Proper Etiquette for Book Ratings and Reviews
- Indie Publishing 101
- Apr 4
- 9 min read
Updated: Apr 18
Ratings and reviews are author gold! Vital nuggets of gold, especially for Indie authors. Ratings and reviews are social proof for other potential readers to take the plunge. But they also help the author to gauge whether their books are being read, what readers think of their work, if there are any plot holes, grammar issues or typos. Overall global ratings out of 5 stars help authors know how their books are trending.
Amazon provides great insight on any book it sells. When you drill into the details page of your book you can find information such as star ratings, best seller rank, category rank and actual comments left by readers.
More star ratings and reviews indicate more sales. Star ratings alone are good, but good reviews are even better.
Let’s talk about the star rating system and reader reviews.
Firstly, there appears to be no standard or guide for people leaving star reviews.
A star review of 1 star left by a reviewer can mean something completely different to a 5 star review left by another.
Case in point. These are reviews left by different readers for the same book:
“Wonderfully written historical mystery full of twists and turns. I could not put it down! Love how romance is intertwined in the story as well. Keeps the reader entertained till the end!!”
This reviewer gave the book a 1 out of 5 stars.
“Well, that was a strange, funny little story. I enjoyed the people, or characters, this story tell of. I can't wait to read more of these!”
2 out of 5 stars.
Here is another:
“This was a fun, lively, fast moving story! Sometimes, you just need to read a quick moving, interesting story! Especially on a rainy, gloomy day, such as this day.”
3 out of 5 stars
And one more:
“Good pace, interesting likeable characters, held my attention. It evoked a feeling for the time and the characters are well developed. The story moves along at a good pace; there is a good bit of humor. I especially like the last regular character introduced, but to say more would be a spoiler.”
5 out of 5 stars
As you can see, all these reviewers liked the book, but their star ratings did not all reflect that. Hard to tell by these if it is a book I would like to purchase and read!
As I mentioned in my blog “10 Mistakes to Avoid as an Author” mistake #9 (I got a bad review) is one area I would like to provide some common sense suggestions for those who leave a review. So, permit me to make nine suggestions.
For reference, I have taken actual reviews left for un-named authors to highlight each point of etiquette.
Proper Etiquette #1
Don’t be a snob!
Maybe this is a cultural thing. One of the authors I follow is British. However, she lives in America. As a business of one, she made a business decision to write in American English since that is by far her biggest audience. She will, on occasion, receive very “snobbish” reviews. Below is an example:
“I generally like this series but the author and proof reader make so many annoying mistakes. Most of them are americanisms, which are completely jarring in books on 1920s England. For example, drapes, sidewalk, American spelling and numerous others. The plots are fairly thin and characterisation isn't nuanced but easy reading if you just want escapism and can ignore the errors.”
Another example:
“Rated as three stars due to irritating American spelling in a book supposed to be set in England.”
The interesting part about these comments is that this author puts the following at the beginning of all her books:
“I am a naturalized American citizen born and raised in the United Kingdom. I have readers in America, the UK, Australia, Canada and beyond. But my book is set in the United Kingdom. So which version of English should I choose? I chose American English as it is my biggest audience, my family learns this English and my editor suggested it was the most logical. This leads to criticism from those in other English-speaking countries, but I have neither the time nor the resources to do a special edition for each country. I do use British words, phrases and idioms whenever I can (unless my editor does not understand them and then it behooves me to change it so that it is not confusing to my readers).”
Thus, the author provides a heads-up to readers which version of English she plans to use if one takes the time to read the notes before the first chapter. In addition, she states her largest audience is America. (On a side note, I have noticed that Americans have no problem reading books written in English versus American English!)
It is probably worth noting also that most authors are Indie and a one-person shop. They do not have the time, money or resources to write different versions in American, English, Australian, etc., in order to please a handful of picky readers. In addition, some authors have their books translated into other languages such as from English to French. This can be a risky investment especially if you do not speak that language or understand the culture to know how good the translation was.
Proper Etiquette #2
Don’t be a know-it-all!
I cannot tell you how many times I have read reviews for a mystery book where someone states they knew who the murderer was in the first few chapters. I find this highly unlikely unless it is a poorly written mystery and it was telegraphed. Below are some examples:
“No patience for a plot forecast so badly. There was nothing left to figure out. Had to wait for the characters to catch up. Badly done.”
“Looking for a Christmas mystery chose this. Simplistic story and characters. Knew murderer and motive less than half in….”
“Overall, I've enjoyed this series of period mysteries. That said, particularly with this entry into the series, I knew "who done it" pretty much from the beginning, but it was still a decent way to spend a rainy afternoon to see if I was right.”
My reason for highlighting these reviews is I personally know this author and know for a fact that she is not sure who the murderer is in her books until about chapter 18 of a 23 to 25 chapter book. If the author does not know who did it until the latter part, then how do these reviewers presume to know? Maybe it is a lucky guess or maybe it is something deeper like a sense of superiority?
It is fun to correctly guess “whodunnit”, but don’t be arrogant.
Proper Etiquette #3
No spoiler alerts!
The reason people read books is to escape and be entertained. Some people read the reviews to determine if it is a book they may want to read. No one wants to be told how it ends or who did it in a mystery book. In other words, do not say “I knew by page 5 it was Mrs. Peacock, in the library with the candlestick.” I was about to provide a real-life example but decided not to in case someone reads the spoiler alert in this blog for a book they have not yet read.
No spoiler alerts would seem to be common sense, but you would be surprised. I have even noticed that sometimes reviewers cannot help themselves but will at least preface their review with a spoiler alert notice to give you the option of reading it but even then, I still say, do not do it.
You can give a review without ruining the ending for everyone.
Proper Etiquette #4
Don’t give a summary of the book!
Authors spend a lot of brain power writing a ‘blurb’ or summary hook for their books. If you feel you must give a longer one, make it short and don’t include spoilers. (See previous point) What readers want to know is if you liked the story and if so, why? Was it well written? Did it flow? What are your thoughts on the characters? Did it have many twists and turns? Are you planning to read the next book by this author, etc.?
In short, would you recommend it to others? Why or why not? Remember leave your personal prejudices out and be constructive! See Proper Etiquette #6.
Why would you want to ruin someone’s career?
Proper Etiquette #5
If you have an issue with something you “think” the author said or implied, make sure you read it accurately and understand it clearly before slamming them! Or it will be you that gets egg on your face. (Better yet, reach out to the author directly and keep it a private dialogue. No author wants to be slammed in an open forum.)
Another English author I follow lived in Devon in southern England, a place famous for its Cream Tea. She herself had enjoyed many such cream teas (a scone with clotted cream and jam and a cup of tea or hot chocolate). A reviewer scolded her by saying that no one would ever put cream in their tea. Review below:
“I am sorry but a cream tea doesn't involve pouring tea and adding cream… a cream tea is specifically tea served with milk, or lemon, plus a scone with butter, jam and clotted cream. No way the aristocracy would order cream in their tea… at a point of rationing too... no just no!”
The funny thing is, the author never said the character added cream to their drink. She was referring to the meal. She said they had a ‘cream tea’ and explained how delicious it was.
Proper Etiquette #6
Explain why you bought/read the book in the first place!
Was it a free promotional download? Did the cover catch your attention? Was it recommended to you by a friend or Amazon’s, Explore Similar Books suggestions? Do you follow the author and were notified of a newly released book? Have you read and enjoyed other works by this author – if so which ones and why? If it is part of a series that you have previously read and enjoyed? If so, let everyone know if it is just as good, better or worse than the others and why? I have noticed when I read a series by my favorite authors, I tend to like the most recently released book the most. In other words, it becomes my new favorite. An exception to this is the author, Jeffrey Archer. I have enjoyed all his books, but my two favorites are still “Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less” and “As the Crow Flies.” The reason I enjoy his books is once I start reading them I cannot put them down and will lose a night’s sleep to finish it. They are that good!
Proper Etiquette #7
Proof Read Your Review
Especially if you are going to leave a review criticizing the author for typos or grammar mistakes, make sure your review does not have any of those type of errors. Otherwise, you lose all credibility.
Let’s be honest, even books from the big publishers have typos. In addition, sometimes the “enhanced” functionality on your word processor application accidentally changes words or adds spaces without your knowledge, after the final proofread. Furthermore, no matter how much an author reviews, proofreads and pays to have others proofread the manuscript, there always seem to be a few typos that “fall through the cracks.” Human error is real.
With that in mind, if you notice a typo, instead of broadcasting it to the world in your review, reach out, to the author directly to inform him or her of the oversight. Some authors will even send a thank you note, a free book or a gift card for bringing it to his or her attention (if accurate?)
I like how the author Lee Strauss tries to address this. In her books she states at the beginning:
Below are two examples of a rating that should have been proofread:
“Love is nothing like the aithor describes. Love is everything she felt for Charlie and not the inspector. Love is Charlie caring for hrr.”
Proper Etiquette #8
Fictional books are not historically accurate. Hence them being fiction.
Apparently, there are many people who read books in the fiction category that feel if a book is not 100% historically accurate then they must let the whole world know.
“Many of the things stated about the supposed village are historically inaccurate….”
“The premise of so many murders taking place in a tiny village is ridiculous…”
‘Small town murder mysteries’ is a HOT genre. Authors spend a lot of time researching what is selling. The vast majority of readers KNOW that in reality, it is unlikely there would be that many murders in one place. But they suspend disbelief for the love of the genre. Don’t like it? Don’t read a series. Read stand-alone mysteries.
I would also like to remind this particular reviewer, that Midsomer Murders solves hundreds of murders that take place in the picturesque but deadly villages of the fictional county of Midsomer. No one seems to have a problem with that.
Proper Etiquette #9
Remember Thumper’s mother? If you cannot say something nice, just don’t say it all.
If you start reading a book but find it is not to your taste or you could not finish it, so be it. None of us will love every book we read. But is it really necessary to shout it to the “world?” Just move on to your next book.
Apparently this reviewer could not do that.
“1 out of 5”
“I didn’t make it past chapter 2. Just didn’t care for it.”
I am not really sure what he or she accomplished by leaving this review? Maybe a feeling of superiority?
My final comment would be a gentle reminder that all authors are trying to produce great books that appeal to as many readers as possible in their genre. They are only human and prone to make the occasional mistake. Fight the urge to slam the author at such times. Rather, cut the author “some slack.”
If it is so easy to write a book without any mistakes, you try it. 😊
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