Woke up to find that I got my first 1-Star review. 🙂
“The author had a good premise but the lack of solid plot and poorly developed characters made this a book I couldn’t finish. With some good editing this could probably be a great story, but in it’s current form I’d suggest saving you 99 cents.”
That’s another milestone in the bag.
About Charles Yallowitz
Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
Legends of Windemere 
It had to happen eventually. You know that there are a lot of people who loe your book. Not everyone’s going to like everything you do. That’s almost the definition of art!
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Yeah and I’m actually happy about this one. I can’t take it personally either. It’s another person who couldn’t finish the book, which is their right. Yet, I can’t see how a reader can speak on the development of a character when they never saw it through to the end. That’s like saying ‘This butterfly is ugly’ while holding a caterpillar.
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Very true.
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Great analogy!
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That is brilliant way of looking at it!
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Thanks. Came up with it on the spot. 🙂
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1-star reviews give you a better chance in developing yourself. 5-stars reviews give you no good reason to re-evaluate yourself, and so on. So you actually get a more benefit from lower reviews if you know what I mean. That’s good news, keep writing no matter what! 🙂
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Thanks. The low reviews definitely hold more for skill growth when they give me something to work with. The higher reviews are better for sales and enticing new readers. Still, I do wish a few of these low reviewers would finish the book. 🙂
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That’s true! Everything takes time I guess. You will succeed eventually if you insist. I’m sure you’re on your way 🙂 Good luck with that, and may it be sooner than you think!
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Thanks. I’m sure this won’t slow me down.
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>.< Charles get me his address and I will go to his house and steal his terrible attempt at whatever book he is currently working on… and pay out of my own pocket to publish it, I will include the review he made on your book on the inside of the Dust Jacket and put a note underneath saying this is what jealousy doe's to an already envious person.
Even though I haven't read your book yet I highly doubt it's anything but spectacular, Well Formed, With Fascinating Characters, plot twisting excitement waiting in every chapter that leaves you wanting to read more, While being magically adventurous and any Fantasy/Sci-Fi lover's idea of a very entertainingly rich adventure having only possible been written by someone with the most inspiring imagination and profound skill set.
(That's how you strike me by how you write on your blog, and the way you comment on my posts.)
Some people should stick to being depressed in there lonely basements.
Sorry you had to wake up to that =/
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Eh, I’m fine with it really. Though, thanks for the offer. I had another friend on FB offer to ‘have words’ with the reviewer and other to start a flame war. Getting a 1-star is a good sign in a way. It means nobody can say that only my friends and family are buying my book.
This specific review isn’t insulting, so I’m willing to let him/her hold their opinion. My only ‘issue’ is that they commented on character development without finishing the book. I find that an odd statement and wonder how far they made it. This is the beginning of a series, so the fully develop characters by the middle of book 1 seems foolish.
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That’s what made me mad about his review, it’s okay for everyone to have their own opinion I encourage it always…but 1 star?
He clearly is a fool. Not finishing the book how could he even begin to judge it/write a review?
And like you said how in the world could he comment on character development when not reading about the character….lol that’s like saying I hate Fish yet you have never tried it.
But hey….if you already have some morons hating on it you are obviously doing something right, By sparking the interest of the weak minded trolls.
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Exactly. If all of the haters are people unable or unwilling to finish the book then I shouldn’t take them personally. I don’t gain anything by getting annoyed by them. It probably says more about them than my writing if someone actually reads the reviews. People that read to the end are leaving 4 and 5 star reviews. People that stop before the end are throwing out 1 and 2 star reviews. That tells me a book is worth finishing even if it’s a difficult read.
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I totally agree, No need to let someone who obviously has personal issues with there own writing, get to you.
You are a wise person Sir Charles!
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Thanks. Though, I didn’t get the personal issue vibe. I got more of an impatient vibe. The reviewer seemed to want the characters and plot to grow quicker than they were. I write for the long game since this series will have 15 books. If I make my heroes peak too soon then I have to spend time tearing them to pieces and rebuild them again. If I have to do that every book then it’s ridiculous. This isn’t a video game where Link or Samus Aran lose all their gear from the previous game to start the new one practically naked.
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Welcome to the 1-star Club Charles! lol
Glad to have you!
I got my first one a while back. Didn’t feel good at first, but everytime I come across it, it just makes me smile. (Thank goodness the review is only on Amazon UK)
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Lucky. Mine is on the big site, but I don’t think it’s going to have much of an effect. Although, I’m starting to wonder why people throw in the ‘save your .99 cents’ line. It really doesn’t do anything for the author or the reviewer’s opinion.
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Btw do you currently have any copy’s of your book in hard cover?
(Love to buy all my books In hardcover) for my collection, and I also buy a paperback copy and use that one to read the book.
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The only thing I have is a paperback through Createspace/Amazon. Such is the path of the self-published author working toward a hardcover release in the distant future. Hopefully.
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oh okay, I will be buying the paperback edition either this evening or Sunday.
(Having to buy quite a few books this week end due to the book review requests I have gotten) I am so thankful for them, but it’s hard to purchase all of em at once when you are only working part time. (Sorry for the delay)
Can’t wait to start reading it though!
I also love the cover Btw, I never judge a book by it’s cover but when the cover is beautiful I do admire them, It invites whoever see’s it into an enticing world that emits hints of a great adventure and a great journey.
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Thanks. I know what you mean with the books. I have 7 on my plate now and I’m not even sure where to start. Once I finish editing book 4 today, I have to start in on those. Figure a week should help me get ahead and then off to book 5.
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indeed!
Remember to stretch though, our backs are in for a rough ride this weekend I can already see it HaHa you obviously read as much/or more than me, and when you sit down that long with bad backs like we have, the pain is bound to say hello at some point.
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I actually don’t read as much as I used to because I spend so much time writing my own stuff. I’m hoping to get back into it, but I always find that I write until I’m about to pass out when I have a new project. That’s why I’m using next week only for reading and outlining a future series. Give myself a break from Legends of Windemere.
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Yea, I haven’t been reading as much as I normally do since starting my blog, I can definitely see how writing a book would severely cut in on someones reading time!
I hope you enjoy your break, you certainly sound like you need one.
If you read anything amazing let me know! I always love discovering new books I wouldn’t have found or picked up on my own.
=]
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I’ll be doing book reviews of a lot of them, which is weird because I never considered doing reviews. Yet, I feel I must return the favor if I want to keep getting reviews. I’m not a 1-star person, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.
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Doing Book Reviews is fun to me I absouletly love it!
And yea I would never give someone a 1 star review, if I found a book to actually be that bad, which I don’t think is possible…but if I did I just wouldn’t do a review on it.
It wouldn’t hold my interest or spark my passion to write the review.
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I think it would be hard to write a 1-star without being insulting. If you don’t into details about why you hated it then you sound a little bitter or empty. I didn’t like the characters doesn’t say way. Were they despicable or were they badly written? I think if you go the 1-star (and 5-star) route, you really need to make a solid review to support your extreme rating.
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I agree. Not explaining why you like or love something is almost just as bad as saying you hate something but don’t bother to explain what it is you hate and why.
Sounds like you are a great book reviewer!
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Eh, I probably go too high half the time. I’m always hunting for positives of a book and then try to sugarcoat the negative. Mostly, I try not to be cruel, but it probably comes off more as spineless.
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Oh dear. . . As they say, ‘You can’t please all of the people all of the time’.
Take pride in those out there that are plugging for you.
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Nice! : ) I had one in which the guy said I hate men. LOL! I think I made him mad. He also didn’t read all of the book.
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I have a feeling that a lot of 1-star reviewers don’t finish the book.
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Congrats! Now you’re a real writer!!!
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Thanks. Another milestone in the trophy cabinet. 😉
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That’s still a pretty kind 1-star review though. Seems like a lot of 1-star reviewers have a bone to pick or just want to be negative for the sake of being negative. Plus like other people say, now it gives your book legitimacy so people don’t think it’s only your friends and family posting 5-star reviews or something, right?
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True. That’s definitely the silver lining here.
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“Great” is up to individual interpretation, don’t let it get you down. 🙂
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I’m good with it. The current issue of my book being marked as out of print is what has me hyperventilating here.
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That certainly is disconcerting.
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Hopefully, a Twitter for help and Wattpad helps stem the damage.
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http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=LVHuErjO9js&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLVHuErjO9js
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Good song. Made me think of this one for some reason: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkIWmsP3c_s
Though anything with fire is making me really want the cover art for my sequel. 🙂
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Another great song!
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Yup. I need to find a way to put that on my Pandora channel.
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So I was going to give you a late birthday present by writing an article about you for Wikipedia and this is what I found out :
If a person has received significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, they are presumed to satisfy the inclusion criteria for a stand-alone article.
– Wikipedia:Notability (people)
Apparently you have to be the president or Gene Simmons lol I tried:(
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Thanks. Guess I’ll put that on the goal list. If reality tv stars can get on there then I should be able to. 😉
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Ouch. That hurts. I still remember the gut-wrenching pain from my first stab. My VERY 1ST Amazon review. And she says she quit reading at 15% for lack of character development. Huh?? I almost died worried that I had made a BIG mistake. How had my betas gotten it so wrong? Then the 5’s started rolling in. You want some entertaining reading, read my 1 and 2 star reviews on Goodreads for Twisted. Really? My charactes made u want bang your head off the wall repeatedly? That’s just one of the hilarious statements my lovely reviewers shared that sticks in my mind. I’m just happy they feel anything.
Still, it’s good to get that reality check out of the way… even if it plays tricks on your heart. 🙂
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The biggest thing for me is ‘difficult style’, which only a few people have said requires ‘good editing’. Those don’t even phase me because there are several 4 and 5 stars that say ‘difficult style, but you get used to it by the end’. Honestly, I can’t take someone seriously who comments on character development without finishing the book. Of course the characters won’t develop in the first few chapters. Fiction and reality don’t work that way.
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love the caterpillar way of looking at it, grow from it…cant win them all xB
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Exactly. 🙂
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