Scribblehub newbie with a question

[JKHarr]

Hi Everyone!

This might be a silly question, but does every new story on Scribblehub automatically get a 5-star rating? Not that I'm complaining, but just considering the content of my story, I'm surprised that I received such a positive review so quickly. I started to check other stories that are newer, and it seems like most also have the same – one 5-star rating. I've been trying to find the best platform to receive feedback for my current work, and I'm just wondering how reliable the rating system on this website is.

 

[Deleted member 58005]

Hi Everyone!

This might be a silly question, but does every new story on Scribblehub automatically get a 5-star rating? Not that I'm complaining, but just considering the content of my story, I'm surprised that I received such a positive review so quickly. I started to check other stories that are newer, and it seems like most also have the same – one 5-star rating. I've been trying to find the best platform to receive feedback for my current work, and I'm just wondering how reliable the rating system on this website is.

Oh, no. I'm pretty sure it's just someone who has a habit of looking through the new series tab and rating them all. I've actually seen a couple that were rated three stars.

 

[Zinless]

There are random 5-stars, there are random 1-stars. The former is preferable and the latter is inevitable.

The rating system itself is okay, I'm cool with it. You just have to remember that some people will give you an instant 1-star rating without reading the story, just because. Though some 1-star ratings are justified if it has actual critique.

 

[Deleted member 1244]

does every new story on Scribblehub automatically get a 5-star rating?

Yes

 

[Roseofblades]

As a newer author myself, I have started to look for stories that don't have any ratings but still catch my eye. I'll give them a quick read and give them a 5-star if I enjoy them. I noticed that the more 5-star reviews a newer work has, the more it will quickly rack up views. As long as the story is actually good and justifies the ratings, it does better. I will admit that the fact we can give our own story a 5-star confuses me though. I tried it as joke to see if it would work, and now I don't know how to remove it without negatively effecting the rating.

 

[Yuumei]

They aren’t automatic. I guess some readers love rating earlier books if they liked the first chapter. They’d prefer to see it continue. Nothing makes writers quit faster than multiple negative reviews on the early start.

 

[Deleted member 68927]

Hi Everyone!

This might be a silly question, but does every new story on Scribblehub automatically get a 5-star rating? Not that I'm complaining, but just considering the content of my story, I'm surprised that I received such a positive review so quickly. I started to check other stories that are newer, and it seems like most also have the same – one 5-star rating. I've been trying to find the best platform to receive feedback for my current work, and I'm just wondering how reliable the rating system on this website is.

If you want feedback, this is not the right place for it. Go to Royal Road, they will wreck you there until your skin becomes so thin, you can't stand the constant criticism anymore and come back here. But, hey, you will learn a lot there!

As for the 5-star ratings, they are given out like candy. Don't you worry, the 1-star trolls will visit you as well, eventually.

 

[Roseofblades]

They’d prefer to see it continue. Nothing makes writers quit faster than multiple negative reviews on the early start.

This! This is my exact thinking! It is especially true for those of us with ADHD and Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. The smallest bit of negative feedback can have us slam on the brakes immediately if we let it. I got a 2 star rating on one of my stories despite having 11 other 5-stars... and it still bugs the hell out of me.

 

[prognastat]

I don't know about others, but if it's a new book and I would rate it anything less than 4 stars I tend to hold off because that's the quickest way to just get someone to quit writing which isn't my intent by leaving a rating. Chances are others do the same so often the first rating left ends up being a 5 star one.

 

[RepresentingPride]

If you want feedback, this is not the right place for it. Go to Royal Road, they will wreck you there until your skin becomes so thin, you can't stand the constant criticism anymore and come back here. But, hey, you will learn a lot there!

As for the 5-star ratings, they are given out like candy. Don't you worry, the 1-star trolls will visit you as well, eventually.

I've heard that a few times, but I didn't get it there, maybe I'm just lucky.

Also if you want feedback, there thread you can find here that related to it, ask people there and they would mostly accept to give your story a feedback after some time.

 

[Corty]

You can rate your own book with 5 stars.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

Stories should start with no stars.

 

[Corty]

Stories should start with no stars.

They do start like that. But as I said, most authors immediately drop a 5-star. Who wouldn't? I don't blame them.

You can tell if a story has a reader base by the simple fact it isn't 5-star rated.

 

[MatchaChocolate69]

On this site (but not only here), the star rating system is not meant to be seen as a real review.

In essence:
5/4 stars mean "I like it"
2/3 stars are considered Mixed
1 star means "I don't like it"

See the stars in this way, not as an accurate system.
Many people give a rating by reading the first chapter or even just stopping at the synopsis.

If it were a realistic system, only authors like Dostoevsky could aspire to 5 stars.

 

[prognastat]

On this site (but not only here), the star rating system is not meant to be seen as a real review.

In essence:
5/4 stars mean "I like it"
2/3 stars are considered Mixed
1 star means "I don't like it"

See the stars in this way, not as an accurate system.
Many people give a rating by reading the first chapter or even just stopping at the synopsis.

If it were a realistic system, only authors like Dostoevsky could aspire to 5 stars.

I don't know. It really seems generally for SH if a novel has 4-5 stars it's at least ok. 3-4 is quite mixed and anything below 3 is just terrible. Like you could just make the scale run from 3 through 5 with 4 being the separating line between probably decent and probably bad. For example if I see a novel with a decent few ratings and they have a 3.4 or something I am expecting the novel to have either some themes that are very off-putting without some serious warning through the synopsis and/or tags or the novel is just going to be pretty bad in other ways.

For me personally 3 and up are positive scores meaning even if it has issues at the end of the day I enjoyed the story more than I didn't. Meanwhile anything below that just means I didn't enjoy it. 1 stars and 5 stars are pretty rare for me since it would mean I didn't just dislike/enjoy it, but genuinely thought it was horrendous/great.

However plenty of people just go "oh it was ok" and give it a 5 or "it wasn't good" and give it a 1 to be done with it using it more like a binary scale.

 

[MatchaChocolate69]

I don't know. It really seems generally for SH if a novel has 4-5 stars it's at least ok. 3-4 is quite mixed and anything below 3 is just terrible. Like you could just make the scale run from 3 through 5 with 4 being the separating line between probably decent and probably bad. For example if I see a novel with a decent few ratings and they have a 3.4 or something I am expecting the novel to have either some themes that are very off-putting without some serious warning through the synopsis and/or tags or the novel is just going to be pretty bad in other ways.

For me personally 3 and up are positive scores meaning even if it has issues at the end of the day I enjoyed the story more than I didn't. Meanwhile anything below that just means I didn't enjoy it. 1 stars and 5 stars are pretty rare for me since it would mean I didn't just dislike/enjoy it, but genuinely thought it was horrendous/great.

I wasn't talking about the average, but the individual rating. I think with an average of around 3.5, the novel is readable. I would have also considered 2 stars as "I don't like it," but I've noticed some readers who have given 2 stars to my story, but despite this, they continue to read it. So, probably it's poorly written, but there's something they like about my story. So, it falls into the "Mixed" category.

However plenty of people just go "oh it was ok" and give it a 5 or "it wasn't good" and give it a 1 to be done with it using it more like a binary scale.

That's what I meant. Most readers use the system in this binary way.