I just finished reading a really good article for Indie writers on how to handle receiving bad reviews.  And it made me think that perhaps the Three Stars review has gotten kind of a bad rap lately.

Now I totally understand why every author wants to see Five Stars – I do, honestly.

But please, don’t look down on the Three Stars review as if that person didn’t like or worse, hated your baby.  It doesn’t mean that – to me, for certain – nor to most other reviewers either.

I can only speak for myself – but to me those Three Stars mean that your book was good, entertaining and I’d recommend it to a friend.  I see nothing wrong with that description.  I didn’t hate it.  I didn’t love it to pieces either.  But I liked it, I enjoyed my time in your world and I can honestly say to my best friend –  you gotta pick up this XYZ book ‘cos it’s really good.  There is no hate involved there, at all.  I “get” that to an author it’s always going to be somewhat personal because this is your creation.  But those lovely Three Stars simply mean that I liked it.

I doesn’t mean that those who review for the big news agencies or magazines and get paid for giving their opinion – or the new book blogger who is sitting at their home computer late in the night after the kids are in bed are that much different in their valued opinions either.  Any review is that particular person’s reaction to an author’s words.

(I’ll make an exception here for the obvious Trolls who wouldn’t know a good book if it hit them upside the head… they don’t count and never will.)

While I take the rating system of Goodreads or Amazon into consideration when deciding how many stars any book gets – ultimately what it comes down to is whether I’d tell my friend about your book.  Would I rave?  Would I say it’s great?  Would I tell them to run out and buy it ‘cos my copy is sacred now and cannot have a broken spine?  Is it a good fast read for those times you only have an hour or so of quiet time?  Is it something that will stick in your head long after the final word is read?  These are the things that tell me how many “stars” to award any book.  And, yeah, I’ve given my favorite author of all times a Three Stars review, because that particular novel deserved it… In My Opinion.

Authors, writers – please I beg you — think like Michael in The Godfather,  “It’s business, it’s not personal.”  My thoughts in a review of your precious baby are just that – my personal opinion.  I’m never “reviewing the author” – I’m talking about your book… and how I reacted to it.  Someone else may have a completely different reaction – and that is perfectly fine.  ‘Cos last time I checked we’re not robots just yet – and we all get to put in our two cents worth on what we think.  But it’s not the end of the world or a writer’s career.  It’s just my opinion and a Three Stars review is saying I liked what you did there, good job.