Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Paul wrote: "How many people here get their books proof read?
I ask this because I have read quite a few books from the writers on this site and I have loved a lot of them but I am absolutely gobsmacked by the ..."

I use an editor/proof reader with my writing. Her tastes are quite different than my own but I don't think that is a necessity. As far as a professional finish to the book I use BookNookBiz to do the eBook conversion work to make sure there is no format issues. They have been great. Other than that I use a friend who is a professional graphics artist to assist in the book covers for the eBook and paperback versions.

Elizabeth wrote: "Hi everyone!
I would like to put my second novel, 'Too Close' ($3.99), up for a review swap. Premise in a nutshell: three weeks before their wedding day, the hero and heroine discover that they may..."

I would like to swap - my books are written from a Christian world view. Would you be interested?

Paul wrote: "How many people here get their books proof read?
I ask this because I have read quite a few books from the writers on this site and I have loved a lot of them but I am absolutely gobsmacked by the ..."

I use Scribophile to get critiques and then I re-read what I have written the same way I read those who I critique. Writing critiques for other authors is a good way to remember the rules for my own writing.

Just wanted to let you know that my travel memoir, HERE WE ARE & THERE WE GO: Teaching and Traveling With Kids in Tow, is FREE on Kindle today, 6/19, through Sunday, 6/23. I love doing review swaps if you want to check it out and download it.

A review swap sounds meritorious.

My book, The All-Food Diet is now on Kindle, and is free for the next two days.

It short, it's funny, it's about avoiding processed food. And biking. And living a healthy lifestyle.

Hans



allfooddiet.blogspot.com

Today I received my first really negative review from someone who was supposedly a professional. As a new author, it pulled my rating way down (which was previously pretty good). Sales basically stopped today. I am so disappointed!

I can't believe how hurtful it is to have somebody in a bad mood slam your book. Then Amazon posts it right away at the top like it's the most valid review in the world (this person was not even a verified customer)

Frustrated!!!!!

I think you can give a positive rating will still offering suggestions and constructive criticism. Just plain mean to trash talk someone's work.

Has this happened to anyone else?

Jessica, it is hard to do at first, but I would concentrate on your positive reviews (of which you have many) and continue to look for and request more reviews. That's what I did. Remember also, the best reviews (negative or positive) are the ones to listen to and should give specific information that can help, instead of hurt a writer. Keep writing!

Jessica wrote: "Today I received my first really negative review from someone who was supposedly a professional. As a new author, it pulled my rating way down (which was previously pretty good). Sales basically ..."

Jessica, it happens to all of us at some point. And it is every bit as personally excruciating as you describe but you need to give yourself permission for some brief moments of all out screaming, or eating chocolates, or however it is you help yourself to cope, and then go on. When you take a step back - and I know it's difficult - remember that the negatvie reviews help to make all the other reviews feel more credible. If you don't have a few negatives, people believe only your friends and family are reviewing your books. And I know you don't want to hear this but that 2 star review I just read didn't really pan your book - they offered some suggestions to improve it. I'm not saying you need to listen to them, I'm not saying they're right, all I'm suggesting is that a prospective reader checking out the reviews of your book will not be put off that much by that particular review. In fact, it may cause them to check out your book if only to reconcile the good and bad reviews. Keep writing - that's the best revenge.

If you want a laugh, check out the 2 star review for my book at . I can't even figure out what the reviewer meant by his nasty criticism. And, yes, I was in a funk for a few days too.

Thanks guys, I am pretty much over it! Glass of wine helped. :) Just annoying that Amazon highlights the bad reviews right at eye level...I don't remember that from before!

I have been writing, and yes that's what I'm going to focus on. The first book is a learning experience. My second is due out this summer.

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a cover artist? Probably not the best place to ask this question, but I am in the market.

Jessica wrote: "Today I received my first really negative review from someone who was supposedly a professional. As a new author, it pulled my rating way down (which was previously pretty good). Sales basically ..."
Jessica. I have had the same thing happen to me. It's a terrible feeling! I know who the nasty person is who keeps trashing my books 'jjramfan' and his horrid accomplices like,'donegalgirl'. You can see his remarks even to other reviewers on 'Chasing Dreams In Lefkas' Amazon.co.uk. He knows me personally and it's a long story, but this is Cyber bullying. I tried to reason with him but find it's best to ignore. I will write a few kind words on your book... Please do the same for me! It's the only way to get back at these sad people. It's only a little cheat! :-)

Jessica. Look on Amazon.com. Done! :-) Your book looks GREAT!
Have another glass of wine!
Diane Griffith

As a writer, I was sweating on those reviews till I remembered that as a reader, they don't really influence me. I mostly look at subject matter and the way the synopsis is written. So don't worry about it, just read the bad and the good reviews and see if your writing needs tweaking, but still write in your own personal style/voice. There's so much clutter and competition out there that having a best-seller may be a long-term goal. Don't let it get to you - those reviews are just 'opinion' and there's way too much of unbacked opinion in the world these days.

I feel I really have to respond to a lot of comments made by Diane Griffiths. She states that I made a personal attack for private old reasons, I have no idea what she is referring to.
"Has got his friends to write really horrid reviews" - I do not know any of the other reviewers personally.
"Had a review published in the UK club magazine" - I have never contacted or been contacted by this magazine and am not aware of having a review in this magazine which I have not previously been aware of. They could have used my Amazon review without my knowledge or permission.
"Left Cyprus later on" - I have never been to Cyprus.
"Nasty partner" - my wife has never posted anything about you or your books so I take great offence to Diane Griffiths calling her nasty.
I do not know who Donegalgirl or Spearmint are.
To the best of my knowledge I have never met Diane Griffiths.
The truth is that I bought the book based on great reviews and then found that it did not live up to the reviews - my opinion. I wrote a review of the book and posted it on Amazon, I was then subjected to a personal attack by what appeared to be different people but it later became clear that the comments all came from the same IP address. Comments were made by people in which I was called a nasty and spiteful person, all because I dared to write a less than favourable review. Several other people who I do not know personally posted comments supporting me. I was the one who was subjected to a personal attack and because of that I took an interest in the book and the suspicious reviews. Diane, I do not know you personally and I trust you will retract the false statements you have made here.
I see you accept that some of your actions are cheating - you may view it as being a little cheat, I disagree because of the way I was treated by your husband and your associates.

Dhhhhh! Still no photo, just another shortened pseudonym . . . This site is for authors to swap reviews if we want to, and to help each other. I don't know if you have ever writen a book. We use our names and have photos...
My husband has never been involved except to tell me to ignore your comments. 'Little cheats' was a private joke! - Between me and another author.
I saw the conversations going on between you and your associates three years ago about me on a website. You were glad that the sales had dropped on my first book. I only use the proceeds to help abandoned dogs & cats, so I can't understand why. It's strange that these two other speudonyms also make comments straight after yours. Some are extremely vicious personal attacks. 'donegalgirl's comment after your terrible review of 'It Mattered Yesterday' can be seen on Amazon.co.uk.
For someone who says they do not know me or have a grudge against me, you seem to take an awful lot of interest in me. Move on!

Seeing as you referred to me several times on this site recently I would say that you are the one who needs to move on! You have stated on this site some information about me which is not true, I can only repeat that I have never been to Cyprus, my wife is most certainly not Irish and thankfully I have never met you. If you continue to post incorrect comments about me then I will continue to respond. I would also like to confirm that I do not know who Donegalgirl is, I therefore cannot be held responsible for any posts that this person makes. Finally, I would like to remind you that if I had not been attacked following my review of your book then I would not have taken an interest in some of the amazing coincidences surrounding reviews of your books. Unfortunately the removal of some comments on Amazon mean that anyone new to this saga will not get full picture but they will certainly see that to post a less than favourable review for your Lefkas book a few years resulted in an unwarranted attack by your associates.
I do not know who you think I am but it does seem that you have assumed that I am someone you knew on Cyprus, I repeat that I have never been there and I have never met you.

I am going to take the advice from many people which is to keep on ignoring your messages wherever you try to discredit me. I am too busy trying to do my best for the abandoned dogs and the feral cats to be bothered arguing. There are far more important things to care about than some long ago 'stuff'...I don't understand half of what you are talking about, but you appear to be a very clever man. And, still no photo!:-)

@ Jessica:

Sweetheart, you are new at the game. So let me tell you: Reviews are not for authors; they are for readers. And once you publish a book, you'll have to be able to take criticism. If you want to get suggestions and constructive criticism, you should get beta readers BEFORE publishing your book.

The only thing you can expect from a reviewer, is fairness. That is, a reviewer has the moral obligation to give his/her honest opinion. A reviewer should also have the courtesy to give clear reasons for a low rating. To give a book only 1 or 2 stars with no explanation is unfair. It is equally unfair to write, for instance, that a book is a bunch of garbage. It is absolutely fair, however, to write that the characters of a novel are unreal, that a plot is unrealistic, or that a novel has too many characters for a reader to keep track. It is equally fair to write that the language used in the dialogue does not fit the mileu or that the ending is disappointing. That's just to name a few.

If, however, a review is unfair, then the author has every right to punish the reviewer with contempt. In such case, I recommend a glass of wine and the decision not to waste any thought on such a dirty swine, louse, scumbag -- you name it.

Ooooh! Thanks for that! Bit early for a glass of wine here! Later maybe . . . my son got married this morning in the Philippines 2pm there, so we are very happy! :-)
Diane

@ J:
I do not know if you are who Diane Griffith thinks you are, but if you are not, showing your face could clear up the matter. I must say I have a problem with people not showing their faces; especially, when they are writing something negative.
I am presently reading "Chasing Dreams in Lefkas" and I like it very much. The book could use a bit more editing, but I don't see how this little flaw would keep anyone from enjoying this book.
And in case you should be who Diane thinks you are, I can only say: Bad reviews are a very mean way to deal with personal grudges. So why don't you reveal your identity and get this issue done and over with?

Lilo wrote: "@ Jessica:

Sweetheart, you are new at the game. So let me tell you: Reviews are not for authors; they are for readers. And once you publish a book, you'll have to be able to take criticism. If you..."

Very good advice Lilo and Diane, I support you completely. I enjoyed "Chasing Dreams in Lefkas" very much. Vindictive and unkind reviews are of absolutely no use to the author and shouldn't be written in such a public forum. If you want to comment on a book then give helpful reviews with constructive criticism. What purpose is there in discrediting the author and his/her work other than to make yourself feel better!? This "J" person needs to drop it, or better yet, write his own book and wait for his reviews.

Dale wrote: "Hi,

I anyone would like to swap reviews with me on amazon, I WILL, without a doubt return the favor. Let me know if anyone posts a review, send me your link, and I will do the same within the nex..."

Hi Dale I would love to swap books with you. Please send me a message so we can swap books.

Jeffrey wrote: "Dale wrote: "Hi,

I anyone would like to swap reviews with me on amazon, I WILL, without a doubt return the favor. Let me know if anyone posts a review, send me your link, and I will do the same w..."

Here's my book, Jeff. Use the look feature and review it. E-mail me at [email protected] and I will immediately reciprocate.

E.A. wrote: "Willard wrote: "E.A. wrote: "I am looking to add to my review totals for my science fiction novel "Now & Again." My story follows a father and son who are swept into parallel worlds when they are k..."

Never happened

Luuluu wrote: "Hi my book will be free tomorrow May 11, 2013 on Amazon and I would love more reviews. If you read and review send me a message so I can do the same for you. Thanks.

The Harlot Speaks...

..."

Still waiting for your side of our bargain

To anybody in this group: If you swap reviews, please swap honest reviews, not adulations.

I am not denying that liking or disliking an author makes you look at his/her books somewhat differently. Thus, it is a bit difficult to remain 100% neutral when you have been in contact with the author, even though you should try to.

Mind you, there is nothing wrong with looking at a book in a somewhat benevolent way. A glass can always be half-full or half-empty. But don't declare a glass full if it is really only half-full.

Well substantiated, honest reviews are the best way to deal with unfair raters with other than honest intentions. I don't think it makes sense to hit back with 5-star reviews in order to equal out the unfairness of an unsubstantiated 1-star rating. Readers will get the impression that there are a bunch of friends helping the author against some unfairness. This doesn't help the book.

There are better ways to deal with such matters. Whenever I happen to come across low ratings that are not substantiated, no matter if I know the other or if I don't (in most cases I don't), I write a polite comment telling the rater that it would have been nice if he/she had substatiated his/her low rating.

To my surprise, about half of these raters (probably those who had just been thoughtless) follow up by adding some brief review, like, for instance, that this book was a genre they did not like (and probably should not have read), or that some 4-letter words bothered them (which might not bother other readers).

Several of these raters even sent me private messages after, apologizing for their thoughtlessness, and one also had second thoughts and upted his 2-star rating to 3-stars. Two or three even sent me friend requests, which I accepted.

And when you have reason to believe that a rater has other than honest intentions, follow him and debunk him.

When I read the exchanges between between Diane Griffith and this discussion participant by the pseudonym of J, I first had no idea if he was an honest rater/reviewer (and Diane might have seen "ghosts") or if he was an imposter. So I just gave my neutral opinions to this matter. It was a bit late (4 a.m.), so I went to bed after.

Today, when I got up (at noon), I bothered to look up this person's profile. Not much there. When I found his ONLY rating of a book (Diane's) with one single star, I wrote him the comment I usually write to low raters who don't substantiate with an explaining review.

And then I had the brilliant idea to compare his books with mine, and guess what I found! The guy had only read ONE SINGLE book, namely, "Chasing Dreams in Lefkas". This induced me to write another comment.

And finally, I sent him a third comment, regarding his appearance in this group which is for authors, not readers.

You might want to go to this person's profile page and read these comments.

Yes, you should do something against cyber stalkers, but do it the right way.

And as to honest low ratings and bad reviews: I am afraid you'll just have to suffer them. No readers/reviewers owe you a good rating or a good review, they only owe you a fair and honest one. Everybody is entitled to his/her own opinion of a book, and tastes are different. And don't get mad at reviewers who write acid reviews. I have written such and will write them again. (Not to books of friends, however. So you might want to befriend me before publishing a lousy book. LOL. I am just kidding.)

It is the (deserved!) low ratings and bad reviews that make the good reviews worth something. If, in school, every student got As, what would As be worth?

The moment you publish a book, you must be prepared to get bad (even acid) reviews. And keep in mind that acid reviews can even boost sales. Acid reviews of stage plays have often resulted in sold-out theatre performances.

If you wish to read my acid reviews on the worst book I ever read and on another bad book I read, look up "Somewhat Saved", by Pat G'Orgy-Walker, and "Hayfever", by Angela Miller (the latter book you will not find under the title, only under the author's name).

Pat G'Orgy Walker responded by obviously alerting all her church members (the book was about church members) and inducing them to write 5-star reviews (to which I responded with a short comment which -- in case you shouldn't notice -- was meant sarcastically). These adulation reviews did not make the book any better, and unless someone wants to study a classic example for bad writing, this book really is a waste of time. I am serious, if you are still studying creative writing, read this book. You could not find a better example for "what not to do".

One can learn a lot from acid reviews. (The reader can, and the author can, too.) And, let's face it, some authors are just not meant to be authors. They probably have other talents.

And again, if you are too thin-skinned to take bad/acid reviews and need supportive encouragement and constructive criticism, by all means use beta readers before publishing your book. Once your book is on the market, it is "fair game" -- for honest reviewers, that is, not for vicious cyber-stalkers.

Kait wrote: "Good Morning All!

The purpose of this discussion is to provide our members with the opportunity to increase their book review count for their titles on Amazon - with a unique twist.

There are se..."

Authors helping authors is a good saying. United, we stand tall. Divided, we stand no chance at all.

Willard wrote: "E.A. wrote: "Willard wrote: "E.A. wrote: "I am looking to add to my review totals for my science fiction novel "Now & Again." My story follows a father and son who are swept into parallel worlds wh..."

What are you talking about? I posted the review at Amazon and at Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ in May. Here's the link to the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and here's the link to the Amazon review:

Diane wrote: "I am going to take the advice from many people which is to keep on ignoring your messages wherever you try to discredit me. I am too busy trying to do my best for the abandoned dogs and the feral c..."
OK, firstly by posting incorrect statements about me the only person likely to be discredited is yourself. In a reply to Lilo I have explained that I signed up to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ after searching my own username on Google - the reason for doing this was because a friend told me that he had seen a comment about my partner being Irish and bitchy. As my wife of 32 years is neither of these I decided to do some checks. I signed up to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ in a hurry and whilst not in a good mood because of your comments, hence limited information in my profile page. I am now correcting this and you will be so pleased to hear that I have uploaded an image of myself!!! Still think you know me and that this is some sort of personal vendetta?

Lilo wrote: "To anybody in this group: If you swap reviews, please swap honest reviews, not adulations.

I am not denying that liking or disliking an author makes you look at his/her books somewhat differently..."

Hi, I have now responded to your comments which I hope explains everything. I agree that I should not have posted a rating with no review but I was annoyed/angry about the false statements made about me and my partner. Hopefully anyone going to the profile page can see my replies to you.

Diane wrote: "I am going to take the advice from many people which is to keep on ignoring your messages wherever you try to discredit me. I am too busy trying to do my best for the abandoned dogs and the feral c..."You have made several false statements within this group, most of them I am not too bothered about but I strongly object to your reference to my partner being "bitchy". How can you refer to my wife in that way when you have never met her?

I have responded to Jonathan in a private message as this discussion is not the right platform to resolve this issue between him and Diane Griffith.

I think that there were probably some misunderstandings involved and sincerely hope that this matter can be buried once and for all.

Jessica

I think it happens to us all - a rogue really negative review that just doesn't jive with the others (or our own opinion!). With me (on a travel journal) someone said that they hadn't even finished the first few pages and gave it a one star. If they didn't enjoy it, that's fine, but it hurts to be given one star when the person admits that they didn't read 90% of the book! Anyway, I am told that if people click the "unhelpful" button on the bad review and the "helpful" button on the good ones, that drops the bad one down the order in which they appear. I tried it and it seemed to work, but not sure if that was the reason, or it was just the way Aamazon doe sthings! The glass of wine remedy always helps too!

@ Jonathan Marker:
This is a complete misunderstanding. You are a different Jonathan.

I was adressing a Jonathan, alias J, alias jjramfan, who now lives in Thailand, and who has had an ongoing feud with Diane Griffith.

You are completely innocent. In order to avoid further identity confusions in this group discussion, I would suggest you give your full name when posting comments.

Jonathan/J/jjramfan had given his full name in one of his comments (when I had urged him to), but this comment plus another comment of his have disappeared from this discussion thread (either deleted by him or possibly by the group moderator as this discussion did not really belong into this thread). Unfortunately, I do not remember his last name.

Thus, the only way not to be mistaken for this other Jonathan will probably be to post your last name along with comments (and to make entirely sure, maybe even to mention the country you live in).

Best wishes!

Lilo wrote: "@ Jonathan Marker:
This is a complete misunderstanding. You are a different Jonathan.

I was adressing a Jonathan, alias J, alias jjramfan, who now lives in Thailand, and who has had an ongoing feu..."
Hello, sorry that another Jonathan has been dragged into this, hope this has now been resolved.
Just to be clear, jjramfan is my username on Amazon. My initial posts on this site showed me as J as this is what I am known as to my friends. Following some helpful suggestions from Lilo I updated my profile to show my name in full, Jonathan Prime. For info, I have not deleted any posts or comments but as I was only working in Bangkok when I signed up I do need to correct this part of my profile. Once again I am sorry that the other Jonathan received comments meant for me.

Hi all -- I have a new business book coming out, The Pocket Small Business Owner's Guide to Starting Your Business on a Shoestring (Allworth Press)... July 9 is start date. More on the book at

Would love to swap it with any other business-book authors. Can send secure PDF now, or physical copy shortly.

Thanks!

Hey everybody, I just wanted to let you know that my first book Second Chance An Allons-y Adventure by Shawn Kass is available for FREE on Amazon Today, Sat, and Sun June 28-30 2013. Have a fun read, and as always reviews are appreciated.

Whatever It Takes

Hi! New Adult Romance/Drama Fiction book looking for reviews! I'll be happy to read and review for you. Contact me if you're interested!

Peter wrote: "This is a great idea. I would love to participate in some review swaps. I guess I prefer Paranormal, Science fiction, fantasy and thriller but I'm open to try most genres. My book is Dead Medium by..."

Peter, I would totally love to swap books with you! This looks just like the sort of thing I like to read. My book is "The Song of Brian", either at or on amazon. It is a religious parody, I suppose. It is another humorous apocalyptic tale, dark in places. Seems like it would be in the same genre of your book. Please let me know
Jason

Review-swappers, let me warn you: If you exchange undeserved 5-star adulations, you will disgruntle readers, who may hit back with smashing reviews. A disappointed reader may give your book 3 stars and a mediocre review (or not rate/review the book at all). The same reader might give your book only 1 star and a panning review if he feels deceived by an undeserved 5-star adulation. I just recently came across two such cases. One of these cases resulted into a 3-year war between the author and her supporters and a bunch of disgruntled readers who kept supporting each other.

Remember, reviews are first and foremost for readers, not for authors to sell their books.

Mind you, there is nothing wrong looking at a book in a somewhat benevolent way, but if you rate a 3-star book 5 stars, you are inviting 1-star ratings with squashing reviews, you'll never be able to get rid of.

I was just thinking about asking some fellow authors that I know to do this and here you guys are already doing it. Awesome! I'm in. If you're particularly interested in fitness/nutrition books and would like to exchange, I will buy your book no matter what the topic. I have a series of Rapid Fatloss books and I desperately need reviews. If you're in, here's the link:

Hi Lilo. I've been jumping in and out of this thread for a while, looking for ways to promote my book. I haven't said anything about it yet because I wasn't sure. I don't want to jump in and say "Hey! Look at me! I just wrote a book!" Well, I did, and it's been out since May 14th. I've gotten over the whole sensational "my book is going to sell by the millions" feeling, and I am currently working with California Times Publishing; I hope that works.
Anyway, how does rating each other's books work? I suspect if I were to give someone a 3 star (you say we should be honest), they might turn around and give me a 1 star just because they were hoping I'd give them a 4 or 5 star. I can envisions co-reviewers actually saying "I'll give your book a review after you give mine a review" It seems a little dangerous.

Hi all,
Yes, I have mixed feelings. But I just have a policy of doing some kind of a review to any book that I read after obtaining it through KDP free days. I do try to make it constructive as possible and I always state whether it is a genre I know anything about or prefer. No personal attacks.
Cheers,
Wendy

Ken wrote: "Hi Lilo. I've been jumping in and out of this thread for a while, looking for ways to promote my book. I haven't said anything about it yet because I wasn't sure. I don't want to jump in and say "H..."

I would say that an honest person would review your book with honesty

Wendy wrote: "Hi all,
Yes, I have mixed feelings. But I just have a policy of doing some kind of a review to any book that I read after obtaining it through KDP free days. I do try to make it constructive as p..."

good for you!

@ Ken, Wendy, and Allison,

I am on the jump to leave town for 2 weeks, so I cannot respond at length. Please remind me in a few weeks as I have a very bad memory.

Upfront, I would like to tell you that there are honest and respected reader/reviewers out there. Their reviews are worth much more than some overrated exchange-review. I'd rather get 3 stars from a respected reviewer than an overrated 5 stars that provokes disappointed readers to hit my books with smashing 1-star reviews.

The whole rating-system is a mess, and there is no perfect solution as long as Amazon doesn't take better steps to solve the problem. Meanwhile, stay away from overrated reviews.

For a "First Aid": Look for books of your genre. Read the reviews. LIKE the reviews you think are honest and well substantiated (even low rated reviews if the low ratings are substantiated). Check out the profiles of the reviewers you like. Under their picture you will find in small print how many reviews they have written. Click on this small print. Then you can read their reviews. Keep following their reviews. LIKE them, if you like them. And then, at some time, you might want to send these reviewers a message, telling them that you have followed and LIKEd their reviews and ask them if they would be interested (or so nice as to, or do you the favor, or whatever) to review your book. If your book is not out yet, offer them ARCs (advanced review copies) or ask them if they would do you the favor of a beta-read. (Be careful with friend requests. While some reader-reviewers might accept friend requests, others don't as they do not want to feel obligated.)

There are huge numbers of hobby reader/reviewers on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, and most of them are desirable. You just have to go and look for them.

I personally would not exchange reviews with someone I don't know. (Will exchange with friends after securing that we will exchange HONEST reviews.)

I have heard of review-exchangers stalking their exchange partner with hate-mail when they got a 4-star review in exchange of a 5-star review.

The worst problem is, however, the danger to provoke disappointed readers with undeserved 5-star ratings. Disgruntled readers can make your life miserable with spiteful 1-star reviews and really hamper the sale of your books.

Don't forget, readers also see posts that say: "I give you 5 stars if you'll give me 5 stars. And you don't have to read the book." No wonder some of these readers get mad and take revenge.

Also, be aware that the Amazon star-rating differs from the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ star-rating. (I forget how.) Different meanings for star-ratings will also confuse and madden readers. Yet this is something to be discussed at length.

There is so much more to say about this subject, but I have to try and get some sleep. (It is 2.30 a.m. here.)

And regarding sales figures: If you go to Writers Beware (on Google), and from there to some links, you'll find a GEO of Lulu (2nd largest self-publishing company) quoted. He said:

"Traditional publishers aim to have 100 authors sell a million books. We aim to have a million authors sell 100 books, and we are far from this goal."

My books aren't out yet. (I presently have problems communicating with my editor as his version of the Word edit-program is not compatible with mine.) Yet after reading the above quote, I buried all dreams of making money with my writing and consider it a hobby now. Well, some (self-publishing or traditional) authors may be lucky, but if you hope to hit it rich, I think you have better chances buying a lottery ticket.

Talk to you again when I am back. (I may or may not have internet access while I am out of town.)

Good advice! Good luck with getting your books into print and hope you get a comfy readership following. What you have written sums up the situation extremely well as it stands right now.
Thanks!
Wendy

I just have a minute before I start packing. So let me add something about the star-rating system:

I think stars should adhere to certain genres. How do you compare Goethe's Faust to an entertaining chick-lit book? How do you compare Grapes of Wrath to a simple travel memoir? You just can't, unless you wanted to create a 100-star system, where chick-lit could only be rated from zero to 10 (and even this would not be sufficient).

One of the problems with ratings/reviews is:

Professional, independent reviewers (employed by renowned papers and magazines) usually evaluate a book by its literary value. And this is what many readers rightfully expect. They disregard that all (or almost all) reviewers on Amazon and Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ are anateur reviewers, and they are unaware of the fact that the rating system of Amazon (or Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ? I forget) doesn't evaluate the literary value of a book (which many of the amateur reviewers would be unable to do), but rates how much the reviewers enjoyed a book.

Be aware that this is something entirely different. And it doesn't add up.

For instance, I read Diane Griffith's van-camping travel memoir "Chasing Dreams in Lefkas". I truly and honestly enjoyed reading the book (even so it has some flaws which are presently being corrected and a newly edited revised edition is in the making). I enjoyed this book, especially, since we used to do similar van-camping and I could relate to all the joys and woes of this type of traveling. So, if I rated by the way I enjoyed the book, I would have to give 5 stars. (I won't, as there are already so many contradicting reviews on the book. Thus, I'll wait until the revised edition is out.)

Then, last winter, I also read "Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945", by historian Max Hastings. The book, in my opinion, is badly written. Max Hastings is a great historian but a poor writer. I had to read some paragraphs 5 times until I finally caught on what he was trying to say. I literally labored reading through the book. Did I enjoy reading it? Absolutely NO! Even if the book was better written, who would enjoy reading a book that tells about the horrors of WWII? Yet, should I give this book less stars than Diane Griffith's travel memoir? This would seem ridiculous. Max Hastings must have spent many years researching tons of historic material and selecting from it for finally putting together a very informative one-volume account of WWII. And while I didn't enjoy a minute of reading this book, I am still very glad that I did read it.

So you see, the existent rating system doesn't work and can't work. The rating should be much more detailed, similar to (but not quite as specified) as car-reviews are. You wouldn't give a sportscar 5 stars for having beautiful interior, comfy seats, and a low engine noise, when its technical data were only mediocre, without specifying your stars, while rating a noisy truck with lousy interior and uncomfortable seats only 3 stars, when it had perfect technical data, and again without specifying your stars.

What I am trying to tell you is: The star-rating system as it is doesn't work. So until Amazon/Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ comes up with a better (more specified) idea, avoid disgruntling readers.

While reviews can be worded in a diplomatic way, star-ratings are set in stone.

I don't have an answer for this problem, and if I had, Amazon might not put it into action.

So try to navigate, as well as you can, to not only your interest but also, or actually first and foremost, the readers' interests, as ratings and reviews should mainly be for readers, not authors.

Good luck!

I have read two books in the last few days that I know I am going to buy copies to give as gifts - on is Fluffy, funny and Fabulous by Anita Lewis; and the other is Take My Hand by Kathy Szymanski; and I have to tell you - if i think these books are good enough to want to give then to others, they deserve five stars.

Jonathan wrote: "Okay, now that the acerbic issues have been addressed, I ask again, would anyone like to swap reviews? Spyder Sylk is available in the Kindle Store for $2.99."

I bought your book so i could review it for you. I would appreciate a reciprocal review if you are willing. I write from a Christian point of view that is a little outside the box, so to speak - since I'm a Presbyterian.

My account is on amazon.ca so I can do swap. I enjoy paranormal books, mainly vampires, more than any other genre. but I also like horror-Zombie, post apocalyptic, dystopian.

Here is mine paranormal romance -