I had my first '1 star' review on Amazon. A Mrs E Carlill from Stroud thought I was 'A bit odd'. No shit, Sherlock. The words 'unsettling', 'dark underbelly' and 'shaky ground' appear in my own description of it. Previous reviews use 'quirky' and 'twisted. But Mrs Carlill went for it anyway.
Now, am I alone in thinking that if something is adequately described, well written and absolutely free it is entirely unreasonable to just give it one star? What score would she give something that mis-represents itself, is full of typos and causes serious offense? I'm not losing sleep over it: it still averages 4.5 stars and her review is more about her own choices and tastes than my work, but is it fair to be quite so damning?
If something isn't to your taste, do YOU put the boot in or just walk away?
I think if I gave something one star I'd want to write more than a few half-sentences saying why .... The other reviews she's done are quite entertaining too. I love the way Amazon splits its reviews into 'the most helpful favourable' and 'the most helpful critical'. It's getting a bit tied up there. And, yes, your Boss of Bosses ... I think Miranda Hart would just look at the camera and say 'Rude!'
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought to look at her other reviews, thanks for pointing me in that direction... entertaining!
DeleteWell, you know what Claire - I paid for it, read it ALL, it was "a bit odd" also quirky, funny, thought-provoking - I'll buy your next one, and would give as many stars are there are in the sky!!
ReplyDeleteAlways love your stuff, books, blogs, strange ramblings. Mrs Carlill entitled to her view, but really, when she's only read half of it you should only half take notice of what she says.
'Strange ramblings?' Moi? ;-)
DeleteI found her other reviews quite entertaining, as Fran did, but this one wasn't a review. The other book she gave one star to "Didn't read much past the first few pages. Found the start boring and unbelievable and the characters were not real!" gave reasons for not finishing the book and might help potential readers decide whether to buy it, which is surely the main reason for leaving a review at all (and why Amazon splits the reviews as it does). In the case of your book, she made no attempt to evaluate the reasons she didn't care for it. I think she'd have done better to have said nothing at all, as she evidently had nothing analytical to write and she was unfair to you.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I do think that if you're presenting your work in a public forum, the reader is entitled to expect a reasonable standard of English and you can't expect credit for it (a more interesting judgement is to be made if it's full of typos and poorly presented, yet a wonderful read). And one might borrow a library book and then leave a review of it - that it's free doesn't affect an evaluation of its quality either. Indeed, professional reviewers are sent copies for review, they don't have to buy the books.
Your points are completely fair, Z, I shouldn't expect credit for those things. I suppose I was just trying to say there are worse self-published jobbies out there than mine so, although she is (perhaps commendably) using the full range of scores, she isn't leaving space for them!
DeleteI used to review books written by information professionals, for information professionals *yawn*. The editorial guidance I had in the early days was, if I was going to be critical, also be constructive in my remarks.
ReplyDeleteMrs E Carlill perhaps needs a lesson in walking away. Keep going, BB. An average of 4.5 shows that you're doing something right!
I'm not too worried, M. It just surprised me, I suppose, and made me think about people's criteria for reviews.
DeleteTake heart, Claire. A one star review shows that all your reviews weren't written by friends and family. I enjoyed your book, even thought I'm not usually a fan of flash fiction. Keep going!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Frances. It's nice to get nice reviews from people you know - but I've been really chuffed to get them from people I don't know too! And the one star means I've 'made it' as a real writer, doesn't it? 8-)
ReplyDeleteHello Clare.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Mrs Carlill's review. I didn't like the first word she used so I couldn't be bothered looking at the rest of it. Besides, she used a font that I was particularly unimpressed with. I found her use of a capital letter at the beginning of her sentence not to my taste, and her full stop (I assume she used one) was beyond the pale.
Pardon me dissin'
the disser,
but I don't really think that
we'll miss 'er.
QW
Harsh, words, QW.
DeleteI feel your pain!
ReplyDelete