My Thoughts on Reviewers

The bottom line is that you want EVERYONE to like your story. That is just night feasible. Everyone is not going to like your story. The only thing I have against reviewers is that you should never base yours on one persons opinions. Now I am not speaking from a grumpy authors viewpoint. I received a 4 out of 5 star rating for "Torn". But after I read the review which left me pretty perplexed about her opinion I started contemplating this entire review thing. Romance Junkies is taking a poll and I voted. Less then seven percent of consumers purchase books based on reviews. So why bother right? *shrug* I guess it is just something to do. It gives authors something to aspire to and brag about when they get high points and grumble about when they get something low. I think the biggest crowd who actually concerns themselves with reviews is an author. Readers don't seem phased by them and sells don't look to be faltering because of one bad one for many authors. For instance Willa Okati appears to be very popular. However, I read a review on her yesterday that pretty much bashed her writing style and story telling ability. No one likes negative feedback. IMHO Romance Junkies has the best reviewing system. The lowest score you can get is a 2 and that says that the author didn't mind reading it. Its not a recommended read or anything, but its not total junk either. On the other hand I read some reviews from a gal they call Mrs. or Ms. (can't remember) Giggles. She has some pretty harsh criticisms. I really don't know how she became popular. It seems as if anyone with the inclination to read and JUDGE a book these days can do it. No prior work experience needed, and please NO pictures folks. You're getting your book reviewed by someone who is virtually genderless. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I disagree with harsh critcisms--actually I don't believe that the opinion of one person should be any more important then anyone elses, but hey I'm not in charge here. I do know that I stay away from things that leave a bad taste in my mouth. In the future I won't be reading ANY more reviews from Mrs/Ms. Giggles. I'll leave that hog wash for the birds.