I was speaking to a group of writers a couple of weeks ago when a question came up about what my opinion of a good review on Amazon was.
I winced, because I knew what the questioner was getting at.
If I were reading a movie review, 3 out of 5 stars means a good movie to me. Maybe it’s no Academy Award winner, but it’s good entertainment. It’s no waste of time to watch. 4 stars seems to mean very good to me…maybe a more complex plot with some top-notch acting. 5 stars? I should be watching Casablanca, Citizen Kane, or The Manchurian Candidate (1962).
Now, if it’s Amazon, then it’s totally different. Many of the published authors that I know consider anything less than a 5-star review something of a slap in the face. I’m not saying that’s right or wrong…I’m just saying that’s what I’ve heard. Of course, none of us feel good about a 1-star or 2-star review, but most authors aren’t rejoicing over a 3 or 4 star one, either.
If I were to apply the same rating system to books that I apply to movies, I’d make a book like The Complete Works of Shakespeare a 5 star, The Great Gatsby a 4 star (because it’s VERY good, but not really on par with Shakespeare), then I think many of the rest of us would be 3-star-good. Good entertainment… a nice read… good use of a reader’s valuable time.
Would I actually use this scale to rate my friends’ books? No, I sure wouldn’t. I wouldn’t have a whole lot of friends left. The way the Amazon scale runs is more like a recommended/not recommended rating—if it’s 5 stars, you heartily recommend it. If it’s fewer than 5 stars, in the Amazon environment, you’re not really recommending the book to others. I’m not saying this is right, but it seems to be what authors and what I think many Amazon readers believe. Amazon could practically switch to a Facebook-esque thumbs up or thumbs down symbol and just cut to the chase, if that’s the way we’re all treating their ratings.
To me, it looks a little phony to have all 5-star reviews. It has the appearance of being in cahoots with our reviewers. I just don’t think that everyone is going to love my book. I’d love it if everyone did, and I deeply appreciate the readers who feel that way, but the reality is that different readers enjoy different types of books. Some might love my book, some might think it was pretty good, some might put it down and pick up a thriller instead. I know I prefer some types of books over others.
The emphasis on a standing ovation review was driven home to me on Wednesday at the pharmacy when I was asked by my pharmacist to call a number on my receipt and complete a survey to be entered in a drawing. “But please,” he said, “don’t give us any fewer than 5 stars. Anything less than that is a strike against us, in Corporate’s eyes. If you’re only somewhat satisfied, please just don’t fill out the survey at all.”
It left me with a icky feeling that someone could suffer negative consequences from an overall favorable review of their service.
What do you think? Has Amazon changed the way we think about book rating and review? What’s a good review on Amazon? Are you hesitant to give fewer than five stars for a book?
I use Amazon and Goodreads, and I enjoy reviewing/rating the books I read. For me, three stars or more is good. Like you, five stars is absolutely outstanding, while three means it was entertaining, yet I would still recommend.
I’ve been thinking about the flipside to reviews. What does it mean when a reader only gives five-star reviews? Could every book they read be equally outstanding? Maybe. It could just boil down to how we each define the different star levels. Maybe our expectations are different. Maybe they think giving anything less means they didn’t enjoy the book, or don’t want to hurt feelings.
If a reader gives your book a five-star review, but gives every book he/she reads five stars, does that change how you feel about it? Does it carry less weight?
~Tracy
I self-published a short story not too long ago, and so far I haven’t gotten any reviews on Amazon, I have gotten a few ratings on Goodreads. I got 4 stars from each of those readers, and frankly, that’s more than I expected. To me, a 4 star review is the highest you can get if you’re a new indie author (unless you’re exceptional but counting on that is not good for your ego ;p).
In my opinion, a 4 star review shows that the reader has actually *read* your book and thought about what kind of review to give.
To me, Brandon Sanderson books are 5 star books, and I’m aspiring to be as awesome a writer as he is, but I would not expect myself to become that good in a long, long time, and accordingly don’t expect ratings as high as his.
I, for one, don’t rate a book 5 stars unless I thought it was absolutely EXCEPTIONAL.
I would agree with you that books with only 5 star reviews would look phony, and to me it looks like the writer called all family members to leave positive reviews under pseudonyms, or bribed people to give good reviews. I don’t trust it if there are no lower ratings – not *everyone* likes a book, however good it is.
To me, 3 stars means “I liked it and enjoyed it”, 4 stars “it was good and I enjoyed it a lot”, and 5 stars is “omfg, this was amazing and I want to read it at least 10 times more before I die”.
But I guess rating is different for everyone.
Honestly, I don’t do much reviewing but I think anything three stars and up is a good review to me. To me, 3 says, it was good. Well written but probably not my cup of tea. If that’s what you’re into, you’d probably love it. 4 is, really liked it, but probably wouldn’t read it again. 5 is a rave, keeping it forever, reading it again some day.
Elizabeth – Rating systems are such a touchy subject, and I find it interesting that they are also so contextualized. That tends to make them more subjective and therefore, in an odd way, not helpful. They’re not as informative.
It’s gotten to be the same way with grades at a lot of schools. “A” used to be “truly excellent,” “B” meant “quite good,” and “C” meant “average – about what’s expected,” etc.. But now, for many students, anything less than “A” means “not good enough.” I wonder if the competitive nature of a lot of our society has something to do with it…
Interesting discussion about reviews. I have been a professional reviewer for a number of years and agree with the points you made, Elizabeth. The problem with the Amazon reviews is most of them are not done by professionals. So the rating system does not mean the same thing as a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. And readers, especially those reading e-books, will rate a book based on some criteria that has nothing to do with the writing. One of my books was given one star on Amazon because the reader was mad the book went from free to $2.99 before she had a chance to get it free.
Especially as a writer, I don’t give completely honest reviews but I focus on the positive things. If I were to give a book 3 stars, I don’t review it. Thankfully, I’ve read a lot of good books.
But, if a book has all 5 stars – I usually don’t read it. Esp. if I’ve never heard of it. B/c that tells me nothing. It tells me a bunch of friends jumped on pressed 5 stars. I’ve bought books b/c of the positive 3 star reviews and realized even with the flaws that I’d like it.
If Amazon has changed the way I see starred reviews, the change is that I almost dismiss them. We all know that an author’s friends fill Amazon reviews with five star reviews, but the other way seems to be the case too. There seem to be some people who revel in giving most books one or two stars for reasons I suspect are other than the overall quality of the books themselves.
If I read Amazon reviews at all, I tend to lop off the top and bottom and to pay attention to the three- and four-star reviews. I suspect those are the more honest readers.
I have uploaded two of my short story murder mysteries recently on Amazon and I would be very happy with a 3 star review. I don’t believe my work is ‘over the top’ but it does have merit.
Reviewing is a complicated business and I can’t say even the big time publishers have always done a good job of it with other writer’s reviews on the jacket covers.
I trust the readers, though, they know what they like regardless of what others say.
Tracy–It makes me think that Amazon needs to rethink its rating system, honestly.
I think that *some* reviewers definitely think that a 5 star review means an unreserved recommendation and anything lower than that means they had some reservations about recommending it.
I think if someone *only* gives 5 star reviews, then I’d either assume that he doesn’t ever review anything unless he loved the book, or that he raved over *everything* (and then, yes, I’d probably discount his opinion a little.)
Mallory–So 3 stars is sort of a tepid review to you–I can see that, too.
Manon–4 stars IS really good. As you pointed out, these would be readers who have read a book and see its positives and negatives.
Sometimes I’ll see reviews from Publishers Weekly or Kirkus that are lukewarm, then see the book on Amazon with all 5 stars…makes me wonder if it’s the same book!
It does look a little phony to have all 5 stars. We all have different tastes!
Your thoughts on rating a book sound on-target to me! Although I know that many authors wouldn’t like a 3 or even a 4 star review.
Laura–I think if I read a book I really disliked, I probably just wouldn’t review it at all. I’m honestly not a very good reviewer, which is why I don’t review on my blog.
I do the same thing. I like to have a variety of different reviews to give me a little insight into the book–then I can decide if the negatives outweigh the positives, or vice versa.
Margot–So funny! I was talking to another parent about the grade subject recently. You’re right–a C was ‘average.’ But it sure isn’t considered that way any longer.
H. L. Banks–I’m with you on the ratings.
And you’re right about the cover blurbs–there are going to be nothing less than raves on the cover!
I think a four star rating for a book is good. I look at like grades, and four stars is a B, which is good.
Now for movies, a three star means okay – not awful, but not really good.
At my last job, performance reviews were based on a scale of 1 to 5. Upper management wanted the ratings to follow a normal bell curve and supervisors were required to justify (with documentation) giving anyone a 1 or a 5. A 3 was considered a “good” rating.
In my hubby’s previous job, they used a 1 to 10 scale and it was understood that anything less than a 10 was a career breaker.
The bell curve ratings were probably more realistic but no manager at my husband’s job would give less than a 10 unless they wanted to get rid of someone.
It’s all about the expectation.
Alex–I think I’ve lowered my standards for films or else I’d never see any! I’m apparently a pretty picky moviegoer..
Maryann–I’ve seen those types of reviews, too: “Amazon promised to ship my book within 3-5 days and I didn’t receive it for 40 days…” with a 1-star review for the poor book! Good point about amateur reviewers. These aren’t book bloggers or print reviewers…they’re customers.
Linda–The bell curve at your job sounds fair–especially considering the need for documentation at both the upper and lower ends of the scale. It would be nice to see something like that on Amazon–“I give this book 5 stars because of passages like this:__________” or “I’m rating this book a 1 because_______”. Although, as Maryann said, the reviewers on Amazon aren’t pros, so we can’t really expect that kind of detail. But it sure would be nice in some ways.
Right! That’s what this pharmacist was telling me about the way the survey system was set up at this national pharmacy chain. So unfair, I think. A career breaker, for sure.
Joe–That’s what I do, too. I almost tend to be *suspicious* now of the 5-star reviews…which is a shame because some of them are likely genuine.
Great points. I work in academia, and this rings so close to the pitch of a catchphrase that bounces around our department a lot–grade inflation. Anything less than an A–or a five-star review–is suddenly unacceptable. A B–or four stars–not good enough. Instructors–or reveiwers–who enforce higher standards get pulled out as the mean one. I’m with you–all five-star reviews look as phony as an entire class of A students.
For me as a reader, I always look at the reviews themselves. If a book has anywhere between three to five stars, I’ll give it a chance. But ultimately it depends on what the reviewers actually write in their reviews. A 3-star from one person is different than a 3-star from another person.
I love your point about how we rate our writing friends. It is different, and I’m okay with that. It’s sort of like giving your friend a push to get them started, to give them a little momentum. And almost always I really believe in the 5-star rating anyway, no doubt because I’m a bit biased by what I know went into the writing of it.
Anyway, great post once again! Thanks for the thought-provoking topic.
I wish it was on a scale of one to ten instead. Three stars just doesn’t sound good.
Like a lot of people here, I think three and up is good. However, I’ll also read the reviews (especially if 1 or 5) to see why that rating was given. I know my three may be someone else’s four.
I’ve been intrigued by ratings before, but review, recommendations and synopsises carry more weight in my purchase/reading decision.
I never star books. It’s not fair to the author, I think
Cold As Heaven
This drives me absolutely nuts. Reviews are not for the writers, they’re for the READERS! We need to stay out of that conversation.
Furthermore, I just heard of a study which pointed out that a well-written negative review helps a product more than any other factor, no matter what the star-rating or if it’s negative.
But it still goes back that the job of a reviewer is not to “help” the book. That’s unethical. The job of the reviewer is to help the reader, and that can only happen if the reviewer stops thinking about the author and only about the reader.
Rowenna–A class full of straight A kids? Very fishy! And, considering that even “To Kill a Mockingbird” has some low scoring ratings on Amazon, I think that a regular writer with all 5 star reviews has something fishy going on, too.
M.E. Summer–Very true! There are some reviewers I’d love to rate 4 stars from, then there are some that make me doubt their 5 star reviews.
Diane–That’s a good idea. Or maybe even a different rating scale altogether.
Cold As Heaven–I’ve never thought of it that way! Hmm.
The Empty Pen–Good point. Reading the review to see if there was a particular grievance with a book is a good idea…and so is trying to figure out how that reviewer’s scale works.
I totally agree. And I tend to look for my reviews from book bloggers–especially bloggers who focus on particular genres in-depth and read a tremendous number of books…and really know their stuff. More so, I think, than even the print reviewers.
Your story about the pharmacist reminded me of my dad’s experience. He was asked to fill out a survey after taking his car in for service and he gave the service rep 9/10 points. The service rep then called back to ask why she wasn’t given a perfect 10. My dad’s reasoning was that he would reserve a 10 for extraordinary excellence, and while she did her job, he hadn’t been particularly impressed and thought he was being generous with the 9. I think he was annoyed that she called back to try to get him to change his rating. I guess she was in the same situation as the pharmacist you mention.
But yes, I pay a lot more attention to actual reviews than to the star ratings, since the stars mean different things for everyone. I prefer when people explain things they liked and didn’t like, regardless of the rating, as something that works for them might not work for me and vice versa.
Well….I don’t know what we can expect in a world in which any slight achievement a child makes (or not) is lauded like they’ve just discovered the cure for cancer. Kids grow up knowing that it devalues the praise and then it just keeps on continueing. On the other hand – perhaps in the world of the books reviewed, a four or five would be a good read because they aren’t reviewing Shakespeare, et al.
I don’t really read or use the reviews because of this. I don’t know what rating scale folks are using. I haven’t posted any reviews using stars or ratings because the whole thing stresses me out. I’ll have to look into it more when I have the time in the summer.
The Daring Novelist–So true! Although I do hope readers are checking out book bloggers, too, and not just getting their buying info from Amazon reviewers (a hit or miss experience, for sure.)
I like the research about the negative review. I wonder if that’s because the reader feels the reviewer is genuine (and maybe, after reading the reasons for their review, they decide that the points that bothered the reviewer weren’t likely to bother them?
Jan–Ha! YES! Oh, Lord, I see those kinds of parents out there all the time.
Linda–Isn’t that crazy? For a 10 rating, I’d expect that the technician would have done something really extraordinary–out of the line of duty. Bleh.
An explanation of the reviewer’s rating is really key for me, as a reader, too. Otherwise, we just don’t know if the review is worth anything.
Jemi–It’s honestly very stressful, I think. I feel lucky that I don’t review (well, officially, anyway.)
I mostly only review books I like on my blog, but I don’t give them all 5 stars either. I share books I like and think others would like, even if I only gave it 3 stars. But I try to make it clear how much my preference played into my overall rating and how much of it was the skill of the writer. Personally some of my 3 books are read as often as my 4s just because the characters pull me despite flaws in the writing.
I look more for specific comments when it comes to evaluating books, movies, and products. Then even if someone didn’t like something, I can tell if they simply didn’t care for it or if there was a specific problem I need to know about.
I consider 3 stars to be your average book: enjoyable, even recommendable to others who like the genre, but probably not something I’ll ever reread.
Even a 2-star book can be enjoyed — as long as it’s one of my “pet” genres, but I probably won’t reread it. (I probably won’t review it, either, but I’ve been known to steer friends away.)
I have to be squealing about a book (series) even to friends I know who wouldn’t particularly like it in order to give 5 stars. A 4-star book, I’ll wrack my brain to figure out who of my friends will enjoy it for me to recommend it.
Frankly, I’m okay with even a 1-star review if a reviewer has a coherent reason. The only reviews that make me angry are the ones where the critic has no idea what he’s talking about — like calling “faerie” a misspelling. (That happened to me in an online critique group.)
If somebody calls me a misogynist because one story’s narrator is forced into a marriage against her protests — well, they’re wrong about me being a misogynist, but they have a right to dislike that element of the story. I’d be hurt and a bit frustrated about the critic’s ad hominem, but I wouldn’t mind their dislike of the story.
I once bought a (self-published) book that only had one 1-star review on Amazon, and I think that reviewer’s complaints were groundless. Did the book rate 1 star? …Yeah, but it’s an excellent example of new-writer mistakes.
If someone only reviews those few books they consider 5 stars, I’m okay w/ all 5-star reviews, but otherwise, I won’t take that reviewer seriously.
My friends are a good bunch — not a mindless review from anybody. I’m pleased. ^_^
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