Lord_of_Potatoes Not all authors act like this, I can take criticism. However I want an honest opinion, not a hateful one. There are many factors that go into a review that influences the authors reaction.
4 a 5 star Low quality of novels
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Lord_of_Potatoes Most of authors who were react very defensively/angrily is because the words the reviewer use is harsh. Even though the review is reasonable if the words you use are harsh, the author will not accept that willingly. it's all the same bro, it's like: when you work on something, you put more your time and your hard work on that something, but when the work is done, people said your work is trash, low quality, or other kind thing harsh words. What do you feel? I'm sure you will be pissed too right? it's the same as the author.
Danuja Don't compare original section on WN and RR. How old RR? How old WN's original section? Wn still need time to grow. Also, most original author on WN is a newbie author. So of course there will be big difference between RR and WN.
Nier_Xue There are many WN haters on NU since the WW and WN conflict. So it's not surprise WN's novel get low rating there.
This is only my personal opinion.
HotIce Hey Hotice,
Yeah, I totally agree! BUT I have seen situations were reviewers were reasonable in every sense of the word (good critique, no harsh tone or personal attacks at all) where authors have reacted a little bit extreme. That's what I mean by a reasonable review. And this is coming from someone who is an author himself. Of course, if someone is attacking you unfairly and screaming hate, then have at it.
EldridSmith
Yep, of course! We're all human beings with different personalities and ways of responding. As an author myself, I also wish for honest opinions that can point out flaws, without being hateful. However, I have seen some pretty extreme situations to reviews I thought were fair and not extreme or derisive. But I totally agree, there are many factors that affect an author's reaction. It's hard to feel someone's tone/attitude when its just written word.
Have a great day!
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While i see your point i disagree with your statement that they shouldn't be compared. While RR is alot older the fact stays that WN has a fundamental flaw which will not fix itself. The site is riddled with bots and fake reviews so that authors can artificially increase their ratings.
WN offers certain rewards when one reaches premium. To meet the demands low quality chapters are pumped out daily with record speed. There's a reason why my reviews on WN are ALOT harsher then on RR. WN haters aren't the reason, its just that 90% of the stuff is garbage tier. Authors do not care about the quality of their work, they'll just drown out bad reviews.
I agree the reviews on WebNovels are typically an inaccurate indicator. Someone else had mentioned that authors do review swaps. I myself have done a few of these because we need 10 reviews for our rating to even show up to viewers. It's a big disadvantage not having a rating appear when you show up under daily updates and such. It's hard getting ratings. My novel was rank 97 last week and is 97 again this week. I only have 20 ratings despite being top 100. Some other authors even higher than me haven't even hit 10 ratings yet!
I've always felt NovelUpdates has the most accurate reviews overall (though still not perfect). Unfortunately, they don't allow Originals yet.
SnoozySloth It's a big disadvantage not having a rating appear when you show up under daily updates and such.
I think empty rating made an advantages since it showed your novel is new. That would attract certain type of readers.
MasterRabbink
I often fall back on my personal experiences as a reader before I started writing. I had always avoided novels without a rating already there.
SnoozySloth Lol! This Rabbink is different. I enjoy new novels. They gave 'fresh' feeling sometimes with crazy idea.
Lord_of_Potatoes Well said.
EldridSmith I think your novel is a perfect example of what OP was talking about. Your novel is far from perfect and in my opinion does not deserve that 4.9 rating it has. Also, all the reviews are just complimenting your novel or summarizing it. They are rating it 5 stars simply because they like it, and don’t pay attention to the actual quality of the work.
CsK Isn't that what reviews are about?
Each person has their own view of "quality" and how "good" a novel is. Everything is perspective.