How Review-Bombing Can Tank a Book Before It’s Published
Penny for your thoughts?
Actually, no, I admit that I’m not interested in what the vast majority of readers think of a particular book. (Except perhaps for the utility of gauging cultural phenomena.)
So, here’s this article of a novelist whose debut was “bombed” with a relentless campaign of 1-star reviews on Goodreads before it was even published. The premise of Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess is a Black woman who falls in love with a conservative and bigoted coworker at Goldman Sachs. I have no opinion of the book because I have not read it nor any press materials.
But let’s talk Goodreads + “book reviews.” (I do think this is different than offering up thoughts/reflections about a book, which is what I *try* to do.) Can someone explain to me why a reader should care how many stars a random-to-them individual might give a book? I love hearing “reviews” from friends or acquaintances (and some I’ve interacted with here) because I know their context and can grasp their perspective or what they might mean when they say XYZ. Otherwise, not so much. On Goodreads, I see a lot of plot summary and “I liked this” or “Not for me!” How is this helpful, especially if you don’t know the person? One person’s nuanced literary masterpiece is another person’s dense brick, just as one person’s romance novel featuring dragons is…my worst nightmare. I haven’t updated anything on my Goodreads account in over 10 years, but occasionally I’ll pop on to scan a few reviews. Have you noticed that most books teeter between 3.75 and 4.25? The Commitments by Roddy Doyle has a 3.91. War and Peace has a 4.15. Where the Crawdads Sing has a 4.40. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson is 4.12. I think two of these are fantastic, one meh, and one I don’t think I’ll ever read even though it has a higher rating than one I love.
WHO. CARES.
I get that publishers rely on metrics like these and that “buzz” is a contagious concept. But, wow, random ⭐️s shouldn’t have this kind of influence. Let’s think bigger.
PS: Look up “brushing,” Amazon, and review manipulation. This is how I ended up with a ridiculous three-piece loungewear set that I never ordered. 💁🏻♀️
originally published on instagram