No it's a genune review. I dont know whether it's something specific to humour but the five one star reviewer's i've had have mostly given bad reviews for lots of other books too. Some people are just hard to please I guess
Perhaps it's a particular style they don't like When I don't enjoy a book I would not leave a bad review unless I'm familiar with the author and the book was not up to par of his previous work.
There shouldn't be "bad" reviews. Those aren't even reviews. Reviews should contain within them constructive criticisms, or advice. Or simply, "I felt it did not have xyz." Venting about how you didn't enjoy it is not a review.
Well that was a review. I wouldn't be too sad either.. I generally try to get whatever I can from any review and move on.
I disagree with this. When we publish our books, we're selling them to people, and I don't think there's anything wrong with giving negative feedback on any product I buy. If I buy a blender and it doesn't blend, I don't need to give constructive criticism or advice. I can just say "this blender sucks - it doesn't work." If I post a story for critique somewhere, sure, I expect the feedback to be constructive. (Don't always get it, but always expect it). But once I ask people for money in exchange for my work? They can respond to the work however they want.
I don't see your bad reviews on Amazon.com, just Amazon.uk. And you have a huge number of positive reviews (there are only 3 on the US site), 97 of those are 4 or 5 stars. I'll read more when my Kindle charges up but I laughed at the shampooing the cat joke. No one's books, even best sellers please every reader. You might consider it a badge of honor, when you have enough reviews that there are a couple bad ones in there, it means people are reading your book.
Hi, Ignore it and move on. Bad reviews are inevitable. This one's genuine as far as I can see. They've obviously read the book at least which is better than one I got which said they'd read four pages! They simply didn't like your book. Not everyone will no matter how good it is. The only question is, are you going to make things worse by responding? Because there really is no way to make it any better. So take hands, put on chair and sit on them. That's always my advice. Cheers, Greg.
I dont mind the bad reviews anymore. I did at first but then you read books at the top of the charts and realises even they get one star reviews. I posted this one mostly because I thought it was funny lambasting a book for the reasons she did, when it's obvious that's what the story is going to be like by reading the blurb or the first page. Maybe at the 99p price point people just buy books without even bothering to find out what they're about
It is people like these who prevent talented people from discovering their potentials. Helpful, constructive criticisms is one thing but all out insulting someone's work is being an asshole. The sad thing is that these kind of dickish reviews can completely destroy an artist's confidence and render him incapable of producing more. I believe that no matter how pathetic you find someone's work, you must explain your criticisms in a friendly, encouraging manner instead of transforming into Doctor Dick Dickson.
Meh. If someone's that fragile, I really think they're better off not publishing. Or going out in harsh daylight.
The main point of a review is to tell readers whether they're likely to enjoy the book. It's not about giving feedback to authors, it's about giving reactions to other readers. If writers can't handle negative reviews, they should avoid reading their reviews. Reviews aren't for writers.
This review seems to be written by a hormonal teenager. Besides which, you'd think that people who take the time to leave a review for a book would actually make sure they're using semi-correct grammar. I mean, if you want people to hate a book, you might make yourself sound like a useful resource, rather than just some unhappy person who's clearly deflecting.
I know you retracted, but still: I think people should have the right to write whatever they like, and other people should have the right to ignore it. Personally I choose not to say anything if I find work truly pathetic, because what's the point? And constructive criticism? How can you politely say: you can't write? Most readers cannot give contructive criticism because they don't understand the mechanics and methods of writing. Any criticism they do try to give, like the OP's amusing anecdote, is usually way off due to their lack of understanding. All they can comment on is what THEY would have wanted. All they really know is: loved it, hated it, wtf? This forum has constructive reviews by fellow writers, and calling something shit is way out of line. But don't confuse this forum with the marketplace. People are buying a product. Do you have a problem with people saying: 'this blender is shit. You should be able to make snowcones with a blender, and it's too noisy.' or would that harm an engineer's confidence? If negative or terse reviews destroy someone's confidence they need to harden the fuck up or get the fuck out. The OP clearly isn't concerned and finds it amusing, which is the correct response. Anyone who takes it seriously may need to reconsider why they write and if they're cut out for putting their work up for public scrutiny, and more importantly, making a product to be sold. There are a tonne of books out there, and millions (literally) being added to the marketplace every year. We don't need any more books. We have enough great stories for everyone to read for the rest of their lives. Writers create because we need to. But buyers don't need us, so they don't need to pander to fragile egos. If that writer doesn't produce more, the world will not weep. If writers need backslaps and congrats to write more and are too fragile and afraid that someone might go 'that's crap' they should limit themselves to being read by family members.
