Dear reader,
A really lovely person asked a question on my discord server, and it was a good enough question to warrant being brought up for discussion on the blog.
It boils down to “Do authors really check the reviews/read them on apps?”
This ended up becoming a discussion about the role of star ratings and reviews in an author’s career.
I use star reviews to determine if a series has sufficient viability to prioritize. I’m going to put Booked for Murder up as the primary discussion point.
Due to the star ratings on Booked for Murder, the entire series was deprioritized. I will still finish it. I will still work on it as a passion project, but in reality, due to the star ratings on the first book in the series, I cannot realistically spend money on advertising on this series.
It’s dead, and the star ratings on the book one in the series is why it is dead in the water.
I can’t promote book two all that well. Why? Because people will see the star ratings on book one and just bail. They won’t buy the books. Book three is probably going to flop because not enough people liked book one.
Nobody loved the book.
There are a lot of people who liked the book and gave it four stars. That’s great. In a way, that signals it was pretty solid and people liked it. But there weren’t enough people who LOVED the book.
But… people who liked a book don’t necessarily buy book two or three.
People who loved a book continue to read more of the series.
I am going to write book three through five solely for the 5* readers. I made a promise, and I will keep it. It just won’t be happening at eighteen month intervals because I would rather write more of the books people will love.
I don’t want to cut into the writing time for books people just like.
This is what people see when they look up Booked for Murder. (Yes, I buy a copy of my own book for testing purposes.) They see that a lot of people didn’t really like the book. It is a 4.2* book. That means… probably not going to be a great book.
People don’t shop around Amazon or other vendors looking for a “probably okay” book. They’re looking for great books.
Booked for Murder, judging from the star ratings, just is not a great book.
Personally, I love it, which is why it’s a passion project I pick at as the books that will probably make me money are written.
It’s a very careful balance.
I have to write what pays the bills and will ultimately let me do things like eat food. I really do like eating food. (Perhaps a little too much.)
However much I love this series, I can’t justify taking time from the books that might pay the bills.
All because the book one is too low of a star rating.
Here is the breakdown of the star ratings, for those of you who are curious.
I don’t know what the 1-3* reviews say. These people aren’t my audience for these books, so I don’t even bother. The 4* reviews… are not my audience for this specific book because they didn’t really like it all THAT much. It was an okay book for them.
I do not even factor in reactions of readers with 1-4* reviews when I’m working on planning my schedule, etc. The only readers I focus on are the ones who LOVE the books.
They are my audience.
The only reason I saw that 1* review I posted about yesterday was due to testing some new author tools, and part of the software has a way to access reviews. As I was testing the tool, the review became visible. The headline for it caught my attention, so I got some popcorn and read it.
Every now and then, my PA goes and trolls only 5* reviews for reminders of why I work my ass off in a very difficult career field.
Those are the readers I am writing for.
Not the people who only kinda like it, not for the reader who thinks it was an average book, and definitely not for the people who disliked it.
I am certainly not going to change anything about how I write for people who hated a book.
This is why reviewing is so important.
The survival of every book and series is ultimately in the hands of the readers. If readers just didn’t like a book or series all that much… it will be quietly worked on in the background, a new title added every 3-5 years, and allowed to ride off into the sunset to die.
Some folks like to say that high number of reviews equals the book is going to sell and sell well, even if it’s only 4.2* star.
The reality of the situation says otherwise. The librarians series is, to date, one of my poorest performers in terms of click to sale ratio. The star rating is why.
That plus the prevalence of people who just did NOT like the book.
People typically shop like this for books:
1: The shiny cover draws them in.
1a: they see low star ratings, and they leave because not enough people liked the book.
1b: they see low star ratings, but they decide to stay because they liked the cover enough.
If they survive 1, they move on.
2: They check out the description. They’re interested, hooray!
The next step goes one of two ways:
3a: they check the reviews.
3b: the check the sample.
In this case, usually 3a is selected.
They scroll down and see reviews… a few are 4 or 5*, but everyone else has stated that the book is dull, they didn’t like it, etc. (Yes, that’s currently what the reality of the situation is.)
The book is not purchased.
The series dies.
I will finish this series, but the world it is written in is dead; there won’t be any spin-offs, and it will be a five book short series and the series will be written without any openings for new series.
A pity, because I liked the book.
I am replacing this series with the upcoming Lilith Daniels books.
So, yes. Those who bother to leave star ratings and reviews influence what is abandoned and what is not abandoned.
The Booked series will be finished, but it will be done at a slower pace because this one is doomed to go out to pasture.
To give you an idea, it would take approximately 600 5* ratings with no 1-4* ratings to pull it up from 4.2* to 4.5*. This is not happening. I understand this. So, this series enters the passion project category to be finished.
I can’t rely on it to sell copies when book three to five come out, and I can’t advertise book one because it went into the “no fly” zone.
People just aren’t going to spend $6.99 on this book, and I’m not going to loss lead book one when realistically… most people aren’t even going to spend $0.99 on it.
It’s no longer really viable to get bookbubs, either.
The star rating is simply too low.
And this sucks, but so the series dies… not with a bang, but with 2,000 whimpers.
The star ratings and reviews matter, and yes, they do determine if something is prioritized or dies a slow and painful death, in 3-5 year segments as it is delegated to passion project and a promise I need to keep rather than a priority.
Through the reviews, you have clearly said “You would prefer if I write Royal States, or Mag Rom Coms, or Karma’s third book, or Jesse Alexander’s third book…”
So I’ll be writing all of those before circling back to a series that is unfortunately dead in the water because of the low star ratings on book one.
That’s just how it is. I DO pay attention to what people ACTUALLY like.
The Vigilante Magical Librarians series is just not it, and so it was deprioritized. *I* personally love the series, but… the numbers do not lie.
Food for thought.
~R.J.
That’s too bad! I was ,and have preordered (I thought )the second book), that I loved enough to re read the first! A couple of times!
Booked for Kidnapping has been out for a while. But yeah, this is definitely why the star ratings and reviews are just so important. And it really is way too bad, because I love the series. 🙁
I love it too, and I’m sorry to hear that it’s dying. I totally understand the logic, though.
Omg. I almost NEVER leave reviews. Guess I am gonna have to change that b/c I LOVE the librarian series. Yikes!
Like… just leaving a star rating can super help conquer the problem. Text reviews are also nice for telling people why you loved a series, but… the kiss of death is the low star ratings, each and every time.
Just went in & gave it a 5 star review. Had no clue about the importance but will make sure to 5 star all future newbies for my fav authors! Thanks for sharing the info.
Yeah, I figure people just don’t understand how people buy books. <3
I've tried so many times to advertise that series, but the 4.2 star ratings just make it unprofitable. And if I can't sell book 1, I simply can't sell book 3.
I'll write and publish books 3-5 because I said I would and for the lovers of the series, but I'll be writing it with all the opened threads being snipped, closed off, etc, and only open the ones needed to move the series forward to its final conclusion.
No real room for detours. And that's okay. Not all series will succeed.
This is very new info. I usually leave a 4* if I really like a book and a 5* if it is absolutely amazing. I changed my review for this book to 5* based on your blog. I loved Booked for Murder. This series deserves to be read! I had no idea the * Ratings made a difference. I will be more mindful going forward.
Honestly when I read a review I skip the 5* reviews. I only read the 4 and 3 * reviews because I don’t w t a glowing gush from a fan girl – I wane a critical review.
Yep, times have changed. If nobody could leave stars and just comments on the book, ti wouldn’t be an issue. But Amazon REALLY pushes the star quality of the book being the book’s QUALITY.
And that quality rating REALLY influences if a book sells. I’ve tried and tried to promote Booked with the low star rating, and it DOES NOT sell. The star rating turns people off immediately. They don’t even get around to reading the reviews.
The book is bad because the star ratings are strongly promoted and that is that.
I only check low-star reviews if the 5* reviews don’t have the trigger warnings in them. And they often DO. Because readers are courteous to other readers nowadays.
I’m looking for books to LOVE not books to hate.
It’s really frustrating too, because originally book ratings weren’t really used for marketing. I don’t recall ratings even being visible to others when I started buying from Amazon so I used them for myself as a combination of ranking/reminder of authors/series. So it’s rare for me to give a book a 5* on initial read because it about has to be one I reread repeatedly (which means I likely rated it a 4 initially and upped it later). Books I love are 4s, 3s are I like but don’t love. Because to me a 5* is a walked-on water book. And unfortunately, that’s not what it means to the general public and so ratings are tremendously skewed (this applies to the ‘stuff’ Amazon sells too, but I suspect ratings have a stronger influence on media).
My sales figures plummet when a book drops below 4.5* rating level. I can BARELY get away with 4.4, but I won’t advertise anything below 4.4. The star ratings mean too much to the shopping reader.
They want books they’ll love not books they’ll hate and they assume 4.5* is minimum quality for a good book… and generally? They aren’t wrong.
Thanks for the info. I’ll make sure to review.
I’m an, ‘it gets 5 stars unless I have huge problems with the plot’ type of person or if there’s a BUTT LOAD of errors that aren’t fixed but that has to be huuuuuuuge amount of errors before it bothers me, I’m talking like half a sentence missing, lack of punctuation and humongous non punctuation sentences in EVERY page of the book. So yeah. Writing seems like a hard job. I’m not gonna make it harder. I will make sure to review more though. I am guilty of that. I tend to just review the stories I am head over heels for no matter the grammar state. I have to laugh though, I have a tendency to use text to voice if there isn’t an audio book yet. My husband’s tolerance for the AI’s pronunciation of some words is so laughable, he can’t get over it. I’m so engrossed in the story I don’t notice unless it’s super obvious or bad 😆.
If a book is genuinely poorly written or so packed with typos it’s clear they didn’t hire an editor… then it probably deserves 4*, and I probably wouldn’t buy the next book…
I am so distressed about what is happening with this series. I’ve read both books so far and have been checking for the future release dates with bated breath. So sorry to hear what has happened & you can be sure I will be 5 starring any series that I plan on reading for sure. I used to prefer to not start a series until completed as I get so impatient for the next book…love your books, you are a fantastic writer 😀
I’m sorry it distresses you. I just have… well, a lot of books I want to write, and I have to balance “I really want to write this” and “I like to eat.”
Star ratings REALLY help with this. 5* readers are the ones who BUY the books most, they’re the reliable people who are like omg I love this gonna get me another helpin’ as soon as it’s out.
As someone who has to decide how I am spending the next 300 hours of my life, I have to look at it that way.
And the Booked series is my worst rated book one series. 🙁 It’s just… the lowest of the low.
And I can’t just throw money at the problem to get sales BECAUSE of the star rating. This isn’t a solvable problem.
People just didn’t like it. They think it’s boring, or it’s dull, etc, etc.
It is what it is. I’ll finish it because I WANT to, and that I gave my word to, but I can’t rely on it to, well, make me money moving forward because my pool of possible new readers is not high due to its star rating. And I can’t justify spending money on it because enough people have said “nope, this series is dull, we don’t like it, etc.”
It is so helpful to have this explanation out there! I personaĺly have every one of your books and re read them multiple times! I don’t remember ever giving below a 5 star rating, but this will certainly help me. I’m lazy so I use the stars instead of worrying about how to put my love for your books in different, fresh words. I figure that if readers are smart enough to find you, they don’t need me telling them. Besides… I’m already into the next book in the series, or lamenting that I have to wait for you to write the next one🙄
The email about Hoofin’ it came in, and NOW I’m well into that book. Re reading it for I don’t know the number of times. I find something new to chuckle about,or laugh out loud, like getting clippers out ( I have horses, so that resonates with me!)
You are my author that I pre buy, ALWAYS
I just want to add my voice to the growing number that have written In to say they LOVED the Booked for Murder series, and I’m very happy that this is one of your 💘 projects and will eventually finish it. I will wait patiently because I don’t want to be the reason for burn out.!
Not to repeat what everyone else has been saying, but yes, I didn’t have any idea about reviews either. I never leave them but I will be going back in right now to leave star reviews.
I’ve read all the Mag Rom Coms plus Client from Hell, & both of the Librarians; with intention of working through your other books (thank you patreon!) and I really do love them all.
Question: I have an anthology with a handful of the early Mag Roms, should I leave a star for just the anthology or do separate reviews for each individual book in the series?
If you could leave the star value you feel is good for each of the books, that would be most helpful! The anthology is no longer available for sale. :3
Can do! Thank you for all your books, I really love them all!
Due to an earlier post of yours, I started leaving Star ratings. (5’s for yours, of course.) But I haven’t been reviewing, as I don’t feel I will do a decent job. So I guess I need to start trying, and make sure I don’t go overboard and tell everyone that the Butler did it. Snicker.)
All you really need to do is tell people why you liked a book, and it need not be more than a few lines.
I am extremely puzzled by the attitude that a book with over 2,000 reviews, 57% of which are 5 stars and only 9% of which can be construed as negative, is not going to draw readers in because it’s “not a great book.” That’s ludicrous. A 4.2 star rating on Amazon is more than decent or good, especially when combined with that number of reviews. Readers see that and go, “That must be a pretty darn good book,” not “Oh, shit. I’d better not get that one because it’s going to SUCK.” A four-star rating or review is not just an “Oh, I kinda liked this.” It’s “This was a good book and I liked it a lot, but it wasn’t perfect.” Which is a hint for the author to try harder, not for them to give up.
Simple:
I’m not going to waste money on a book that isn’t selling because of the ratings. I’ve done plenty of tests that very clearly state people just aren’t buying the book as often.
I have plenty of other books people LOVE. I’m going to focus on those series… not on the one most DON’T love. It’s really hard to sell the book because yes, I advertise it, and people look at the ratings and bail from buying.
You can’t see the sales statistics vs spend.
I can.
It’s not fiscally sound to advertise the series, because a: sell-through is too low. Those low ratings are accompanied with people putting their money where their mouths are, which is indicated in the rating.
Not every book is a winner. Not every book CAN be a winner.
It just happens Booked for Murder is LITERALLY my worst-rated book.
I’m not going to waste additional money advertising a book people DON’T LIKE.
Seriously, that’s all there is to it. I can’t afford to take losses trying to advertise/market a book people are not liking.
So no, it’s not a hint for us to “try harder.” We try plenty hard, thank you. I bust my ass off every fucking day trying harder.
Trying harder is not going to fix the problem that people did NOT like this series.
To expand, just a little, the sell-through on Playing with Fire to Hoofin’ It exceeds 50%.
The sell-through from Booked for Murder to Booked for Kidnapping is below 20%.
The numbers don’t lie.
The star rating is just a part of it, but 4* and below REALLY does translate to “It’s not good enough, so I’m not spending my money on this.”
Readers tend to think of it as “This was good, sure” but is it good enough to buy the next book?
No, it is not.
That’s the issue. With a sell-through rate of below 20%, I simply CANNOT justify advertising the series. I literally lose money. (It does not earn back. For every dollar spent, I might get back a quarter at current rate.) And a huge part of that *IS* the low rating, because they see the 4.2*, and they look at the rest of my books and see 4.5*+, and they go “This is probably just a bad series.”
Unfortunate, but that’s what it is.
But the numbers don’t lie, and the star rating is only a part of the problem.
People just didn’t like this series.