Review the Reviewer part IV

Author bites back at 'Bookworm'.

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Hi Folks

I'm back, Mojo surging through my veins - ego in-tact - reconciled to a new phase of development in my quest to become a writer.

As you would know, I have posted Memoirs of a Vending Machine on smashwords and also on Kindle in a new form - part I and part II. Part II is what was 'Kujira'. I had always intended that the two would become a novel at some stage and my recent experience with a Kindle reviewer - little miss 'bookworm' - provided the catalyst for the change. Well... turns out... I finished up in the top 100 Action and Adventure overnight despite the one star ping to the ego supplied by aforementioned bookworm.

So... I suppose I should just let the people decide... and they have.

The whole experience though poses a number of questions in my mind. The bookworm is officially sponsored as a top 1000 reviewer by kindle. The one star rating directly following a five star rating seems to be a little less objective than I would imagine an endorsed reviewer should be. It seems to be an unnecessary personal attack. Could it be that she is an endorsed cyber-bully?

Let me get this straight - I am NOT accusing her of being a bully - although, given a perceived position of inequality here and the actions that she has taken, it certainly feels like bullying. Moreover, it looks like bullying and it sure as hell sounds like bullying. I'm just putting it out there - the grubby facts that is.

So look, I am not going to just quit.  I know that there are people out there who like what I have spent a lot of time and effort writing, hence the five and four star reviews. There are those who are not particularly interested, hence the three star reviews. Fine - not your cup of tea then.

There are some one and two stars from the first published days before the professional edit but notably non since the edit until... 'the bookworm'.

So bookworm I am back and looking forward to more downloads and more publications. You didn't succeed in your apparent quest to knock me out. I am back and ready to roll with readers ready and willing to read my work.

Ja mata ne

Beerubaraoyaji

Update

Hi Folks

Well I return to my blog battered and bruised but definitely alive and well. My Kindle experience behind me I have done what I have been meaning to do for a while now and combined Memoirs with Kujira. I had intended to do this anyway but posted them separately as I finished them. Maybe I should have waited until they were ready to be published as one but what is done is done.

The novel 'Memoirs of a Vending Machine' now has a length of approximately 43 000 words and will make readers happy. Many comments centred around the fact that in Memoirs, although the story was enjoyable, it needed to continue as readers were keen to see what happened to Mike, Mark and Jon.

Well now you can find out - for FREE. It's all there.

In other news, I have been going crazy with my new logic pro 9 software and have been composing my way into insanity. See new link on my blog for a snippet of a new creation, "Walkin." It's something I though might lend itself well to the game market. I have a few more posts that are almost ready including a new ballad that is still a work in progress. Watch this space.

I'll be concentrating on music for the time being until I get my Mojo back and start writing again.

By the way - passed the exams.

That's all for now.

Berrubaraoyaji

Review the Reviewer 3

The Thrill Has Gone

Hi Folks

I've had a bad week on Kindle. A couple of recent posts regarding 'Memoirs of a Vending Machine' had lifted my spirits recently. But the last one... I had asked readers to hold off a little on negative reviews as there were more than enough posted to go around. So... little miss stick-the-knife-in-a-little-further-and-twist-it decides to ping me with a one star rating and a super negative review intended to really kick me in the teeth rather than critique what she had read. This follows an email I sent to Kindle regarding the electronic merry-go-round of quotes from reviews that give snippets of what reviewers have to say. None of the positive reviews was represented so I asked Kindle about this. The email reply explained that the negative reviews were randomly selected electronically and none of them broke the terms of the agreements that Kindle had in place. Great, so you actively discourage readers from buying a cheap read denying your company a cut of the fee, cutting the author out completely. 

Don't get me wrong, I have taken the criticisms on board and have edited, re-written and commissioned a copy edit to address the concerns. The problem is that the initial negative reviews are unable to represent changes and stay there, discouraging readers. It's a self destruct cycle so matter what you do, the reviewers feel that they have a license to 'bag you out' and see an opportunity to hone their  savage instincts by practicing their negative review techniques on an unsuspecting author no matter what is done to right the wrongs an inexperienced writer may make. 

My advice - stick with smashwords it's a much more enlightened and encouraging forum.

I can't say my experience with Kindle has been a positive one and I have had enough - the thrill has gone and I no longer am enjoying participating on their forum. I have unpublished and will soon un-publish the others. Memoirs is now available for free on smashwords and there I will leave things for a while until a time comes when I feel creative and positive again. Having had the guts kicked out of my ego completely, this may take a while. I am still working on another book - the band story - and will post this when I finish it.

By for now

Beerubaraoyaji