Monday, January 16, 2012

Review Blues



I received a one star review on the first novel of my urban fantasy series, Witch Got Your Tongue, because the reviewer thought it had a cliff hanger ending.  The person even admitted it was a pretty good story but still gave it only one star.  This is a series, and some things were resolved, but I did leave it open for many more books in the future.  Is that no longer allowed in series?  The only real thing left unresolved was something that will be an ongoing battle for the main character.  I let the reviews about it not being a novel but a novella roll off my shoulders.  Well, other than griping to James.  It is 45,000 words.  That is not a novella.  It's a short novel, and I was very clear about that in the description by posting the number of pages in the trade paperback.  Now I get complaints that it's a half novel that doesn't end.  I really want to know if this is something that actually bothers readers, or if it just makes you want to read the next book.

Also, any readers willing to review the book, either on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or on a blog, send me your email address  with the type of file you would need, and I'll send you a Kindle file, Word file, or PDF. livia@flash.net .

7 comments:

  1. What a twit the reviewer is. Stand alone books, if they are done right, leave the reader wanting more: hence the idea of having series. And the opinion you had a "cliff-hanger" ending? Well, good for you!! You write engaging characters, and I want to know more about them, about what happens; not some "ships passing in the night" experience where the characters appear and then disappear, never to be heard from again. I give the reviewer half a star: and that's a stretch.

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  2. Heh. I just read the "review." I think it's unintentionally hilarious that a complaint about a book being incomplete is missing the last letter of the last word. Looking at his other reviews, he just looks like a whiner.

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  3. Thanks for the positive feedback. I appreciate it. The irony of the missing letter wasn't lost on me either.

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  4. It is discouraging how much damage, psychological and/or economic, one grumpy person can cause. And the sad part is, for every one like that there are probably dozens who like a book but aren't motivated to post a positive review.

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  5. I read the book and I loved it. I can't wait until the summer for the next one!

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  6. Troy, you are so right as you know from experience. Thanks, Mish. My working title for the next book is A Peck of Pickled Warlocks. I plan to have a lot of fun with that one.

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