THE Group for Authors! discussion

I was wondering why someone can rate a book if it hasn’t been published and so they obviously haven’t read it. This seems unethical and should be changed.

Some authors give out advanced reader copies, so it could simply be that. :)

Thanks Harry.

People use the rating system for different things not just to rate a book they have read. Some use it to indicate their excitement for the next book they want to read or excitement/ lack of interest in books. GR allows users to use the rating system anyway they want.

Elise wrote: "I was wondering why someone can rate a book if it hasn’t been published and so they obviously haven’t read it."

Users can rate/review/shelf however they want. Many users will assign a rating which only has meaning to them and might be the book's placement in their TBR pile or as an indicator of how excited they are to read the book.

It's always interesting to note that authors seldom complain about 5-star ratings on unreleased books.

Perhaps you should write another book and stop obsessing over how readers chose to use a social media site?

Elise wrote: "I was wondering why someone can rate a book if it hasn’t been published and so they obviously haven’t read it. This seems unethical and should be changed."

Also sometimes the ebook comes out before the print version and they review that version as in my case. Also advance copies sent out.