93 5-star reviews...really?
July 24, 2013
I’ve been told never to write in anger…that a lot of
problems can come from a hastily written opinion piece. The advice it to write
it then come back to it again the following day to make sure you really want to say what you’ve committed
to paper…err…keyboard. But do you know what? I’ve waited the required 24–hours
and I still want to say this. So here it is…
Alright, so it’s rant-o’clock here on my blog, and that's perfectly okay because this is my blog, my personal corner of the Internet where I can say what I'm thinking and feeling without a lot of fallout.
I’ve been
biting my tongue for a long time now about the amount of Indie authors who have
a new-release book and within a few days of it being available for downloads,
they already have 50+ 5-star reviews. Okay, so great they have + 5-star
reviews. That’s not where my issue lies. My issue lies with the fact that ALL
the reviews are 5-star. Surely at least 10% of all those people would have had
some issues with the book to give them a four-, maybe even three-star review.
I think a lot of these problems come from a couple of
places. One is the blogger involved in a blog tour organised by either the
authors themselves, or a third party who puts it all together. Why you ask?
Well, it’s simple. When an author chooses to conduct a blog tour, it is
essentially a week’s/two week’s/three week’s worth of guaranteed positive spin.
I have to admit that I have fallen into the trap of doing this. Let me just say
that I didn’t do this to get all
5-star reviews for my books. I simply did it to test out how well my book will
be taken by people who are not my friends, who are not my family, who are simply
people who love to read and will give their opinions honestly.
I simply don’t think this is the best way to go about
getting honest reviews. Yeah, I mean you might get half a dozen glowing
reviews, but what does it really mean? Does it mean the book you’ve written is
as amazing as all these bloggers are saying, or are they simply giving you what
you asked for—half a dozen glowing reviews??
Honesty is what you want. But how do you get it? The only
real way is to put your book onto Amazon/Kobo/iTunes/B&N and wait until
perfect strangers who have absolutely no ulterior motive choose to buy, read
and review your book. That is the
only way to get an honest review for your books.
I guess my real issue is with authors who think that all
those 5-star reviews are actually honest, they actually mean something. They
don’t. They’re essentially paid-for-by-free-copy-of-book kind of honest. After
all, what kind of blogger is going to review your book then tell you it’s crap?
No blogger at all. That’s who.
So, from now on, I won’t be participating in blog tours
where I’m expected to give a 5-star review when the book is 3-star at best. I
don’t like every book I read. Sometimes I see flaws and plot holes as big as
the Grand Canyon, and I will talk
about them along with all the positive things. When I review, I will give a
well-rounded explanation of the book’s merits and flaws.
I guess that’s my rant over. As an Indie author, I’ve made
mistakes along the way, but I believe I have enough integrity to admit my
mistakes and learn from them. To those authors out there who believe in what
they write in, do yourself a favour and don’t seek out reviews before the
release of your book. The average reader is not an idiot, and they will see
through everything the blogger is not
saying in their 5-star reviews.
I'm fully aware that I'm going to cop some flack for this...if you have an issue/counter point/agreement/encouragement to what I've said, leave me a comment. Let's talk about this like adults, but at the end of the day, this is my opinion and someone's opinion is never wrong.
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