The Agony of the 1-Star Review - Should We Rethink Harsh Critique?

[melchi]

I give everyone a 5 star because they sat down and wrote, which is more than what the most people do. But I have received a 1-star rating myself. It came Months after the story was completed, which is good. If it had come when I was still writing it, or when I was still updating it, I would have been crushed. As things stand now, I do care, not gonna lie, but the feeling is muted.

Fun fact, all one star reviews are given by evil cats that spend most of their days knocking stuff off the kitchen counter.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Fun fact, all one star reviews are given by evil cats that spend most of their days knocking stuff off the kitchen counter.

Bruh.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Fun fact, all one star reviews are given by evil cats that spend most of their days knocking stuff off the kitchen counter.

Bruh.

Sailus is a cat.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Sailus is a cat.

 

[laccoff_mawning]

If a one star review is all it takes to make someone stop writing a novel, they probably didn't have a strong will to start to begin with.
If you stop giving honest opinions because you are afraid you might offend someone, that's getting your priorities wrong.
If someone is so easily offended by your opinion, that's them needing to grow up.

 

[melchi]

If a one star review is all it takes to make someone stop writing a novel, they probably didn't have a strong will to start to begin with.
If you stop giving honest opinions because you are afraid you might offend someone, that's getting your priorities wrong.
If someone is so easily offended by your opinion, that's them needing to grow up.

Is just one staring and not giving any written feedback giving an honest opinion though?

 

[Deleted member 113259]

Is just one staring and not giving any written feedback giving an honest opinion though?

Yes.

 

[C_A_D_M_U_S]

I only leave a review once I finished reading the entire novel, so the lowest I'd given is 3.5 (it's fairly high because I won't even continue reading a book if I don't like it in the first place). For the novels that aren't to my liking, I just leave them alone.

For the star rating, I think it's best to be honest, then include in the review why it's rated as __ stars. Also, when reviewing, I think it's better to list out the good and the bad points (for the new readers' reference & for the author as well). I mean, no matter how "bad" a book is to some people, there are others who will probably like that book.

 

[laccoff_mawning]

Is just one staring and not giving any written feedback giving an honest opinion though?

Written feedback is a privilege to recieve, but nobody has a right to recieve any.
However, I definitely think its good to give feedback along with any one-star rating you give a series, unless everything you want to say has already been said by another person.

I only leave a review once I finished reading the entire novel, so the lowest I'd given is 3.5 (it's fairly high because I won't even continue reading a book if I don't like it in the first place). For the novels that aren't to my liking, I just leave them alone.

I definitely think this is worth mentioning. There is a natural bias to rate series higher than one might deem them "deserving" simply because you aren't likely to read and rate a story you don't like. As such, actually rating a one-star is a rare event, since its more likely you just ignore rating it.