Big congratulations to Amy, who won the third drawing! I’m delighted to send her a signed copy of Grievous Deeds in March!
A big thank you to Black Rose Writing for sponsoring our drawings and to everyone who participated!
The questions were: How important are reader reviews and where do you read them? and What sets a 5-star book apart from a 4-star book? (Favorite answer: “1 star”)
I’ve had so much fun with these polls. You all have really left some thought-provoking answers. Maybe I’ll do a separate post soon about some of the interesting answers people have given.
We’ve got two drawings left before the book launch. We’ll use the same format–answer two questions to enter. I know what two of the questions will be but the other two aren’t finalized yet. If you’ve got a suggestion for a fun question to ask readers, tell me in the comments! 👇👇
The previous questions were:
- What do you find appealing in a book title or subtitle?
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What causes a book’s appearance stand out to you and makes you want to read it?
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What topics do you like to read about?
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How do you find new books?
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How important are reader reviews and where do you read them?
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What sets a 5-star book apart from a 4-star book?
If you haven’t won a book yet, don’t give up! You’ve still got two chances to win a signed copy.
Subscribe to be notified for the next drawing in January!
old spirituals 
Here are two question suggestions that come to mind:
When posting a review, do you find it necessary to include that you received the book as a free copy in exchange for an honest review OR do you just write your review without saying anything about receiving the book for free?
What are your favorite things in newsletters from authors you subscribe to? (i.e. recipes, updates, giveaways/contest, pet news, pictures, polls/surveys, etc..)
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Oh I like these! Very interesting questions. I especially like the last one!
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Thank you. I like it too and I deadly curious about the results, especially with the “hard time” Amazon sometimes gives reviewers who hasn’t technically “purchased” the item. : )
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Some reviews of newer books do sound more like personal commentary about the author than a book review! It would be interesting to compare reviews written this year of books published before 1965 and books published after 2010. I bet the ratings and reviews for newer books take the reviewer’s opinion of the author into account way more than ratings and reviews for older books.
Or if you compared modern authors who are prolific on social media with those who aren’t, I bet the ones who are on social media a lot would have more reviews from people who have never read their books 🤔
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Wow. Fair points. I never really thought of it but yeah, you’re right. You go onto Amazon or Goodreads and the review is either about the author or it’s just a synapse, spitting back what the book was about and not really telling you anything new or their actual OPINIONS about the book they just read. It’s kind of frustrating because I do sometimes read reviews before I purchase a book and I find it annoying when the review is just a summary of what the book is about. I can know that by reading the description that the author has made about their book. I want to know how the reader felt about the book, was it a fast-paced book or did it drag? Was it believable or was it hokey? Were the characters easy to relate to or did you end up liking them over time? Was it suspenseful? Were there twists? Did the ending surprise you or leave you on a cliffhanger? I look for things like that in reviews.
Personally speaking, unless it’s a new author to me, my reviews are strictly about the book and not the author. Maybe on occasion I’ll write something like “So-and-So has done it again” or “Another great book by So-and-So”. But other than that, I don’t really talk about the author in my reviews. Now if it’s a new author to me, I will spend a couple of sentences describing their writing style, if I liked the cadence of the writing, if they are a good world-builder and if they remind me of another writer. Nothing too extensive, but enough so future readers who maybe never heard of the author, can read about how I connected (or didn’t) to the author and their writing style.
I don’t know what kind of reviewer that makes me, modern or old-fashioned or maybe both depending on the review, but either way, at least I’m taking the time to review. I know a few people who get free or ARC books and never post reviews, they just wanted to book for free. And I don’t agree with that.
Now, that would be an interesting poll question, figuring out how many people ACTUALLY post the reviews they promised when receiving ARC (or free) copies of books from authors vs. those who just want free books and don’t review them at all.
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That’s a great point, Kris! There are a lot of plot summary reviews out there and they don’t tell you anything new. I like to know if the book is something people will remember.
You sound like a good reviewer to me. The kind of review you described is exactly what I like too. I do read reviews and recommendations though if I spot a book about the subconscious or turn of the century stories, I have to buy it. I’m incapable of not reading it!
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Thank you for that, I try to be a good reviewer. I’ve definitely read books that I didn’t like for one reason or another and I’ve never been nasty or obnoxious in my reviews. If it was of a subject matter that I didn’t care for, I make it known that this isn’t my usual genre and I review it detached from that…I’m not going to slam a book/author in a review if it’s ON ME that I didn’t like the book!! I’ve read dozens of reviews like that, being almost cruel in the review because they didn’t like the subject matter or an element of the book. I think that’s so tacky!! Now when it comes to grammatical errors or storyline flubs, I try to contact the author to let them know about it and I don’t usually mention those issues in my review. Especially for ARCs. A lot of reviewers don’t realize that ARC copies aren’t the final copies of the book. Your job as an ARC reader is to read through the book, make sure it flows easy and point ABC are connected & to weed out grammatical errors. I know this when I pick up and ARC copy to read. And when I go to review it, I don’t ding them for that, I’m expected there to be small hiccups and errors.
Having said all of that, I wish there was some sort of free reviewing/reviewer etiquette class that people can learn what’s ok and what’s not ok when leaving reviews. There’s no need to be nasty or rude, especially when it’s about a book you CHOSE to read. Just leave an honest review with constructive criticism and write it as you would want it to be read to you if you were the author!!
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Sounds like a great idea for Amazon!
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Your screen name is very witty!
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Thank you : ) We’re big fans of “Phineas and Ferb” so it just made sense, lol
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