I once read a review on TripAdvisor that complained that the beach was hard to walk on because it was too sandy. Good to know.
No author likes to get a bad review. Oh, we understand that not everyone is going to enjoy what we write, and it is up to the reader to choose to write a review, for whatever reason.
Why are bad reviews written? To warn others away from wasting money? To stir the pot?
Who is hurt by low ratings? The big guns? Nope. There are some bestselling authors whom I have read that I just don’t get the hype. Sometimes, I’ll write a review of an established author if I can make it funny, so if I give Lee Child a 1- star review*, he will still be able to afford that 17th new car (and I won’t hurt his feelings). I rarely write reviews, though. I admit I am a picky reader. There are some genres that I won’t touch, others I’ll give a try, but if I don’t like it I’m not going to bash it because it’s my opinion and there’s no reason to.
No, it’s the indie author starting out. A few good ratings get pulled down greatly with a low one. I’ve read several books from the indie authors I promote on Friday’s, and unless I can give a glowing review, I won’t.
Bad review have their place. They give legitimacy to a book. Too many 5-stars begins to look a little sketchy. So I’m OK with a 4 – 4.5 average with a few lower ratings.
It still sucks, though.
-Leon
*Did you read the last book? Yikes.
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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Lines by Leon 
It’s true that a few bad ratings can really pull down your average if you’re starting out. I truly don’t mind if someone disliked my book for what it is, but what gets me is when they write false information about the story – accusing characters of things that didn’t happen like they just flipped through the story and didn’t really read it. It sets a false premise for other readers.
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