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Agony Editor: Avert your gaze

Dear Agony Editor,

I was recently on Goodreads, checking out the ratings for my latest novel, and saw that a good friend had reviewed the book. While the review was positive, she only gave the book three out of five stars! Given our friendship, I think she should have given me five stars as a show of support. This has left me with some lingering resentment. How do I bring this up with her?

Signed,

Five-Star Friend

Dear Five-Star,

You don’t bring it up.

Your friend is entitled to her opinion and can rate any book however she wants. What she thinks of your work isn’t any of your business. I also think you’re being petty. Would you rather someone give you five stars out of a sense of loyalty that has nothing to do with your work? Or would you prefer to receive a three-star rating that reflects how the person honestly feels? As you say, at least the review she left was positive.

You’ll need to get over this, because you went looking for something you shouldn’t have been looking for in the first place. Remember what Dick Hallorann told Danny Torrance about room 237 in the film The Shining: “Stay out!” The same applies for Goodreads. Like any ratings forum, Goodreads is home to a cacophony of voices that can seriously impact your emotions. Case in point: your friend.

If you had stayed off Goodreads, you would never have seen your friend’s three-star rating, and you’d be living in blissful ignorance right now. I realize checking Goodreads is tempting. I realize reading those reviews can sometimes be insightful or validating. But it’s risky business, not unlike overhearing people having a conversation about you.

Ask yourself: do I really need to know what other people think of my work? If you’re proud of your book and you value what you’ve created, the things other people say about it – and how many stars they give it – don’t matter. Before visiting a site like Goodreads, take a few minutes and ask yourself if it’s worth it.

I think a more rewarding use of your time would be sharing a laugh with a good friend.

By:

March 16th, 2022

10:33 am

Category: Opinion

Issue Date: March 2022

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