Almost home and a WTF moment
January 25, 2011
I am heading to my last event tonight and tomorrow I will be flying home after being on book tour for nearly two weeks. YAY! I’ve been without email for 2 weeks. I can get email, but cannot send email from any of my accounts for some reason, so if you’ve been waiting to hear from me and haven’t…now you know why. I’ll catch up when I get to my home computer.
So, maybe I’m a little cranky today. But I’m killing time in my hotel room, working on a story and surfing the internet when I decided to check to see if BarnesandNoble.com has dropped the preorder print book price of SADDLED AND SPURRED to the same lower price point as amazon.com listed — yes, they have. But what caused my WTF moment? I have two rankings on that book. Two, two star rankings. Hmm. How is that possible? The book isn’t out for another SIX WEEKS. And I know that my publisher hasn’t sent out ARCS yet, because I haven’t been notified. So some helpful soul has given the book crappy ratings…without reading said book. Ooh, thanks. Really. As if it’s not hard enough to be in this business, you want to shoot me in the foot before I’m even out of the damn gate. And yes, potential readers do check those stars and ratings on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com to find new authors and to decide whether to spend their hard earned money on a new book. If someone reads my book and leaves a bad review? That’s one thing. Leaving a bad review or ranking when they haven’t read the book…another thing entirely.
Umm, yeah, so if you haven’t noticed, having crappy rankings pre-book release chaps my ass. Big time.
Know what else chaps my ass? When another author claims to be a fan of my work, and specifically lists my name in her bio (how bizarre is that anyway?) so…her books come up whenever someone types “Lorelei James” into the search engine. I’m glad to have fans who are authors, and I am HUGE fans of tons of authors across all genres (I’ve been known to gush in person and go all fan girl when I meet my faves) but I’d never ever EVER use another author’s name in my bio as a promotional tool to get MY books noticed. That’s sneaky, unprofessional…and seriously uncool.
But then again, I might just be cranky today…
15 Comments:
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Mary Jo said:
That’s crappy! Living well is the best revenge — have fun tonight and be safe on your travels home.
lilly.s said:
Yeah, there are some crazy people out there! But there are lots of us who really love and appreciate you and your work! So don`t think about those jerks, think of us NORMAL readers and how much we enjoy every word you write 😀
Have a safe trip home!
Jackie Allen said:
Hi, Lorelei I don’t have to much faith in those ratings especially on Amazon there have been several books that had a rating of two that I went ahead and bought because it was an author I really liked. One in particular was a Joan Johnston book called Shattered and everyone was basically pissed because she didn’t let the hero and heroine get together she paired them with with other people. But you know what it worked beautifully and I absolutely loved the book so I wouldn’t worry to much your die hard fans will always stick with you they know your books are awesome I hope you have a safe trip home.
KJ Reed said:
I have seen way too much of the pre-book rankings. One poor author I saw had someone give her a 1 star because “I hate vampires.” That’s all. Just ranked the book poorly because they hated vampires, and hers happened to have one. I mean, come on! If you don’t like the book, that’s fair. Rank accordingly. But ranking just on principle is mean spirited.
It’s not easy, this business. A book tour sounds like so much fun, though! Are you going to blog about how it went and what you thought?
Ginger said:
Lorelei-when you are home in your own bed, drinking your own coffee, sitting in your own chair…what some looser person posted won’t matter. Some of us keep checking to see if you MIGHT get the book released early, cause we can’t wait!!! Safe journey home…oh and the winter is long and deep here…got an author recomendation? Thanks! Ginger
booklover1335 said:
Like many of the other commenters I’ve noticed the same thing. On a pre-order book I just kind of discount it, especially when there is no review to go along with the star rating. But it’s unfortunate that those preorder rankings will be averaged in with “real” ratings later on. Hopefully you will get enough reviews (positive ones) that it won’t hurt you.
At least with Amazon you can’t post a review or a ranking until closer to the release date. And that price they have the book at…it’s almost like winning the lottery! Love it 🙂
Six weeks can’t come soon enough. Safe travels!
Grunts said:
WTF moments happen(in my world)–cranky moments are common(in my world). Good writing and good stories are very much appreciated by everyday readers. A good book is not easy to come by—we see the ratings, read them(ponder) and decide, then Check Out with our commonly used Credit Card. Thank You for some great reads! Looking forward to your next “Coming Soon”!
Sharon C said:
It doesn’t seem right that you can rate a book which hasn’t yet released – sounds crazy. I’ll be sure to leave a review for S&S – can’t wait to have the book! Big thank you for all your hard work.
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Tammy said:
Sorry you had a crappy day. You know your fans don’t pay any attention to the pre-release reviews. We buy your books because we love your stories. Have a wonderful Wednesday and enjoy being home.
Michelle said:
You want I should make them sleep with the fishes?
Kellie said:
Sorry for the crappy day. I own a business and I know how a bad review can make you feel. My grandmother told me that if its not going to matter in 5 years its not worth freating over today. One bad review will not matter because you are a wonderful writer with a huge fan support. Cheer up we love your books 🙂
Sharon Miller said:
Lorelei, it was so wonderful meeting you Tucscon!! Don’t hold much stock on that review. How can they honestly review something that they haven’t even read yet? Can’t wait to read S&S, and you can bet I’ll leave a great review. You are a great writer/author and have not been disappointed with any of your books. Have a safe trip, and enjoy being home.
Helana said:
Maybe it will cheer you up to know that you and KA Mitchell are the writers to whom I compare all others. I would never have read a KA Mitchell if it wasn’t for Trever, Edgar, and Chassie’s story. Sadly I have been disappointed by some books lately because they just aren’t as good as yours. You have spoiled me for all others and I thank you for doing it.
Sharon said:
Lorelei,
It was good to hear from you and had to laugh at your WTF moments. I do read reviews but most of the time I read the crappy ones on my favorite authors to see what the idiots are saying and then I usually post a rebuttal because what they’ve written is pure crap! Take care and hope you got home safe and sound!