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97 points healsdata | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.209s | source
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Freak_NL ◴[] No.44376509[source]
> When I raised it with Goodreads they wouldn’t interfere as they said the reviewer had a perfect right to predict if they’d enjoy it or not.

Ah yes, the illustrious omniprescient reviewer.

I've published a novelette a few months ago on a large website with user ratings (ahem, as a novice writer of smut whose nom-de-plume shall remain a carefully guarded secret). What is interesting is that in the first fortnight there were some people giving a bad rating because, ostensibly (and judging from some comments), they just don't like that specific type of story, whereas in the long tail the average rating climbs upwards as people find your story using tags and keywords, etc, and then judge only the writing and story itself, rather than its subgenre, setting, or premise.

I wonder if real books reviewed on Goodreads follow that pattern too. Those early reviews can have an outsized influence.

replies(2): >>44376735 #>>44377218 #
1. pjc50 ◴[] No.44376735[source]
You've highlighted an additional problem, roving bands of morality police (various colours) who go on campaigns against books they've never read and authors they don't like.