I got my first review in regards to the free weekend. A 2-star review, which demonstrates this trend that I’ve noticed. Reviewing a book that you haven’t finished.
I’m curious if this is a common practice. A convention goer I was talking to when it popped up said that she doesn’t listen to reviews from people who refuse to finish the book. So, I’m not taking this one personally. It does make me wonder if most of my low reviews are going to come from people who decide to simply give up on reading the book.
Anyway, the convention is going slow, so I’ve been letting my mind wander.
Legends of Windemere 
Think happy thoughts! (not that I am one to talk).
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I’m trying. It’s one bad review from someone who couldn’t finish the book. The strange part is that he gave it a few compliments and only had issue with the characters talking too much. He even said that if people like characters talking (monologues he said) then he would recommend it. Makes me wonder why he didn’t finish the book if that was the only problem.
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I would never review a book I didn’t/couldn’t finish. If its not my cup of tea, fine, but its disrespectful to rate part of a book and not the entire thing. But that’s just me. And you’re doing the right thing by not taking it to heart.
BTW, I did download your book and am looking forward to reading it!
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Yay for download! I think that’s a lot of people. One friend who does a lot of Amazon reviews will finish a book no matter how bad because he refuses to review without finishing. That’s dedication to the art of reviewing.
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I think it’s unbelievably rude to review a book you havent finished. I bought your book a week or so ago and I promise a review once I’ve read it all the way though Charles!! Time is not my friend in that regard, but I will get there! But don’t let this reviewer get you down…the problem with saying everyone is entitled to an opinion is that so often those opinions are uninformed! 🙂
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True. I look at it this way. He wasn’t mean and stated that other people might like it.
Free pizza time! 🙂
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Cool! 🙂
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I’ll admit I’m one of the people who reviews books I couldn’t finish. BUT in my defense, I make it clear that I’m only rating up to the part that I stopped reading.. and it’s usually the reasons why I stopped reading the book. I would never insinuate that my review stands for the book in it’s entirety. Why do I review books I didn’t finish reading? Because I think my reasons for not finishing a book are just as valid as why I didn’t like a book I completely finished. It’s rare that I don’t make it through a book, but when I don’t, it’s usually because something’s seriously wrong with it. Still, I wouldn’t take it to heart every time someone rates it and doesn’t finish reading your book. They may have liked it had they continued further into the book… but chances are, they picked up your book thinking it was something they would enjoy, and found out it just wasn’t their cup of tea. I’ve got particular genre’s where it’s about 50/50 with me… sometimes I’ll pick them up and love them to death, other times I just can’t be bothered with it. Maybe the person who didn’t finish your book wasn’t a true lover of the genre.
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That’s what confuses me. Not going to the end feels like the book isn’t given a chance to redeem itself. This one in particular mentions the extended talking, but Luke’s initial assignment is more stealth/investigation than action. There’s a lot of action as you get close to the end, so I wonder if that would have changed his mind.
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I think I’ve only ever not finished 3 books XD But they were so blatantly bad that it was almost impossible for anyone to like them. Usually it had to do with spelling/grammar issues, or the author contradicting themselves all the time..obvious mistakes. It sounds like that guy that reviewed yours may have just lost interest. It could be that he just wasn’t in the state of mind to read as he should, so he made excuses. Or it could just not be his type of book. It happens, but try not to let it get to you.
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I know. He sounded (even from his other reviews) that he loves action and description. He stated that each character had moments of long-winded monologues, which a few characters do. I admit that I use more dialogue than traditional fantasy and he probably wanted more action. The later books have more action than this one, but that’s probably not going to be a consolation to him.
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yah, definitely sounds like it just wasn’t his sort of book :3 that doesn’t mean your book’s not awesome though. I guess you just can’t be everyone’s cup of tea :3
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So true. Some people don’t even like tea, so nothing I can do. 🙂
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Guilty as charged. I am not a book reviewer, although I do review the ones I read in Goodreads. If I just can’t get into a book, I quit reading it around page 50-65. There are way too many other books on my “must read” list. And I state in my review that it wasn’t my cup of tea or that I couldn’t get into the book.
But I’m also one who doesn’t really pay attention to reviews. I do add some books to my “must read” list that Ionia has reviewed that intrigue me. But I almost always read the sample first to be sure it will be something I will enjoy.
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I guess as an author, I see the star rating first and focus on that it came from someone who didn’t finish the book. It makes me feel like my book wasn’t given a full chance, but it’s still being judged. I kind of figure anyone reading the review to make a decision won’t pick up on the ‘book not finished’ part or take that as a sign that they shouldn’t even try.
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Okay there always has to be an idiot at the party, so here I am, late but in one piece. I WILL and DO review books that I didn’t finish. I do mention that I didn’t finish the book and give a reason why. I have such a love for writing that even if the book isn’t amazing, I can usually find enough merit in it to keep reading. If I don’t finish it, there must be a good reason and I do want to let people know what my reasons were. I don’t understand the you can’t review when you’ve only read part of it thing. Review the part you did read, mention that you didn’t finish it. If I pick up a book and the cover looks innocent, the description says nothing offensive but on page five the author is condoning child abuse and molestation should I keep my mouth shut so you can read it too?
Reviews are subjective to the attitude, perspective and intelligence of the reviewer. If an dumbass writes a review it will more than likely be a dumbass review whether they finished the book or not. What difference does it really make to I e as the author whether the person finished your book or not? Perhaps he would have finished it and loved one moment in it so much that his 2 star became a 5 star? Or would he have resented the length and left a 1 star instead? No one knows.
From a rock, on a mountain, there is my perspective. I accept all of your swear words;)
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That makes sense. If a review of a partially written book clearly explains why the reader didn’t finish, I can accept that. Yet, I haven’t seen one like that even when I look through other book’s reviews. It seems to always be ‘I couldn’t finish this book because it was difficult/sucks/author should never write again’. I will give the reviewer that made this current review credit that he/she said what was wrong and why another person would like it. Yet, I don’t understand why one would write a review about a book they didn’t finish unless (as you stated) the book was highly offensive or extremely poorly written with enough typos to make a first-grader cry.
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I don’t know. People. I also don’t understand why someone reads an entire book only to make a comment like “this author shouldn’t be a writer. Oh I guess I have to write 20 words so here is 20 words.” Douche bags honestly
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The 20 word requirement has led to some funny comments from both sides of the spectrum. I’ve seen a few ‘I love this book, but 20 words is too much for me to explain why.’ Maybe I should only care about the 3-star reviews from now on.
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Sorry for the typos-iPhone
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I wouldn’t ever let a 1 or 2 review get to you. Why ever take it personally? Here’s the truth: even 3, 4, 5 star reviews can come from people that don’t finish your book. How do you ever know when you’re getting an honest review vs. when you’re not? Well, you know you’re book, so I’m sure you can parse the bs from the real reviews.
My personal opinion: 1 and 2 star reviews are beneficial. Why? Credibility. I’ve noticed people seem to be leery of too many 4 and 5 star reviews (no matter that all the reviews are real), and seem to give less credit to those. Where it concerns a person not finishing the book, I think those are good, too. See, me, reading a review like that, I’d want to know why that person didn’t finish the book. I’d be curious beyond the review itself. Why didn’t they finish the book? That might inspire people to buy your book. That negative of the 1 or 2 star review can be a positive for you, Mr. Charles. That is understanding that not everyone thinks like me, but, I’m sure there are a few that do. Then there are those that might just be irritated by the fact that the reviewer didn’t finish the book and might purchase your book just because of that.
Sorry… I have this tendency to try to find the silver-lining everywhere. I swear to you, if the world ended today, I’d look for the positive in it. Keep your head up dude. All the same, I don’t think it’s necessarily a common practice. I think that’s an example of someone having made an impulse buy and taking it out on you.
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Thanks. You’re right. The silver lining is that my book doesn’t look one-sided and people will give it more credibility. Though, I really do wonder why all of my ‘negative’ reviews come from people who didn’t finish the book. It sounds odd, but just once I’d like someone to read it to the end and not like it. Maybe my ending is so good that every reader that makes it that far loves it . . . couldn’t type that with a straight face. 🙂
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Yeah, like I said, laziness. Prejudgment is easier than fully informed judgment. If someone does make it to the end of your book, that automatically invalidates every negative thing they thought about your book to the point of where they opted to finish, and nobody likes to be invalidated. It’s human, and it’s lazy. Admittedly, I do that sometimes, not with books, but with movies. In fact, for that very reason I refuse to watch Zero Dark Thirty. LOL. It’s just speculation, and I could be way wrong. But, I honestly believe you could be right. Maybe it IS that good.
See? Now I’m curious. I’m going to read your book and review it. I’m not going to promise you I’ll like it, but I’ve got a little bit of time as I’ve got my schedule organized (who would’ve thought? Me, organized. Sounds like blasphemy), so I can pull off the review that was…promised previously (don’t know if Pap ever told you about that). That is, if you don’t mind. If you don’t mind, just give me a few weeks (cause of homework and work and my blogs, and all this other stuff).
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Thanks. Pap mentioned the cover review, but not the book review. I would rather wait a few weeks for an honest review than rush a half-hearted review Besides, in a few weeks, the sequel might be out, so any first book reviews would help with that too.
My spelling and grammar are getting worse as the night progresses. I think I’m going to need a soda before driving back to the hotel.
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Nice. I’ll see to it. I’ll let Pap know, too and see what he can do and see what I can help with. Oh, I was going to see if Jason wouldn’t mind having an artist feature on We Drink Because We’re Poets? I saw his artwork on his website… I had hard time putting my jaw back into place… I suppose I should probably email him. I’ll get out of your hair Charles. You have a good night! 🙂
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Feel free to email him. Thanks for keeping me occupied with the discussion. Sadly, the convention I’m act has been rather slow in terms of handing out free copies of my eBooks. Made some new friends and reconnected with old friends, so it was still a worthwhile trip. I have a new book to read and review from a fellow author too.
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Oh…Free…disregard the impulse part. I’d assume they were just lazy, then.
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I just recently got a few of these DNF reviews. Initially it was a little discouraging but I think there’s still something to gain from partial reviews. Now I’m more aware that the first half of my book may not be as strong as the second half and I can keep that in mind for future projects. So even if DNF reviews might not be the most useful for attracting readers I think they can still work to our advantage by making us better writers (as long as the review is honest and well thought out that is).
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Full agreement. I could take a well thought out review even if it’s negative. I’d be tempted to start a civil discussion with the person, but that’s because I like talking about that kind of stuff.
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Hmm, I’ve never reviewed a book I didn’t finish. Wait a minute, I’ve only reviewed one book. But I really did read it all! Okay, I might have skimmed just a wee litle bit 😉
And by the way, I downloaded your book yesterday (I’m sorry, but it was free, and I’m a very cheap person, ask any of my family members!)
But I loved the book. I loved the characters: there was actions, humer, drama, and sorrow. It had everything a great book should have. 5 stars! (I know, my original review was a 4 star, but that was because I was afraid people would think I gave the rating becasue you’re my friend.) And NO, that was NOT my reason, for those of you who doubt me! 😉
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Eh sorry, that was supposed to be “humor”! Not humer! *sheepish grin*
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Don’t worry. I didn’t even notice it. Though, I’m exhausted from the convention and driving 30 minutes down a dark, wooded road without lights. Deer crossing signs put me on edge too.
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Yikes, glad you made it safely!
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No problem. I think people take 4s and 3s more seriously than the other numbers anyway.
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I always look at the number of 5 stars vs. 1 stars. (Helps me decide if I should buy or not)
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I’ve started realizing that the star rating can be misleading. A lot of 5’s are blind praise and a lot of 1’s are blind hatred. Those middle ones tend to be where people actually think out their replies, giving pros and cons.
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Hmm, then maybe I should put yours back to a four star…
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As the author, I cannot have an official opinion on the matter. 😉
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I’ll decide by this afternoon and let you know!
But just so you know, my 5 stars is not blind praise. You deserve every single star.
As a matter of fact, I’m going to leave the 5 star rating. 🙂
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Thanks. Hopefully, Prodigy of Rainbow Tower gets the same. I’m sure it will. People seem to like that one more than Beginning of a Hero.
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I’m to page 106, and it is AWESOME!
I think I hear another 5 stars coming up 🙂
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Yay! Now to figure out what 106 was about.
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Nimby just helped out a junior thief and was approached by a group of men, I think he called one ‘Gabriel’.
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Actually, he was talking to Gabriel the god. Kind of like how a person in our world would look up to the sky and go ‘really, God?’ after something ‘bad’ happens. In Windemere, they use the actual names of the gods, so it can be a little confusing at first.
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Oh, okay! I stopped right there, so I’m excited to see what happens next! (Nimby is one of my favorite characters…right after Stiletto!) LOL
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Glad to hear it. That reminds me that I need to choose the character for Tuesday’s question post. I have an idea on who to use.
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I look forward to it!
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Oooh, good question! In a way, your complaint makes sense: the rating is not based n the entire book. But in some ways these reviews can be beneficial to other readers (though not always). None of this is about your book (which is still in my TBR pile), just general thoughts. And this is all as a reader, not as a writer. 😉
There are many books I’ve started and not finished. Maybe I’ve missed out on some great endings, but it doesn’t matter. If the first half of a book doesn’t grab the reader, if the writing is weak or the info-dumping unbearable or (insert other common complaint here), the reader doesn’t owe it to the book or the author to give it a chance to redeem itself. If we’re not giving the reader what he/she wants, there’s no obligation for them to stick it out until the good part. It all has to be the good part. Now, an amazing beginning and some level of ongoing tension can give a reader enough momentum to get through a few slow spots, but there are a lot of books out there, and it’s pretty rare that I’ll stick with one that I’m not enjoying when there are others I’ll probably like better.
As for reviewing… that gets stickier, doesn’t it? I’ve never reviewed a book I didn’t finish, but I can see cases where it would be good to do so (though I’d never review one I hadn’t finished at least half of). If I just don’t like the concept, or I don’t like the characters’ personalities or little habits that the writer has, or especially if it’s not “my” genre, I’ll just leave it. Those are my problems, and they might not bug other people so much (something like “too much dialogue” would fall here, too). But if I stop reading because the characters are poorly developed (whether I like them or not), the plot is full of holes or is too predictable, the writing just terrible or something else that’s an objective concern that applies to a lot of readers, I think reviewing is valid. If a book is so flawed that people can’t finish it, I want to see those reviews before I spend my money on it. If it turns out that the book just didn’t suit their tastes, I’ll ignore the review. If it says that “the characters are flat and undeveloped, the main character won’t shut up about how hot her boyfriend is, backstory is laid out in lumps and doesn’t seem to matter, and the plot is boring except for the spots where giant holes open up to swallow the reader whole,” I’ll listen. If I still like the concept or other reviews say something else, I’ll read the sample. If it doesn’t grab me, I don’t think I owe the book more than that.
I’d prefer it if non-star reviews could be left in those cases. I don’t feel comfortable leaving a starred review for a book I couldn’t finish, even when I think the reasons why I stopped reading might be helpful to other people.
Any of us who have released or will release work will get one-star reviews, and will get reviews from people who didn’t like the book enough to finish it. If your reviews are fairly balanced, I’d say you have nothing to worry about. 🙂
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Honestly, I don’t think I’d like a no star review because that would do some damage to the overall star ranking. I think a lot of people look at that before ever going to the page for the book. Possibly a check box that says ‘finished reading’, ‘didn’t finish reading’, or something like that. Stopping at half I can understand better than people that quit at the 20 page mark in terms of reviewing. You can get a sense of the author’s style and the characters from half.
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Right, I meant an option to leave a written review but not give stars, so that it wouldn’t affect the book’s star ranking at all. Not “no stars” as in a zero-star review. That wouldn’t make me feel any better!
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Got it. I’d say do away with the stars entirely, but a lot of people need that odd level of ranking.
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One thing I have learned is that you will never please everyone.
Look at george Lucas. The critics hated Star Wars in 1977. It went on to become one of the highest grossing movie franchises of all time. Love it or hate it, Star Wars was a HUGE commerical success. In other words, no two people enjoy a film, or a novel, in exactly the same way.
Writing is a personal thing because you invest yourself so passionately in your craft. That being said, it is natural to take reviews or critiques personally. Do keep an open mind that maybe you have some growth ahead of you as a writer, but at the same time, learn to grow a ‘thick skin’. As long as you are reflecting, learning and improving from every piece of work you do and from each event you attend, you get stronger and wiser every time.
Last example. As a teacher, there will always be students I won’t reach. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, how creative I am, or how diverse my approaches. I just won’t ever get through to 100% of the class. It would be easy to lose sleep over the ones I’m not reaching, and I do keep trying, but I need to focus on the ones I have reached. The ones I have inspired. It isn’t a defeatist position, just a realistic one. Writing is the same. Focus on the fan base that loves your writing, and let the complainers complain. How many books have they written?
Probably none.
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Thanks. I didn’t know that about Star Wars. I always thought it was an instant hit. As for the reviews, I’m slowly growing the thick skin. This one just confused me because it was another ‘I didn’t finish the book’ review. Those are all the negative reviews, so I wondered more about the mentality than the actual review. I get too curious about people’s reasons for doing things.
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