1 Star Review :( Will it impact sales

2204 Views 30 Replies 24 Participants Last post by J. W. Rolfe, Mar 9, 2013

Ardin

Discussion Starter · Mar 7, 2013

Just got my first one star review for There is No Otherwise. It's the 25th review for the book.
I'm new to all of this and just wondering,
Will this kill sales?

1 - 20 of 31 Posts

timskorn

· #2 · Mar 7, 2013

Nah, no way. If that alone killed sales, those who were turned off by it likely wouldn't buy it anyway. It's a very short review and she gives no actual reason why her husband didn't like it. Plus, you have another 24 positive reviews, and a glowing one from a Vine reviewer that is prominently displayed.

OEGaudio

· #3 · Mar 7, 2013

7.4% of the reviews for The Old Man and the Sea are 1 stars (68 out of 920 reviews). You'll be fine. It's rumored that even Hugh Howey has some 1 star reviews, but I dunno if I believe it.

H.M. Ward

· #4 · Mar 7, 2013

No, I really dont think so. Her main complaint was about the length. That will draw in ppl who want shorter stories and get rid of ppl who will bitch about it being a short. You're fine. That 1 star will help. I know, b/c I have a lot of them.

G

· #5 · Mar 7, 2013

With all those other amazing reviews, I'm guessing not.

You could do to warn it's a novelette/short story and not a full length novel in the description though.

X. Aratare

· #6 · Mar 7, 2013

You've got 20 5-stars, I don't think you'll have to worry. But one thing you MIGHT want to do is to put the size of the novel in the description. That seemed to anger her the most. She doesn't say WHY her husband disliked it so the only thing I got from her review was that she felt ripped off by the size that she wasn't expecting. The price (and I DO NOT KNOW WESTERNS so I could be wrong here) at $5.99 discounted to $2.99 for a short work is ... well, I would expect a whole novel for that. Not 48 pages (according to Amazon). That might help others who might miss the page length elsewhere and stop angry readers.

My .2! Love that cover btw.

Carol (was Dara)

· #7 · Mar 7, 2013

This is just my personal experience from watching my sales numbers and star ratings. If the overall rating falls below three stars, I'm in a little trouble. As long as the rating stays around three and a half or more, I see no effect on my sales numbers. My personal theory is the average shopper doesn't even read the reviews or only reads one or two. The star ratings are what matter. Also maybe the quotes Amazon pulls from reviews to feature on your book page and the "most helpful favorable review" and "most helpful critical review" because those are fairly visible.

Kathy Clark Author

· #8 · Mar 7, 2013

You’ll always have an outlier or two in the first 50 reviews. Get over it.

Clearly the reader had a different expectation when they started to read and you book didn't blow his/her/their skirt up.

We’ve got 18 5 start reviews to start off OMG and Kathy has a suspense that is all 4 and 5 starts and one 2 star. The one star looks like they missed the point.

If you get one 5 star and all 1 and 2 star reviews pull it down and re-write.

Ardin

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 7, 2013

Thanks guys. Feeling a little better now. You have to grow thick skin fast in this game!
Now I'm off to look up Hugh Howie.

ruecole

· #10 · Mar 7, 2013

Doubt it's going to affect your sales negatively. You've got a ton of good reviews so far. I do think you should make it clear it's a novelette and not a novel, as that can upset readers if they feel duped. I'm gonna guess since this is the first review that mentions price that western readers will tolerate higher prices than other genres. My women's fic and romance titles get comments on the price at .99 and $1.99.

Keep an eye on it, though. Of a bunch of readers mark it as helpful, then you know you need to rethink the price.

Hope that helps!

Rue

Mathew Reuther

· #11 · Mar 7, 2013

You do not need to drop the price if you don't want to. There are a lot of people who price shorts at $2.99.

I would put somewhere on the page (description or from the author) the length in words and class of story.

D.L. Shutter

· #12 · Mar 7, 2013

Funny you mention Hugh, go look at some of his one star reviews. I read some just out of curiosity, expecting hard SF snobs to bash him for weak science or implausible theories. Nope. Allegedly, he has an amateurish writing style with boring, flat characters and has no idea of how to plot a story or generate any kind of excitement. Seriously. People said that.

Everyone gets them. As a reader I generally don't look at 1 star reviews. I know what I'm going to read. Either it will be something idiotic like a short story that was short or an erotic story that had sex, or they just plain didn't like it. That said, when I see a handful of 5 star reviews that say a book is the greatest thing written since the Constitution and then there's nothing else save a pair of 1 star reviews, then I'm interested in what those 1 stars are. When they say typos, grammar and no presence of editing, then I pass because I've written the 5 stars off as friends and family. I doubt I'm the only reader who does that.

I think if you're 5 star reviews are genuine, and especially if your 1 star is kinda sorta petty, then I wouldn't worry about it.

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Holly

· #13 · Mar 7, 2013

Speaking as a reader only, I do look at the one star reviews but quickly dismiss most of them as invalid for whatever fairly obvious reason. I wouldn't be concerned if you have more five star than one star.

SEAN H. ROBERTSON

· #14 · Mar 7, 2013

You'll be fine. I received a 1 star review 3 weeks ago from a guy complaining about a few 'candid' words my lawyer used in the first book of my No Panties Fridays erotica series. Funniest thing...the same book hit Amazon's top 100 paid bestsellers Fantasy Anthologies list in the USA today for the first time ever. Thanks 1 star guy!

Here's proof:

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A.A

· #15 · Mar 7, 2013

Dara England said:
This is just my personal experience from watching my sales numbers and star ratings. If the overall rating falls below three stars, I'm in a little trouble. As long as the rating stays around three and a half or more, I see no effect on my sales numbers. My personal theory is the average shopper doesn't even read the reviews or only reads one or two. The star ratings are what matter. Also maybe the quotes Amazon pulls from reviews to feature on your book page and the "most helpful favorable review" and "most helpful critical review" because those are fairly visible.

I never thought of it that way before, but it's very true. Before I ever uploaded a book to kindle, I looked at lots of books on Amazon, and thought 3 out of 5 stars meant the book was pretty good. When I look at rotten tomatoes for a movie to watch, I consider 60% and above to be a decent score.

G

· #16 · Mar 7, 2013

SEAN H. ROBERTSON said:

I'm sorry, but if you look at the location of the "Look Inside" arrow on that image and where it is pointing...

That's just priceless

Kathelm

· #17 · Mar 7, 2013

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:
I'm sorry, but if you look at the location of the "Look Inside" arrow on that image and where it is pointing...

Outstanding...

Anyway, when it comes to one-star reviews, a small number of them are harmless, and possibly even beneficial. Some people are suspicious of books with no negative reviews, because it's no secret that some authors find unethical ways of inflating their review scores.

MsTee

· #18 · Mar 7, 2013

Captain Optimism to the rescue!!!!!111one1

Nope! As others have probably said: it gives you credibility. I side-eye books that have ALL five star reviews. I need to see some 3-stars and under to feel it's worthwhile. Also, I read the review. I don't know about others but it's not the type that'll discourage me from buying your book. Also, also, their heading for the review, 'modern western,' is actually a bonus to YOU. Seekers of modern western books will probably be further interested by reading that review.

timskorn

· #19 · Mar 7, 2013

With all these positive vibes about 1 star reviews, somebody give me one!

SEAN H. ROBERTSON

· #20 · Mar 7, 2013

Bards and Sages (Julie) said:
I'm sorry, but if you look at the location of the "Look Inside" arrow on that image and where it is pointing...

That's just priceless

Indeed. I'd never noticed that. Now, with the 1 star and the LOOK INSIDE arrow, I rest my case on this topic, your Honor.

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