Over a year ago my good friend wrote a great gardening book but it got a bad review. I think it was partly because the title of the book was misleading. My friend said that she had a contract that gave the right to name her book to the publisher. She says it’s common. Have any authors heard of this? I would think an author would have the right to name her own book.
So, the title didn’t really describe the book content and actually made it seem like the book was about a specific topic, which was only covered in the first chapter (annuals). The book was about organic gardening practices for the home gardener and mostly about lawn, tree, and shrub care. But there was a small bit about typical garden center annuals in the beginning of the book.
Anyhow, the book got a bad review and it was posted on Amazon. It was clear that the reviewer simply did not read more than the title or perhaps the first few pages of the book and totally missed the what the book was about. The review made it seem foolish to write about organic gardening with annuals– when 9/10ths of the book was about perennials. The review was unsigned so my friend could not do anything about it. But it’s the first thing anyone sees.
Sales have been poor and I think it’s because of the bad review and misleading title. My question: there have been some average reader reviews posted that are very positive and seem a lot more accurate than the professional one at the top of the Amazon page. But my friend is convinced that people do not read the reader’s reviews and has begged me not to post a snarky review blasting the pro review at the top. But it seems like someone should correct a blatant error.
Do people read Amazon reader reviews? Would a rebuttal help or hurt?
Comments
Well i read them and consider them when I’m looking for a book on a particular topic. Your friend has a chance to contact the reviewer, and the reviewer change it i think, I’m not 100% sure.
I usually read the professional reviews at Amazon when checking out books. I also skim through the reader reviews but I would say the Amazon review is the one usually making the most impression on me. I’m not sure how that would change, but I suggest you write a review because I always check the reader’s rating (how many stars) when I shop there.
There are no pro reviews in Amazon. The top reviewers are not supposed to be pros. They are not getting paid for their reviews. They are only top reviewers because of the sheer amount of reviews they have posted. Of course, the higher their ranking the easier for them to get books for free for review. This often leads to abuse. If the person who posted that review is a professional reviewer from a gardening publication or a periodical, that is a different matter.
If you want to help your friend, submit your own review. Keep it as objective as possible. Emphasize its strong points. Just going into a flaming spree against that reviewer will only get you banned and make your friend look unprofessional.
Additionally, I don’t know who the publisher was, but in large publishing houses authors submit a suggested title, but it is the prerogative of the publisher to change it. Sometimes the author uses something that is not catchy enough, or descriptive enough or that breaks copyright (think in terms of song titles or lyrics used as titles of books).
