Tag: Amazon.com Reviews

Amazon: Unequal Treatment for Trads and Indies?

amazon messes with indies water-glass-2542790_960_720Let’s say there’s an indie author who has a couple of books under her belt. And she’s chatting on, oh, I dunno, Goodreads, and she says something that rubs some people the wrong way, and some guys get really, really steamed at her. So they get together with their friends and stage an attack on the author on Amazon, leaving her books a raft of one-star reviews. A number of those reviews attack the author and not the book.

Our author, who has put in a lot of hours learning her craft and whose books enjoyed ratings nearing five stars, suddenly sees that her ratings have dropped into the three-star range. Panicked and upset, she combs through the new reviews, and despite her pain and revulsion, she realizes where all these new, bad reviews came from. She appeals to Amazon, Continue reading “Amazon: Unequal Treatment for Trads and Indies?”

One Author’s Approach to Reader Reviews

Fast typingI have a goal of commenting in a positive manner on each and every review a reader leaves on Amazon about one of my books, whether their comments are negative or positive.

Why? Not only is it a courtesy, it says something about me as an author and a person. My father brought me up to look at him when he was talking and to acknowledge what he said. I didn’t have to like what he said, but I had to respect it. I know now he was saying things for my own good. He’s gone now, but the value he instilled in me is still there. I thanked him for how he brought me up before he passed away. I’m glad I did, as he deserved that feedback.

That brings me back to feedback in the form of reviews. Readers, who supply reviews whether negative or positive, invested their time reading one of my books. They had choices, but I was lucky enough that they chose one of mine. The fact that they felt compelled to provide others with feedback is a bonus. Continue reading “One Author’s Approach to Reader Reviews”

One Writer’s New Year’s Resolutions

Lose twenty pounds? Drink less coffee? Save more money? Piffle. Those common New Year’s resolutions are for amateurs. I need that caffeine. Plus, Weight Watchers still has a restraining order against me for taking off a little too much clothing before getting on the scale. SO, as a writer and editor, here’s what I’ll be tackling in 2013. Continue reading “One Writer’s New Year’s Resolutions”

Stars, Stars, Everywhere are Stars

A couple months ago, David Antrobus had a post titled, My God, It’s Full of Stars. His point in this post was that an author (or reader for that matter) shouldn’t get too hung up on the numerical rating of a review, instead focusing on what the review says. He was right for many reasons, not least of which is that one person’s garbage is another’s treasure. At least that’s the only explanation I’ve found for the yard sale signs that spring up every weekend. Continue reading “Stars, Stars, Everywhere are Stars”