Okay, so you read this book, it didn’t suit you and you’re upset you paid good money for it. Do you sit down in the heat of the moment and fire off the first barbs that come to mind in a one-star review on Amazon? Well, that may make you feel better, but sort of review is simply not effective. If anyone reads it, they’re not going to believe it. Everyone is aware of all the knee-jerk reactionaries and internet bullies out there, and if you sound like that kind of nasty, you get exactly the same reaction: “Click! Goodbye.” If you want to get more of those coveted “Your Review Helped Another Customer” responses on Amazon, read over your review before you publish, and consider what your reader is considering as he reads: your attitude. Continue reading “A Bad Review Needs a Good Attitude”
Tag: bad book reviews
Today’s Kindle Audience is now a Discerning eReader
Guest Post
by Jackie Weger
With the innovation of the Kindle released by Amazon in 2007, writers rushed headlong into the digital market. Mainstream publishers looked askance at the both the eReader and independent author, so we indie authors pretty much had the innovation to ourselves.
For the first few years, readers were forgiving of our missteps in story construction, formatting, and spelling errors. Early reviews reflect that forgiveness. Readers and writers both had a kind of awe for the innovation. It was new. It was exciting. We were learning new ways to market our work and readers were getting used to enjoying books on a new electronic gadget. Readers did not expect electronic perfection. Continue reading “Today’s Kindle Audience is now a Discerning eReader”
Ed’s Casual Friday: Everyone is a (one) Star.
As I’m sure many of my fellow writers have noticed at the various and sundry virtual watering holes around which we are wont to gather, one of the more common posts (right after “Buy my book!”) goes something like “I just got an awful review!” usually expressed with varying degrees of “How could this have possibly happened?”
How could it not have happened? My advice on such occasions is always to pick one of your favorite books of all time, something you think of as an absolute, perfect gem. Then go to any review site and page through the one-star reviews, of which there will likely be hundreds. Continue reading “Ed’s Casual Friday: Everyone is a (one) Star.”