Question re responding to good reviews

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Fizgig

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So, I'm 100% new to this whole self-publishing thing and have a question about positive reviews. I know it's never good to respond to bad reviews but, I've gotten one review (yay) and it's 5 stars (also yay!). The reviewed said she can't wait to read the next book in the series (which I have outlined but haven't started).

My question: do people respond to positive reviews? I was thinking of telling her I'm happy she enjoyed it. I was also thinking of asking her what she liked, what she is excited to find out more about. Mostly because, if I ever do write the second one, I'd really like to know what readers want. But I don't want to scare people off or seem over eager.

But, is this a bad idea? Or should I just email her in private? Or post it on Amazon in response? I just have no idea what proper etiquette is on this issue.

Thanks for any thoughts!http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/
 
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Alessandra Kelley

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I think overall it's a bad idea.

If directly approached by a fan who gushes about your book you could graciously say how glad you were they enjoyed it.

But a review is in a different space, a private space between readers where the sudden presence of the author is jarring, at best.
 

Fizgig

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Yeah, thank you both. That was kind of my instinct on the issue but thought I'd ask. Definitely don't want to creep people out.
 

AnnaPappenheim

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I agree, don't respond to reviews, positive or negative. I read a book recently, Goodreads for Authors, and she said to never respond to reviews on Goodreads, because then your history ends up showing a bunch of your posts, and that's not what you want. But I'd say this would be similar for Amazon and other places.

Could you wait until you're sure you're going to write a second book before reaching out to people? I think you're right about seeming eager if you do it right away. But maybe at a later time, if you decide to write your second book and are beginning the research.

Maybe, if you'd really like to reach out to people who give you five star reviews, you could do something nice, like offer a free signed copy of the book. Or, if you think you will be writing a second one, offer them a discount (25% maybe).

Don't know… I'd say not responding is your best bet, but I can feel your excitement over the reviews (and it is super exciting! Congrats!!), so really what I'm saying is that if you just can't help yourself, then maybe consider some of those options, or others, to find a way to do it carefully.
 

Celeste Carrara

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I don't respond to reviews (good or bad) anywhere and think it's unprofessional. I do see a lot of self published authors doing it though, especially on Goodreads. A few of my self published author friends do it too.
 

veinglory

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I think there are exceptions where replying can be fine. Like a review that asks a specific question, or a reviewer you already know who will be cool with it.
 

grayworld

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*Files under "Problems I Wish I Had"*

I've only received a handful of reviews, but I've resisted the urge to respond to the reader. In the comment section, anyway. I did respond to a anonymous review on my blog (which nobody reads), but I totally agreed with the reader because he or she was spot on correct about his/her evaluation of my book.

Long story short, I thought one of my books (which has a sequel on its way down the pipeline) had come to a satisfying albeit ambiguous conclusion. The reader respectfully disagreed. Upon further review, the reader was probably right.

In general, I imagine it's a bad idea to respond to any review (good or bad) in any social media format. Under the right circumstances, things can get blown out of proportion very quickly. It's just the age we live in.
 

Polenth

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The most I'll say is thank you, and that's in cases where I've been sent a message to say there's a review. And I'll do this via the means they told me, so email for email, and tweets for tweets. Jumping into the comments section of reviews is not a good idea unless you've been invited.

I retweet some reviews that are posted to Twitter, as long as I don't think anyone who likes my work is going to go after the reviewer (so good to neutral reviews). A lot of book bloggers are hoping for more traffic, so that can be a nice way to show appreciation without being clingy.

Remember that reviews are there for the readers, not to help you write the next book. Sometimes a review will leave you wondering, or they'll get some details wrong, or whatever else. Let it lie. The review wasn't for you.
 

shaldna

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So, I'm 100% new to this whole self-publishing thing and have a question about positive reviews. I know it's never good to respond to bad reviews but, I've gotten one review (yay) and it's 5 stars (also yay!). The reviewed said she can't wait to read the next book in the series (which I have outlined but haven't started).

My question: do people respond to positive reviews? I was thinking of telling her I'm happy she enjoyed it. I was also thinking of asking her what she liked, what she is excited to find out more about. Mostly because, if I ever do write the second one, I'd really like to know what readers want. But I don't want to scare people off or seem over eager.

But, is this a bad idea? Or should I just email her in private? Or post it on Amazon in response? I just have no idea what proper etiquette is on this issue.

Thanks for any thoughts!http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


I wouldn't.

Reviews are for readers, not the writer. And if you believe the good ones then you have to believe the bad ones, and if you start responding to reviews then it's a slippery slope.

That said,I've had a couple of emails from readers saying they liked the book and I've responded with a short thank you, but that's personal correspondence and not a public review.
 

c.m.n.

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I never respond to GR's reviews, good or bad. The only reviews I may respond to are from reviewer blogs/websites, then I only tweet about it and say "thank you" to the reviewer.
 

Dallionz

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Yeah, in general, I would not respond to a review whether it's a good or a bad one. I know I've gotten a few really nice reviews I would have liked to thank them for and have refrained. I've also gotten a couple of reviews that I really wanted to clarify something because they seemed to not get part of the book and refrained from that, too.
 

veinglory

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I think that if one was to respond it would not be to thank them which implies the review is done for the author, it would be to express pleasure that they enjoyed the book--which is obviously gratifying.
 

Pkmatrix

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In general, I'd say follow a single basic rule of thumb: NEVER respond to reviews. Any reviews. Either good or bad, it's just bad form.
 
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