GOODREADS FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE | Goodreads Author Secrets 

I absolutely 5-starred my own book when I first joined. (Nobody else has rated it, so I've been a 5-star author on Good Reads for years)

The 1 star rating with no written review is a new kind of pain that I can’t quite describe 🤣

Interesting point about lists: as a reader, it actually drives me crazy to see the same old things at the top of every list. I have no interest in Sarah J Maas, but she's EVERYWHERE. So I'm actually more likely to scroll past her and go hunting further down the list for a hidden gem instead. Don't give up hope!

Goodreads should provide a "mute" option, that hides a user's comments/reviews without having to block the person.

When I was teaching, our head teacher used to tell us to ignore the 1 and 5 star ratings from the students. Why? You learn nothing. The 2-4 star ratings are where the information is at. They're not blindly loving you and they're not being prats. 2-4 stars taught me how to improve my teaching style. Those reviews kept me humble, lifted me up in a meaningful way, and gave me a reality check when I needed it. The internet is crawling with awful people who are bored or are hurting and want to hurt others. Part of being a professional is learning to tell the difference between useful and useless feedback. Perhaps something authors could learn is to have a healthier read of their reader averages, ie less than 5 is okay, in fact very healthy. It reminds me of the woes on rotten tomatoes. If a film is getting a unusally high proportion of high ratings, I wonder whether or not allies of the film are artificially inflating the ratings to boost it. Or is that film really that popular? The same can be said of bad ratings. Are people being rude, or does the film really suck? Alexa and many other authortube channels have said over and over that processing feedback whilst keeping a healthy mindset is critical. We can't surround ourselves with cheerleaders. They insulate us from reality and we don't learn anything, but we have to block out the trolls when they come calling. It's all a balancing act.

"Goodreads is a very weird space." Yup, this about sums it up lol. BUT SERIOUSLY, it's great you're talking about this.

So... goodreads wants to be a Social Media Network(tm), with authors as part of it, but they don't want to put in the work to make it a space that can actually function like they want it to and deal with things like harassment? Got it.

You and Daniel: both post videos about goodreads within three hours of each other Me: grabs snacks and gets ready for some good content

My greatest problem with Goodreads is that my real-life friends don't even add my books to their want-to-read shelf. I understand that this is because my books are self-published, and my friends have high-quality tastes and reputations to uphold. But, at the same time, this makes me really appreciative of any sort of rating or review I get, because even a 1-star rating is someone who has taken the time to read and rate my book, while my own friends don't even acknowledge that the book exists. (I still get sad about 1-star ratings, of course, but I can also see a good side to them.)

I also have a theory that you are more likely to give a review for a book you absolutely hated than one you thought was simply just good so in that sense, it can provide a somewhat inaccurate metric for how good or bad said book was, but maybe i'm wrong.

I like reading 1 or 2 star reviews the most tbh. Because I'm that kind of person that wants to know the worst anything has to offer before committing my time to said thing. A 5☆ review has never changed my mind (i actually don't remember having read 5☆ reviews in the last 3 years or so), but 1 or 2☆ have. If all 1-2☆ reviews have to say is pretty tame criticism and i like the premise of the story-well, that's exactly how I pick up new books. Because, in the end, I'm more worried about wasting my time with a book that sucks, than picking up a 'meh' book. So i love rant 1☆ reviews the most. Go off! Tell me everything you hated about x book so i know if it's something i don't mind dealing with or not.

so much of what you talked about in terms of how goodreads presents data/info to authors made me think of how youtube presents data/info to creators, and I really wish both platforms put a bit more thought into how some of those choices create stakes that don't actually help the authors/creators or the reviewers/audience

I don't think there's a space for authors on Storygraph (yet!) but I encourage everyone to make the switch from Goodreads over to Storygraph. It's not owned by Amazon, you can set your own star rating (so you can give a 4.5! I've even given a 3.75), reviews can be quick by just answering a few questions (like plot/character driven story or mix) and you can write an in-depth review as well. Reviews are organized by chronological order, so snarky 1-stars won't sit on the top forever. You can set up your own reading challenges, like the Asian Readathon challenge withcindy is setting up for May. And the creators are super passionate about the site and want to fix any bugs that show up.

Some of the best books I ever read have like 3.5 stars on Goodreads, while some of the books I considered a steaming pile of doo-doo have like 4.8. Also Goodreads attracts a certain demographic that likes certain type of books, and I also keep that in mind while browsing for new reads.

Two spicy videos from authors about Goodreads in one day? I'm here for it

the way I gasped at the title. ""I hated her SO...MUCH that it-it, flame-flames...FLAMES on the side of my face..." Madeline Kahn is truly my queen. You unlocked so many memories for me just now haha. Ok let me actually watch this now lmao

Hi Alexa, just wanted to let you know your “surviving submission” video has been saving my sanity these past couple months 😭 thanks for all your amazing videos!

I just wanna say real quick that the other day i was watching a video about books someone was looking forward to in 2021 and "The Ivies" was one of the books they mentioned and it just made me so happy for you that a booktuber put your book in their video. 💜

I rarely give a detailed review for books I read, but that doesn't mean I don't read it...just FYI. A few times here I feel like you imply rating without reviews aren't valid indicators that a book is actually being read. I just don't have time to engage with every book at the level required for a quality review. I'm not a book blogger anymore, but I still use Goodreads to track my own reading journey. I look at reviews AFTER I've read a book, more often than before, to see what others thought and sometimes engage in discussion. I think more authors need to realize that people use Goodreads for different reasons. I understand all the concerns relevant to authors who want their book to look good to strangers...but readers that matter aren't going to be turned off by a "low" rating. I read a lot of books after reading "negative" reviews, because I know a lot of negative points come down to personal preference or have clear agendas. Funny one I recently saw was someone who admitted they requested Christine Riccio's latest book to review (and subsequently bash) because they like to see if the YT author "deserved" to be published. The audacity of believing that people must be /deserving/ to be published, like it's a God-given right. Lol.

Ahhh this video.....so many thoughts, but really it all boils down to this: why do we keep inventing things that are supposed to be cool and make our lives better yet they just make everything more terrible and complicated and soul-sucking and

You know what's weird? One day I discovered someone put my fanfiction on GR and I was able to claim the author profile for them. One day I'll be actually published under my real name I hope and be able to claim that too.

Very helpful to get these insights! It was kind of a surprise to me to learn that some authors think 4 star reviews are bad! That probably explains some of the current drama that's been going on...

This buddy system explains so much. I've been really put off reading YA in recent years, because it feels like they never live up to the hype. I got so tired of picking up a "five star" book and finding it to be a two or three star, at best. I came away thinking the overall quality of YA must just be really trending down

I've been waiting for this one. Yes, I'm not a big fan of performative unkindness, or it could even get to the level of casual cruelty for entertainment's sake. I saw a lot of that on Tumblr before I became published. I would watch oodles of people gang up on writers and try to burn them down for crimes like 'Mary Sue', or being X religion. The problem becomes, Where is the author space? If you're an indie / self-published author like I am, you aren't going to fall into any tradpub's girl gang (

I can't wait to be a Goodreads author and do a dramatic reading of my one star reviews live on Twitch (because I will, I absolutely will, and no agent on this planet can stop me!)

The Clue reference made me SO happy!!!

I constantly forget I have a goodreads account until I’m looking for a new series 😂

The title of this one alone... ✨chef's kiss✨

I don't pay attention to my dashboard etc. I do sometimes peek at my books' ratings, but generally I try to stay away from the numbers for my own health.

I am 4 minutes into this video, and while I love using Goodreads as a reader, I think I would be terrified of it as an author.

It's like reviews on cooking/recipe sites: 5 stars "I loved this recipe so much. I added this and changed that and cooked it longer or shorter and made something completely different from the recipe I'm reviewing. But 5 stars because I know what dish they were trying to make."

I think this is the one time I wouldn't recommend switching to storygraph. I don't think SG has author functionality, however if you see any incorrect book info on SG, they are very good about fixing it asap.

This video really really makes me want to do a research project on Goodreads.

I rarely comment on RU-vid channels but I wanted to tell you that your advice has been amazingly helpful. Thank you so much!

So watching your video reminded me of 2 semi-related thoughts I've had: 1. The separation between creators and consumers needs to be reinforced. There are a lot of ways that social media and the internet has made creators more accessible to their audience and the more I see it the less I think it helps either party. Creators are suffering because they are being asked to handle continuous contact from thousands of strangers, many of whom do not act in good faith, and consumers are getting strung along by creators who know how to push the right buttons in the fan spaces. If you don't believe me on that second point, I would say just look at the worst instances of creators queerbaiting their audiences and think about how that couldn't have happened if the creators didn't know what pairings to tease and fan factions to rile up to drive up ratings (looking at you, Johnlock). 2. There was an author on Twitter a while back telling readers how if they don't give books 5 star reviews they're hurting creators, and I just could not get over the gall of it. The idea of being told how to review/consume something, that I owe an author anything besides the price of admission to consume whatever it is they produce was just bonkers to me. I did not engage him on the point, and I know that he said it because of how algorithms punish authors for things they can't control, but I immediately thought less of him as a creator for trying to game the system like that and for trying to frame it as something that consumers have to take responsibility for. It would be the worst author interaction I ever had if it weren't for that time an author picked a fight with me on Amazon over a 3 star review.

Oof, hearing about the ratios made me wince. I have such a hard time reviewing books I absolutely **love** so I rate it five stars and just leave it blank. It's so much easier to review a book I had quibbles with, and even easier to review a book I hated, but truly five star books? Can't think of a thing to say. 😅

Such a great topic! As a new author, I’m still in awe of how different my Goodreads experience is on this end 😂 I’ve recently had my first troll reviews and it’s so baffling. Like, why? And also how do you even know about my book? Lol

I am guilty! My friend gifted me a book by Sarah, J Mass. I force read the book (because my friend really likes her for some reason) I hated it so much that I created an account just to 1 star that book

I’m in so much pain right now, and honestly, you’re just so relaxing. Also, crazy helpful. Love you Alexa! ♥️♥️

As a reader, my issue with lists is that there are books in lists that shouldn't be on those lists. For example, lists for middle grade books inevitably include Twilight! (There's a ton of mix-up between middle grade and YA but I've seen it in other genres/categories.)

This is great to know. Thank you. I was always the type of person that saved the 5 star for something extraordinary. But now that I understand the review system I will be more generous with my 5 star rating.

I had to put myself on a Goodreads ban. If I saw something negative, it would put me in a funk for a week. I always squint if I have to go on my dashboard for whatever reason.

(For once, I know the drama alluded to! Wild.) Self-published author confession: I made an entirely separate Goodreads account for my book, for a couple reason. Perk is I was able to rate on my other account and add my book to a couple lists.

I adore your work! Never stop writing or your tutorials. I've learned more from you than any other writing source. You're so upbeat and positive, I get excited whenever you put up anything new. Don't stop!

I remember seeing Laura Sebastian’s Castles in their Bones book (which doesn’t come out until 2022) get two 1-star ratings and being so shocked that people were that petty and hateful. If you have that much free time on your hands, you need a hobby.

Wow! So glad you did this video! Have seen many 5 star reviews by folks who haven’t yet read the books. Learned so much and have seen many of what you mentioned. 🤔 Used to eye 4+ star books only. This’ll change how I look at books in Goodreads now.

If it's any consolation, I just read that 1 star review, because who can resist, and it's made me WANT to read your book. I hate it when people tell me what to think. That review didn't reflect negatively on your work at all, it just showed that that individuals taste wasn't in line with your audience. Which makes me curious about your audience and about your work.

I’m currently in a group of authors (some with many published books and others not yet published) that are taking a class on social media. I’m absolutely linking this video to the group. You’ve done a first rate job with this, Alexa. Thank you.

When I'm feeling inadequate about *anything* I'm trying to create, I read the worst reviews of my favorite books/movies/shows. (Try it; you'll feel better.) Also, a lot of the negative reviews of books I'm considering make me think the book is probably underrated.

How the search function works is literally why I don't use goodreads. I cannot figure out how to find what I want to find.

All so true! I was surprised how expensive the goodreads giveaways are. Also the messages notification drives me nuts too 😂

I'm so glad the era of "funny" gif reviews is dying. One of my favorite book series of all time has gotten destroyed in the goodreads reviews because a ton of popular reviewers thought it was YA when it's actually Adult. So all of the negative reviews are basically complaining about the fact that it's an adult book. The most-liked review of the first book in the series is one of those terrible gif reviews tearing the book apart, and it breaks my heart.

YES!! I was so hoping you would weigh in on this topic!! 🤗

i love how honest you are! i am not an author but i hope i will be one soon... honestly i dont even use goodreads as a reader! only to rate books of friend who ask me to, but i never got used to the platform and just use a regular notebook to keep track of readings, so i have no idea what i will do once i actually write, probably ill keep to the notebook anyway xD

This sounds consistent with what my husband tells me about what authors deal with on Goodreads. He's a librarian, he keeps a finger on the GR pulse as much as he reads review journals and every now and then he hells me something crazy happening. Thank you for sharing this perspective!

I gasped in delight at the Clue reference in the title!!

Yes to all of this! I will say, it has gotten better for me over time. I mean, all the things that are out of my control are still out of my control, but it's gotten easier to not look at reviews, or to care so deeply about that mean thing one person said about my book. But that's really something that only came with time and a lot of self discipline.

Thank you for this video! It was really helpful :)

OK I JUST NEED TO SCREAM HAPPILY ABOUT THE TITLE REFERENCING THE CLUE MOVIE. God, Madeline Kahn, love her.

I did not know that about questions on GoodReads. I could totally ask questions of authors I liked, I figured it would just be annoying.

Oh reviews in general are an insane for authors. Thanks so much for your insights and transparency yet again.

Stay off of Goodreads & stay off of Twitter! (I can understand Goodreads, but everyone should still delete their Twitter 😅)

I have a sorta popular comic on Webtoons and watching that rating occasionally go below 8 stars can feel sickening lol It's so petty but I know that feeling 😓

Well, you've convinced me to never connect an author account to my books and never check out my own books there.

I definitely thought of your videos and sage advice when I saw the most recent (I guess two weeks ago by now) Goodreads drama...!!

I learned so many things in this video. Wow.

Very interesting about the whole questions function! I fully ignored it because I don’t want to be on my goodreads page at all and so I knew I wouldn’t be around for questions. I didn’t even realize they counted as engagement. I’ll still be avoiding lol but interesting to know!

A goldmine of a question to leave in an author’s QA: What’s the question about your book you’ve been waiting for someone to ask?

Wow, this is a great video about Goodreads. Some of this is something I noticed as a reader using the site but it is interesting to see how authors use Goodreads. I also always read reviews because I feel that they are not genuine sometimes and I want to make sure that they have read the book. I never take the star ratings of books seriously because I feel a lot of reviewers are bandwagon reviewers. For example, one famous reviewer will say something and everyone else follows.

Thanks for another great video. You rock!

I've kinda always read the reviews when I take into account the stars, because they tell you why and liking things is subjective? But I think there are fewer people who don't think of that. But then I'm also someone who like to just rate books I read instead of carefully putting thought into them because I have a low bar of I enjoyed this, characters were cool nothing aggregious. And putting a review in feels like it deserves that thought and comparison and proper attention and honestly I don't have time in my day for that. (I'm a fast reader). But if I drop below a 3 star review I always leave a comment because those are the reviews I look at the most when I do look at reviews (I usually go this blurb interests me and give it a try. ngl kindle unlimited has been amazing for this). So when I do drop low it deserves to be told why. And usually I'll disclose things like I'm not a fan of this trope they used nor do I think they used it well so it's a low star. But that literally feeds into your rating things is subjective. Honestly I tend to give most books three or four stars based on the fact that three is I enjoyed might reread. Four is will definitely reread, will also recommend to people when they ask for a rec. Five is reserved for books I'll tell you to read without prompting. I'll just lurk behind you asking if you've read it yet until you read it to make me go away.

I have a question. If I have a goodreads account now and when I become an author, can I use a separate new account and delete the old account?

Hahaha! I did the exact opposite of what I was told by this video and started looking at the Goodreads of stuff I ghostwrote in the past. A lot of the reviews were like "This is bad" and I was like "I know" (it was because I could only do a first draft of everything before the deadline and the genre was not my cup of tea, but money, so yeah).

I honestly usually end up scrolling through all of a lists pages. My number one reason for even looking at lists is because I've read a book and want to read something else similar. Usually I've already read what's on the first few pages, so I have to go right to the back. I do agree with you about reviews though. I always pick out the 3 stars and focus on those, because I've found they're usually the most helpful when it comes to deciding what I want to read.

Thanks.great video topic

Great information to have as an author. Thank you!

So... what kind of questions should we ask Alexa on Goodreads so we can help promote her books?

Alexa! How do you manage to make video both informative and entertaining AF?! Btw if you are looking for a video idea I think the topic of how to get involved in the author/writing community would be soooo helpful. Especially because most of us are such big introverts... (yes I'm talking about myself)

This is so interesting! Also now I feel like I should think of questions...

No matter how they feel about JK Rowling and her views, I just find it interesting (and weird but then again not really) how readers would rate her new book with one-stars without reading it simply by the virtue of her opinions involving a certain community. Just my two cents.

I look forward to some day reading AT THE MERCY OF THE LIBRARIANS: A MEMOIR by Alexa Donne. :)

for some reason i already never really look at average ratings of books so i'm glad to hear that i should continue this practice XD

Sounds like it's best to just avoid the platform haha!

Great video! I was a reader on Goodreads years before I created an author account. It was a nightmare getting it set up, as I wanted to keep them separate. In order for me to look at my author account as 'the author' to add content, do updates, and link to my author website, I had to set it up and look at it through a different browser. Really? Ugh! I have a few author friends on the site, and I prefer that they rate and write a review on what they actually think about my books, and I rate and review the same. I do apply 'the author code' if I read a book that I think is bad, in that I won't rate and review it.

I don't usually like reviews on goodreads. I didn't think it mattered. It might be fun to start liking them though, especially if it helps the author.

It’s difficult to ignore the trolls! Thanks for this content 😊

You reminded me that I forgot to leave a review for my friend's book 😂

See this is why I never go by a book's rating, I just get the book and if I like it I like it and if I don't then I don't 🤷🏼‍♀️

I love the reference to Clue! "Flames on the side of my face, burning!" And "Men are like flies; strong, soft and disposable."

As a reviewer I'm glad to hear this; it'll help me review more helpfully and accurately. Wow, the drama 🤦🏽‍♀️🤔

Yesss to this “clue” reference 😂

Things I've learned: It's okay to 5 star books you really love and still have some minor flaws with [I always reserved 5 stars for literal perfection], Ask authors questions [I never ask because I assume they would be ignored], Don't like malicious reviews just because they're entertaining [I don't personally read 1 star reviews anyway, I like 3/4 star reviews because I know they're coming from someone that actually likes the book enough to have actually finished them but will warn me of anything that potentially be a turn off for me], You can PM authors [I had no idea honestly],

YOU REACHED 100K omg i just realised

I wouldn't like 5-star reviews because I never bother reading them. I have liked 4-star reviews though.

Oh god! Now I feel like I need to go write at least some semblance of a review on my latest ratings!

this video is DOPE. spot on

Your hair is exceptionally pretty today! Great info.

The title 😂 now I wanna watch clue

I'm halfway through the video.. this is such a good video 😂☕

Oh man... the conspicuously perfect questions on people's book pages... that point gave me tumblr flashbacks to some people who excelled at sending themselves those questions on anon and/or making their friends ask them that stuff... I guess it's a marketing skill, isn't it!