how their one star complaints ruin an author’s book rating because of their inconsequential complaints.

In the instances when these readers aren’t satisfied with the Zon’s service, I would highly recommend they contact customer service to rectify their issues and not take it out on authors. Writing a review and giving it a one star rating despite the good writing and storyline is not warranted because the reader read a book in a genre they didn’t like. Here’s an idea – DON’T READ IT! Or better yet, please don’t leave a bogus review.

I don’t mean to sound biased here because I’m an author. Certainly if a reader has valid reasons for not liking a book they are entitled to voice their opinion, but what I’m saying is to be fair! If there are valid reasons for not enjoying a book then by all means state your reasons. Give us constructive criticism that can help us improve our stories. These issues can be rectified. But telling an author their book isn’t your personal taste isn’t helpful. Tell us if you found plotholes, unsatisfied endings, editing issues, too much head-hopping. Those issues are fixable and constructive. Sadly, us authors aren’t responsible for the manner in which your book was delivered!

Low ratings have consequences for authors – especially Indie authors. The majority of Indie authors don’t make a living from theirs books, let alone able to pay one monthly bill from them either. Us writers spend our days and nights writing, and even more time publishing and marketing our own work – burning the midnight oil almost daily so that we can inform and entertain readers. We also pay money to advertise our books, and laughably, even if we are paying for ads, some companies won’t even advertise our books if there aren’t enough ratings, or if the ratings are below a four star review on average.

So all I’m asking is for readers to be fair with your judgments. Think about your review and rating before you hit ‘post’. Authors rely on readers to enjoy their work and spread the word to others who may enjoy it. Give a writer a chance and be kind.