Support for Indie Authors discussion

Just published my first book and I'm noticing on amazon now that I can actually respond to people who have reviewed my book.

I did a little researching on it and got mixed reviews. Some people said to respond with a thanks, offer refunds if they didn't like it, and ignore the one stars because those aren't useful reviews.

Other people said to never respond, and to leave reviewers feeling as though they don't have any repercussions for reviewing your book.

I'm not really sure where I stand. Probably somewhere in the middle. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts!

I'm a hands on kind of guy, and don't believe I'm above the influence, so I talk to my reviewers all the time. The only one I responded to on Amazon though was the DNF that complained the book was a wall of text. That was only to state that the edition had been updated. Not that I wouldn't talk to them, I just think there's better places to respond than amazon.
I do talk to my reviewers though, just to show I'm not a mindless robot that just wants them to read my book. Not to bug, or ask if they've started reading it, but to develop an actual connection. They seem to like that.

I would love to thank my reviewers, for good or bad reviews, but I don't for a number of reasons. Mostly because I am very selfconscious about how my written voice is 'heard' and I don't want to write something that can be misconstrued as snarky, clingy, stalkerish, etc... Also because I've been conditioned by Goodreads and Amazon to not respond. I do 'like' reviews on GR and mark them as 'helpful' on Amazon if I think they are constructive. And of course, if the review is by someone I "know" here on GR, or it is brought to my attention by the reviewer, I will always thank them for reviewing.

Well, I don't seek out the reviewers to talk to them...but I tend to have a very outgoing personality...

I've only ever made two comments on Amazon reviews. One of them was on my own review (so it wasn't even my book) when someone accused said review of not being genuine (I'd beta-read an advance copy of the book and posted my review the day it was released *eye roll*). The other time was when someone who reviewed one of my books asked a specific question in their review, so I left a quick comment to answer that question.

Otherwise, I try to avoid interacting with reviewers, at least on Amazon. Here on Goodreads, since it's more of a social media site, I'll usually comment and say thanks for reading. One time, a complete stranger left really enthusiastic and in-depth reviews on both of my books so I actually sent him a message to thank him not only for reading but for taking the time to write such thoughtful reviews.

I don't know. Amazon just strikes me as being a more formal environment, where you have to kinda draw the line between being someone's friend and being an author. I especially try to stay away from negative reviews just because I don't want to stir up any sort of controversy. I don't think I'd ever go so far as to offer a refund - if someone doesn't like a book, that's basically their problem. But here on Goodreads, somehow it feels more "okay" to interact with people on a more personal level.

But here on Goodreads, somehow it feels more "okay" to interact with people on a more personal level.

As long as you're not going out of your way to stalk them. I do both sides, as I blog about books and writing as well as personal issues, and I write books and ask for reviews.
As a blogger who reviews books, there's nothing I like more than an author thanking me for reading their work and taking the time to talk to me like a human being. But there's nothing I hate more than an author bugging me about reading their book, or asking me to change a review once I've taken the time to read it. I read your work, reviewed it, and it's honest. If you wanted a 5 star review, you should have paid a company to give it to you. Otherwise, you get what you get!

I'm in the camp where we don't comment on Amazon reviews unless some direct question/issue is posed that is seems important, or if the review is downright misleading (this has happened twice).

On GR, I'm more relaxed about contacting people, but I still don't do it often. We did find a very helpful beta reader by contacting a person who left us a review here on GR.

If someone reviews my work on GR I'll send them a simple thank you. For low-key starting out authors such as myself, I think it's polite, and possibly a way to endear yourself to readers.

I respond to Goodreads comments, as it's a much more informal, friendly environment, but would feel awkward doing it on Amazon. Yes, I've received reviews that have made me furious or want to cry, but everyone's entitled to an opinion. It'd be like having a film director hanging around a cinema and cross examining anyone who didn't like their movie. I simply marked those reviews as unhelpful.

No.

Don't do it.

Period.

The only place where I might respond to my readers is on my blog. I figure they come there intending to interact with me. And, of course, I answer emails.

Anything else, I feel like I'm intruding on a private conversation. Well, not all the way private, but it is a space where readers are supposed to be free to express their opinions, and they might be less comfortable to do so with the author hovering over their shoulder.

And of course, responding also 'feeds the trolls'. So if someone's looking to be mean or gain a reaction, they are more likely to do so if they know that they might get a huffy response from the author.

I agree with Jenycka's post, I would use the blog for that.

Since my debut book has been only on sale for a couple of weeks, (and most of my personal contacts aren't computer-savvy enough to post a review) I have none yet to speak of, but I am enjoying reading your comments, as it will help me to think of which situations I will respond to in the future.

Think of it this way: if you wrote a review of a book by a super famous author, good or bad, would you expect them to respond? Of course not.

A review is an opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own. Even if they trash you, just ignore it and get back to work.

True, on a blog or on your web site where you have a way for them to ask questions or make comments is different. But not on public reviews. Not even here.

I love how the author world seems to be split on every single topic just like the real world.

I respond to comments and interact with readers on my blogs or Facebook, but I'd never respond to a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It's like someone already said - we're conditioned not to. I had an author once respond to a negative review I left for her book on GR (something I rarely do). She was pleasant, but still, I removed the review.

B.E. wrote: "I respond to comments and interact with readers on my blogs or Facebook, but I'd never respond to a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It's like someone already said - we're conditioned not to. I had..."

You removed it after she contacted you? I would say that worked out for her, right?

Micah wrote: "Think of it this way: if you wrote a review of a book by a super famous author, good or bad, would you expect them to respond? Of course not.

A review is an opinion. Everyone is entitled to their ..."

It sounds like this is focused on responding to negative reviews. I think positive reviews are different matter, especially here in GR. When we have responded to positive reviews, it has been a very good experience.

In additon to that beta reader, we've gotten some very detailed feedback by privately writing reviewers and asking them if they were willing to comment further. We haven't done this often, but in the cases we did, the people we contacted were quite happy we reached out to them. (These were 4 & 5 star reviews.)

An important thing, I think, is that we asked: "What can we do better?" That is what we really wanted to know, and we found that they willing to discuss the weaknesses they saw in the books in private -- things they didn't mention in their reviews. A thoughtful reviewer can be a great resource.

Quoleena wrote: "B.E. wrote: "I respond to comments and interact with readers on my blogs or Facebook, but I'd never respond to a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It's like someone already said - we're conditioned n..."

Probably, Quoleena. But I removed it because I don't like leaving bad reviews anyway. This book just frustrated me to no end because the writing was good and the premise was good, but the plot fell apart. And I wrote the review when I was frustrated rather than thinking it through beforehand.

I had a reviewer who said my kindle version needed editing because of 'extra words, missing words, misspelled words'. I had uploaded a new version, error free but didn't know when the reader purchased the kindle book. So, I commented under her post apologising for the mistakes and asked her when she got the book ( I wanted to know if I had more errors after all the editing). She never replied.

Leaving bad reviews leaves a guilty pit in my stomach, unless it's for a popular book with tens of thousands of ratings (because then my review would get lost in the pile). If I were to read a book that I didn't like [by an indie author] I don't think I would leave a review at all. If there were technical issues, I would PM the author. But if it was a matter of taste/opinion, and I didn't like it, I would feel awful if I were to give it a bad review, so I wouldn't review it at all. That's one of the reasons I don't do review swaps. What if I didn't like the book? The guilt would give me an ulcer.

Quoleena wrote: "Leaving bad reviews leaves a guilty pit in my stomach, unless it's for a popular book with tens of thousands of ratings (because then my review would get lost in the pile). If I were to read a book..."

I know what you mean. I had to review a book from a favourite author of mine once and in the past, every one of her books had touched me. Unfortunately, there was one that left me feeling nothing. And in that review, I wrote about how her previous works were beautiful and that perhaps, her recent book just wasn't my cup of tea.

Even giving a book 3 stars doesn't sit well with me, and I feel guilty whenever I see a book that I rated as such. I guess I don't have the stuff to be a reviewer. The ones who do it as their thing must have guts encased in stone.

Rob, do you mean "bad review" in terms of how the reviewer wrote it or in terms of it indicating that the book was bad?

Rob wrote: "Personally I hated this book, but if you are into the excruciating use of XYX such as found in books like [name of famous book you also hated] and you don't mind the abundant use of ABC in a way that would give [famous author you don't like] a run for his money, than this story may be just the thing for you"

I would read that as a snarky review. Perhaps instead of hated, you might say the book wasn't to your tastes because you are not a fan of XYX and skip the word excrutiating.

I don't personally write reviews for books unless I feel comfortable giving it four or five stars, but even then, if there is something to criticize, I'm mindful of the tone of my criticism. Some of the worst reviews I have received were positive in rating but trashed my books nonetheless.

However, getting back on topic, no, I would certainly not comment on a backhanded positive review either. Nor would I give it any validation by marking it as helpful.

Rob wrote: "Quoleena wrote: "Rob, do you mean "bad review" in terms of how the reviewer wrote it or in terms of it indicating that the book was bad?"

If you think the book was bad (technically), than a good r..."

If I was a reviewer, then I would for sure leave helpful remarks on a book that I thought was poorly written, while giving it the stars I felt were appropriate. But since I'm not a reviewer, and I like leaving happiness on social media, then I won't go there. I prefer not to leave a review if an indie book didn't sit well with me. I've experienced the sinking disapointment of a bad rating, so I'd rather not do that to a fellow indie.

What I am saying is that hate is a strong word and would reflect more on you as the reviewer than the book itself. I am not saying that a review needs to be friendly, just respectful.

This is a bit off topic, but personally I'm hands-off with indie authors when it comes to negative reviews, becuase either tey are trying their best and they aren't there yet, and thus could maybe use some support and guidance (not a bad public review); or they are not trying their best, in which case, why bother? A bad review is not likely to motivate them.

But a well-established author published by a Big 5 house? "No mercy" if they screw up. But I'm still not going to trash them for the sake of trashing them, because everything I say reflects on me as author. (Glass houses, stones, etc.)

Hi Emma, So PLEASE understand this is just my two cents. From my standpoint you stopped having a choice about things like, responding to reviews, the minute you put a book up for sale. At that point you became a salesman. Good or bad is up to you but NOT responding to review is just bad customer service. If they leave a good review, you say "Thank you." And if they leave a bad review, you say "I am very sorry you did not enjoy it." If they want more than that then you direct them to one of the BILLION blogs you've picked up along the way and discuss it there.