Just wanted to say thank you to those who have given me honest reviews on my books and stories.
Reviews are the bedrock of our ‘advertising’ if you will. Without reviews, people tend to ignore us, not buy our stuff, or not be willing to take a chance on us.
Having said that, Showdown on the River is stuck at less than 50 reviews, which is the first ‘bump’ if you will where Amazon actually starts putting it out on the also read categories… 100 reviews are the breakpoint where you start getting listed with other authors on search pages, or did… Amazon seems to be…as usual changing things on the fly, so I’m not sure where it is now.
Anyway, if you liked Showdown, or didn’t, I’d appreciate an honest review. They are our lifeblood as authors…
Thank you again!!!
Done. Thanks for the reminder. I read so many books through KU and leaving a review on my Onyx Boox is a hassle. Then I lose track and don’t get back to it. I just left reviews for several books.
So here’s a topic for discussion. Number of stars? I look at the overall body of fiction and think to myself “well, if Lord of the Rings is a 5-star book, what is a quick but entertaining read?”. If we judge all books by one standard then most books won’t get more than 2 or 3 stars, even good books. This doesn’t seem fair to mere mortals who aren’t Tolkien.
I generally won’t give something more than 4 stars unless I think it is outstanding, but then I also feel like a book should be judged in its genre. For cheap throwaway Westerns (no offense intended), obviously Louis L’Amour’s Sackett novels are, for the most part, 5-stars even though they aren’t as well written as LOTR. So do we measure Showdown on the River by the standard of L’Amour (which means maybe it gets 3/5), by the standard of Tolkien (1 or 2/5), or do we measure it by a completely subjective and non-standard standard and say “boy that was fun, I’ll give it 4/5”.
Let me give you another example. Netflix movie ratings. Seems to me that they are massively overinflated. I have never watched a movie on Netflix that had a rating less than 4/5 without it being a pile of steaming dog poop. But 3/5 arguably should be a passably good movie. I got to the point that if I hadn’t heard of a movie and it had less than 4, skip right by. Then I cancelled Netflix because reasons but that’s not the point.
Sorry Peter, I reviewed Showdown, and starred it well in hopes of drawing readers, but when I re-read the book recently, the anachronisms regarding the weapons had me ready to wall the book.
Couldn’t do that, I was reading on my phone.
This is just my sensitivity to that period. Many will not notice, but the inconsistency was so different from your other books that it was jarring.
You are right that reviews are lifeblood.
I read a lot, and rarely even read the blurb if it is under 3.5. Over that, I read the blurb and the reviews before looking at the sample or KU, and that before buying the book.
Thanks for your stories. John
Hereso- Excellent points! I’d be happy with an HONEST 3/5 if that is where one feels it falls.
John- I’m curious as to what you found wrong, as I did a lot of research to make sure the guns were period correct, along with the cowboy’s actions.
I checked I did review it! By the way I usually buy your books instead of using kindle unlimited!
Hammer- Thank you!!!
Hi Jim, Just bought the book on Kindle and am about half way through it. I have read a sh–ton of westerns in my life of 83 years, and I read them to be entertained! I don’t read a book just to ascertain wherever if falls on someones scale of 1 to wherever! If I like a book and it was a “good read”, I’ll give it good marks and this one certainly has me leaning toward the good read scenario . Let you know by domani if I don’t fall asleep reading! I do that often, fall asleep while reading that is!
Update: 49 reviews. Just saying.
What was that target again?
Someone needs to step up.
Had to double check, but I’d already reviewed it.
And as far as how I rate books, I do it based on how much I enjoy it. If I wall it, it’s a one. If the concept intrigues me enough to struggle through just to get the ending, it’s a two. If it’s a decently fun book but it keeps kicking me out of the world because of writing/politics/railroaded stupidity, it’s a three. Four is a good book but required some work to finish it. Five is something I couldn’t put down.
LOTR is a four overall. I love Tolkien, own all the books and have read them multiple times, but parts of it just drag. Hobbit is a five. Oddysey was a three, Iliad a four. Honestly I normally get more enjoyment out of the pulp than I do the literature, so I rate accordingly. Three Musketeers is one of my favorite books. Inspired me to try to learn French to read it in it’s original language, but it’s still only a four. Sarah Hoyt’s assorted Musketeer mysteries and vampire books? All fives because I literally went without sleep to read through all that were available to me at the time. Bram Stoker’s Dracula? Three or four depending on when I read it. Impaler by Kate Paulk? I finished it once, looked over at the three new books that had arrived for me in a care package, and then started reading it again. Five star reading experience. L’Amour? I own at least one copy of every published work – in some cases two or three. Most books are fours and fives. Is Showdown as polished (some would say well-worn…) as them? No, but it’s just as fun of a read.