THE Group for Authors! discussion

Is there a way to easily figure out which book received the latest review here on GR? I try to keep track of the stats in a notebook but sometimes I get behind and then I have to search through each book to find the newest review that was added. On Amazon, in Author Central, it tells you which book had the latest review so you don't have to search for it.

I think Samantha was asking about Goodreads (the Amazon statement was for comparison).

If there is a way, I haven't found it.

Yes, thanks, Ken. I did mean they needed it here on Goodreads... it's such a pain searching for the new reviews, especially since some of them don't come up right away unless you narrow it down with the filters.

I just went to my book's page. Opposite the stars next to the cover is the link to the reviews. Click on the Reviews. Then underneath the words "community reviews" is a filter. Click on Newest. When I did this, my newest review rose to the top.

Yes but sometimes that doesn't always work and I have to add filters for text only or individual stars. What I'm looking for is for GR to do what Amazon does. I click on Reviews in Author Central and the latest one (no matter which book it's from) is on top. I don't have to keep track of how many reviews are on each book (I have 7) and then try to figure out which book just got a review because the overall count went up. I'm tired of writing in my notebook the current stats in order to figure it all out.

Samantha wrote: "Yes but sometimes that doesn't always work and I have to add filters for text only or individual stars. What I'm looking for is for GR to do what Amazon does. I click on Reviews in Author Central a..."

Oh, sorry, I hadn't realized they would all be combined.

Luna wrote: "I just went to my book's page. Opposite the stars next to the cover is the link to the reviews. Click on the Reviews. Then underneath the words "community reviews" is a filter. Click on Newest. Whe..."

If you sort by newest or oldest GR uses the date the book was shelved, not the date of their review, so that probably won't help you very much. In the general Feedback group people have requested the option to get a notice when a new review appears on selected books, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that to happen.

Luna wrote: "Samantha wrote: "Yes but sometimes that doesn't always work and I have to add filters for text only or individual stars. What I'm looking for is for GR to do what Amazon does. I click on Reviews in..."

Yes - that's where the problem comes in. You have to write down your stats somewhere to help figure out which book received the new review.

Faith wrote: "Luna wrote: "I just went to my book's page. Opposite the stars next to the cover is the link to the reviews. Click on the Reviews. Then underneath the words "community reviews" is a filter. Click o..."


Thanks! That's what I was hoping for.... a notification of a new review, but like you said, I won't hold my breath.

Samantha wrote: "You have to write down your stats somewhere to help figure out which book received the new review. "

I'm obviously missing something here - but why?

Why do you track reviews? Why does it matter which book has the latest review?

I don't get it. But then I don't even look at my reviews, they're not for me, they are for readers.

Reviews are one of the best means of getting feedback on our writing. They show us what readers want to read about, what they liked and - perhaps more importantly - what they don't like.

Writing is a business and readers are our customers. What successful business isn't interested in what its customers want?

So, yes, I am with Samantha. I read every review. And I use a panel of beta readers. And I try (ever so gently) to get into conversations with readers about what they did and didn't like. In this business, feedback is gold dust.

Perhaps we ought to focus on Samantha's question instead of challenging her for wanting to ask it.

Will wrote: "Reviews are one of the best means of getting feedback on our writing. They show us what readers want to read about, what they liked and - perhaps more importantly - what they don't like.

Writing i..."

Thank you, Will!

A.W. wrote: "Samantha wrote: "You have to write down your stats somewhere to help figure out which book received the new review. "

I'm obviously missing something here - but why?

Why do you track reviews? Why..."

I read every review for several reasons.

1. As Will stated, it is a way for me to find out what my readers liked and didn't like in my series, which helps with writing future books.

2. It is how I've developed a strong fan base. I do my best to connect with favorable reviewers on Facebook. I develop a relationship with them which keeps me in the forefront of their minds. They get all excited when I am about to release a new book and most of them plug and promo me to their friends and in groups which is free advertising.

In order to find out which of 8 listings, with 230 reviews and over 500 ratings between them, just received a new review so I can read it, I have to keep track of the stats in a notebook. When I see the review count went up, I then look at the number of reviews for each listing and compare it to my notebook to see which book received the review. Then I usually have to search for it, using several filters under the Community Reviews because, due to whatever glitches still have been fixed, the reviews don't always show unless I put them on.

I get notified by GR via email every time someone answers my questions here and if someone sent me a private message along with the direct link to comments, so I can't understand why they can't do that with reviews or at least make is simpler to find for people with multiple listings.

Well, as someone with 5 books out I also agree with Samantha.

Reviews are also important to me too; if there's points I can improve upon then I like to know. Similarly, if someone has particularly enjoyed my work then that helps give me the energy boost to carry on.

Yes, readers leave reviews for other readers, but they're also really useful feedback for us authors.

And it is really difficult to see the latest review.
I have no notification, so I flick through my profile page, and try to see if the number of reviews has increased for each book. Then if they have I have to drill down into that book, find the reviews section, filter for newest...blah blah blah.

Some sort of auto gr email message to alert the author '(xyz) has just received a review' would be terrific, please.

:-)

Will wrote: "Reviews are one of the best means of getting feedback on our writing. ."

Wowser. I so disagree with that. If you want feedback, that's why you have critique partners, beta readers and an editor. Authors should seek feedback before they publish, not from readers afterwards.

Reviews are for other readers, they are NOT author feedback. But I can see from the tone of conversation here that I am in a minority. I'll leave you to obsess over reviews.

Yes, you are in a minority, and for a very good reason. Critique partners, beta readers and an editor can only give partial feedback. In many cases, they know you and so can be biased. They often have a writing background and so can find it difficult to give reader-level comments.

Authors should look for feedback both before and after publication. Feedback before publication helps with that particular book. Feedback after publication helps with every other book you are going to write.

This thing about "reviews are for other readers" is needlessly self-limiting. Why on earth would you want to ignore a valuable source of information about what your customers want?

Take a look at almost any professional company selling a service to customers. If they are any good they will have teams of people constantly monitoring customer feedback. That's one of the differences between a professional and an amateur.

If you have some arcane reason for ignoring your reviews, that's fine. It's your choice. But please don't come over all sarcastic for those of us who do pay attention to what our readers are telling us.

A.W. wrote: "Will wrote: "Reviews are one of the best means of getting feedback on our writing. ."

Wowser. I so disagree with that. If you want feedback, that's why you have critique partners, beta readers and..."

First off, I'm not obsessive about my reviews, but I do like to read them. Secondly, I do have beta readers and an editor who give me feedback and I rely on them to tell me if something is not working. However, it is nice to hear people (readers) complimenting your work and if it's a bad review, I take it with a grain of salt and move on. That all being said, as I mentioned earlier, through my reviews, I've developed a large and still growing fan base and I interact with a lot of my readers/reviewers on a regular basis. They in return, have done a lot of unasked-for promotion of my books and I am very grateful to them. I will continue monitoring my reviews and befriending my readers because I love interacting with them in general and I get the added bonus of free advertising.

And I also forgot to mention that some of the reviews helped me develop future plots. One reviewer mentioned she would love to have a story for a minor character who I had not planned on giving a story to. Once I read that, a story for the character started developing and it was the first novella of my series. The readers loved it and through that novella, I had many more readers discover my books. It was the first one they read and they went back and downloaded the first 3 books in the series. So there are many reasons why some authors like to read their reviews.

T.L. wrote: "Well, as someone with 5 books out I also agree with Samantha.

Reviews are also important to me too; if there's points I can improve upon then I like to know. Similarly, if someone has particularly..."

I hope GR gets on the ball. If they can do it for all the other reasons why I get notifications, it shouldn't be that hard to do.

Will wrote: "Yes, you are in a minority, and for a very good reason. Critique partners, beta readers and an editor can only give partial feedback. In many cases, they know you and so can be biased. They often h..."

Amen.

A.W. wrote: "Will wrote: "Reviews are one of the best means of getting feedback on our writing. ."

Wowser. I so disagree with that. If you want feedback, that's why you have critique partners, beta readers and..."

I just took a quick glance at your author page and I noticed several readers sent you messages which you answered. To me, they were giving you feedback of what they liked and what they were hoping you would write in the future....i.e. their favorite character. So why would you not see that a review is very similar to a reader contacting you via message? I've had readers write similar questions in their reviews instead of sending me a direct message, so I was able to get their feedback which I used to my advantage.

Leaving aside what, if anything, authors get from reviews, as a reader I would like to be able to follow books, just like I can follow reviewers or authors. I like to look at new reviews for recent books that I have read and, as it stands now, it is a pain in the neck finding those reviews.

Faith wrote: "Leaving aside what, if anything, authors get from reviews, as a reader I would like to be able to follow books, just like I can follow reviewers or authors. I like to look at new reviews for recent..."

I didn't realize that was an issue for the readers as well. I hope GR gets around to updating that too!

Samantha wrote: "I just took a quick glance at your author page and I noticed several readers sent you messages which you answered. ."

I don't read reviews, they're not for me. And quite apart from that, I don't see the point in reading negative reviews for feedback. (Personally) I don't write my books for readers who haven't enjoyed them. I write for readers who do enjoy them.

There is a huge difference between obsessing over reviews and expecting readers to be free editors, and having an open channel of communication with readers.

I love talking to readers when they choose to reach out to me. Whether they email, visit my FB page, website or twitter - that is a contact initiated by the reader.

A.W. wrote: "Samantha wrote: "I just took a quick glance at your author page and I noticed several readers sent you messages which you answered. ."

I don't read reviews, they're not for me. And quite apart fro..."

I agree that readers should not be used as editors, which is why I have one in addition to my beta readers. And again, I'm not obsessive about the reviews. I just find its another way for my readers to communicate with me. And again, using those reviews as a way to communicate back with the readers (in a positive way, not bitching about a bad review). It is just another way your readers are reaching out to you. I have tracked down numerous reviewers from here on their blog pages on FB and have developed a long standing relationship with them....why is that a problem for you? I would think any writer would want to reach out to the readers who DO enjoy their books, so they will most likely tell their friends about the author. I have been told several times by my readers that they love how open and receptive I am because I take the time to chat with them. While I have had very few negative reviews, I usually chalk it up to that person didn't care for the story and it's no big deal. But unless I look up the review, I won't know if it's a positive or negative on. If it is a positive one, it really makes my day. I'll even thank them and give them an update on my next book so they are looking forward to it. It's another marketing tool for me and it has worked very well for me so far.

A.W. wrote: "I don't see the point in reading negative reviews for feedback."

As you might say, wowser.

The negative reviews are often the most useful. By all means ignore the unhelpful negative reviews as in "it was rubbish" or "not my thing". But pay particular attention to any review which states what they did like and what they didn't.

I've had a quick skim through some of your reviews and can see plenty of constructive points that might be worth thinking about. Or you can ignore them. It's your choice.

Writing for readers who want to read your books? Ahem. The point about learning from feedback is to write books that more readers want to read.

You seem to like categorising things as either good or bad, with little room for anything in the middle. In your world, there are readers who like your writing and readers who don't. Feedback only comes from beta readers or editors. Reader reviews are only for other readers. Negative reviews are never worth reading. Writers who read their own reviews are obsessing about them. Everything seems to be black or white.

The reality is that there is plenty of space in the middle ground. The real world isn't a polarised choice between good and bad. Some reader reviews are useful for an author to read, some are not. Some writers can read reviews without obsessing about them, some can't. Some readers might not like your writing at the moment, but might if you made a few tweaks.

And just because something isn't for you, doesn't mean that it can't work for someone else. Samantha started this thread asking a legitimate question about how to find new reviews. She makes a good point. I would have given her a solution if I knew one. But this is not the place to try telling her that she shouldn't be looking at reviews or to try to be sarcastic if she or I want to.

Samantha wrote: "A.W. wrote: "Samantha wrote: "I just took a quick glance at your author page and I noticed several readers sent you messages which you answered. ."

I don't read reviews, they're not for me. And qu..."

Amen... Criticism always instructs.