I Tried NetGalley as an Indie Author so YOU Don't Have to... But seriously...

[@victoryediting3627]

Hi, Bethany! Thanks so much for this video--super informative. So a couple of things. 1) That 7-day cutoff before archive date drove me up a WALL. So stupid. I pitched a fit with NetGalley (and I'm sure other publishers did too), and they've changed it to three days, which I think is more than enough time for people who've been approved to download the ARC. 2) Thanks for that mention about the notification emails. I just changed the upload form so you can put that you don't want notifications. Reviews really are the devil. Sorry you had such a rough time with yours. 3) Absolutely agree with what you said. I never recommend Read Now, and I tell people to not be shy about declining requests. I actually came up with an analogy. Imagine your book is your child and you're trying to set them up on a date. Are you going to feel bad about not giving a thumbs-up to a drug dealer or a guy who has no plans but living at home forever? No. You don't want that for your kid. You don't want that for your book either. 😆 4) I think an impression is when they actually clicked to your book's page, though I could be wrong. Then clicked to read would be requests. NetGalley stats are a bit of a mystery, though they do have a very extensive help section. Thanks again for the shout-out. I really appreciate it. 🙂 Hope you had a great release!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Love all this feedback, thank you Anne! I'm going to pin this to the top so everyone can see because there's a ton of valuable info here! p.s. so happy to hear they changed the cut-off date, even if by only a little, that helps! Thank you again, it was a really cool experience! :D

[@victoryediting3627]

@@BethanyAtazadeh Absolutely. I'm okay with the three-day cutoff. For anyone wondering, what they're trying to prevent with that cutoff is an instance where someone requests an ARC and is approved but then the title gets archived before they can download the ARC. I get that. Personally, I think 48 hours is probably a fair window, but I can live with three days. I actually talked to my assistant, and we're going to try to set titles to private when they're due to archive in three days, that way requests aren't coming in that can't be fielded. And thank you again for this video. I'm always trying to make the co-op better, and this was some great feedback. 🙂

[@thelastmonte1]

I think 3 stars is a fine score. Some people will reserve 5 stars for only the absolute most perfect books. So that still sets a very high bar for 4 stars. 3 stars is likely high praise. We need a 10 star system.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That makes total sense - and I think a lot of people feel that way too! I hadn't really ever thought much about ratings before this though so it definitely challenged me to rethink what they meant haha!

[@helsphoenix2623]

Star reviews as per good reads are: one-I didn't like it, two-it was okay, three- I liked it, four- I really liked it, five- I loved it. Three stars is good. I'm not sure where this notion that they aren't came from but I take them as good as a reader and a writer. Not everyone is going to love your book and that is okay. We are all different!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah I think you're right, and the majority of comments seem to be saying the same thing that three stars is good. I definitely don't have a lot of experience on the reviewer side, so I just had to reframe my perspective to understand haha... But honestly I appreciate ALL reviews, even the one star ones, because I can learn from them! Glad you enjoyed the video! :)

[@helsphoenix2623]

@@BethanyAtazadeh Beautiful way to approach things. :)

[@douglasroff4131]

This was a great video that all newbies should watch; it is the honest emotional side of being an indie author. We want reviews, but ... We pour our hearts and souls into what we writre, it's like having a new child in the family. We want people to enjoy the experience we give them, but as an author we need to remember that a review is of our book, not us. Bethany hits the nail on the head on this point. Each and every review, good or bad is an emotional experience for the author. We want all five stars and for the readers adore our books, and emotionally, us. Our book was awesome and we're awesome. Unfortunately, that's not how the world works. Some people are mean, some are harsh and some are wonderful. Bethany is warning us, telling us to be prepared for that range of emotion. So much of what she describes I have felt. This was a great video. Is it about NetGalley - yes. It is lso definitely an honest sharing of an honest experience. Like I said, newbies should all prepare yourselves for heartache and elation. I'm ten years into my craft and my journey as an indie author, and I am so happy that I saw this today. I somehow feel I am not as alone on this journey we writers all share because there is another kindred soul out there we, I can, relate to. Writing is sometimes solitary. Do my family and friends really understanf us? This makes my day, and now I'm back at work invigorated for that next meh review. If you want love and adoration for your writing, do what I do. I read all my books to my dog, McDougall. He loves everything I write, especially around mealtime. He tells me I get 10 stars out of five, though truthfully I think he just wanrs a treat. Great job, Bethany.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Does this make you want to do NetGalley? I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks after hearing my story haha... I am leaning toward probably not doing it again, but mainly because I have developed such a wonderful ARC team over the years that it isn't necessary - if I was a brand new indie author on the other hand... maybe, if I had really thick skin lol!

[@mahamfatemi5660]

Hi Bethany! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I also think I won't be doing net galley (I was considering it, so your video was very informative!) I don't like how people are way too critical on there. They clearly liked your book but didn't want to give higher ratings, which I think is a bummer! One of the points of paying a service like this is to, yes, get reviews, but you *want* the reviews to be honest AND good reviews! Also, giving you virtual hugs because I could tell you were pretty upset by the reviews. I think it's so true that people in your target audience would rate your book differently than someone who isn't part of that audience!

[@faylaott4225]

I do want to try the route you took. I wasn't interested before due to cost, but your video helped me see a different avenue.

[@tracy-marie]

I would give it a try.

[@secretlyadragon4723]

I believe the main difference between the 273 'clicked to read' and the 201 'members with access' has to do with who actually followed through with a download after clicking on your book. Even when it was on auto-approve, there would have been some people who after clicking it and reading the synopsis might have changed their mind and not downloaded it. Of course after you changed the preference, you would have been the one approving who got it but the main difference I believe is between people who clicked on it and people who actually have a copy.

[@candicejenee-soulcadence5040]

I have been thinking about it, this makes me hesitant, but also might consider it for book 1 of my next series, since I’ll have more experience behind me & you recommend it for new(er) authors. I’ll just come back to this video & take your advice 😂😅

[@AmeliaStender9]

Bethany you're so inspiring because of your sensitivity which gives you an amazing ability to write these books and these characters with a tender heart. I would encourage you that 3 is not a negative response! it's positive if you put it in the percentage category. it is a 6 out of 10 which is 60% approval. Keep in mind you're asking people to judge your work. I think 3 says good, but can be even better in some areas! Be true to yourself and your vision without compromising but asking yourself "how could I improve this, if I could?" I think 3 is not negative at all! I'd be very excited to receive a 3 because that shows me approval, so I think it's how we frame it in our head what the stars mean. so, I would say this: just do your best, be you, have fun and don't let this knock you off your joy center! I love watching your videos because you're genuine and uplifting, and you bring a lot of experience to people like me, who are just getting started writing, and I've learned so much from you. At the end of the day how happy are you with what you wrote? I think that is the real question. Thanks for everything! Keep up the good work! And as for that one who did not like the world-building, she's apparently reading the wrong book! That was absolutely obvious to me as soon as you said it! :-) cheers!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Aww thank you so much Amelia, I appreciate that! That makes total sense, and I've had a lot of people tell me that too! I guess I just hadn't given reviews a ton of thought prior so it challenged me to rethink how I looked at them haha! But so glad that you enjoy the videos, that means a lot, and you make a good point - the ultimate reader we should care about is ourselves! Thanks for the encouragement! :D

[@kcesca]

I adore netgalley as an indie author, you can just chuck it on read now and it will do the work for you. It really is the easiest way to get reviews and attention, but I'm a mass writer who producers a book every six weeks or so, so I buy a bulk subscription every year. I typically get 300-600 readers per book. I really don't think co-ops work well on netgalley because they naturally fall to the bottom of the catagory, leaving your book almost invisible. When you 1st submit a new book, it gets on the front page of the website for a fews days, which helps you gain traction to remain on the front 5 pages of the most requested for your genre. If you fall below that you really will not get your moneys worth.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Ooooh that's really fascinating to hear your experience!! I could see that being extremely helpful if you had a high output like that, to help gain a lot of traction fast without as much of the work of sending arcs out manually like I typically do. But have to agree, having a book be featured seems to make a huge difference in how much interest it gets.

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

Interesting! When I was in publishing I used net galley but that was a lot of years ago. I need to update my knowledge

[@victoryediting3627]

Not sure what you mean by co-ops falling to the bottom of the category. Co-op books are treated the same as every other publisher's books on NetGalley. That said, yes, you are right--newer books are higher in the catalog and older books (not by publishing date but by the date they are added to NetGalley) are pushed down. As for Read Now--I'm glad you have a good experience with it. Some of my authors use that option, but overall the results Read Now generates aren't great, as Bethany pointed out.

[@TiyanaMarieWrites]

Yeah, I used a co-op (Victory Editing, in fact!) and was trending #1 in my category for a good solid week and maintained high visibility for weeks. I got *extremely* positive feedback about my cover and book description, so I think it's really important those are on-point if you're going to use NG, co-op or not.

[@ellieveravlogs]

Thank you Bethany for sharing your experience with NetGalley. I echo the others that 3 stars is pretty good! Whenever I've read stuff, giving a book 3 stars usually means it's something that I've enjoyed. 4 stars are books that I'm thinking of re-reading in the future, and 5 stars is for those that I know I will definitely re-read again. Based on your experience I'm now intrigued to try it (once I have a finished work anyways so that might still be quite far into the future lol). With my day job as a scientist, getting tough reviews is a given so I think I've sort of developed a thick skin for that, but the honesty in the feedback is something that I think is worthwhile getting.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That's encouraging to hear, thanks Ellie! I have readjusted my understanding of star reviews since the video because I think most people feel very similar to you and I just didn't realize! But yeah thick skin makes everything easier and honest reviews are extremely valuable, I agree!

[@elizabethruth5270]

I had no idea what net galley was, but now I do! I think I might try it for my debut! You hit a lot of bumps, but you pointed out how to avoid them. I think you should do it again for a first book or stand alone with what you learned this time in mind.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Haha that's awesome! I hope you have a great experience if you do try it, and just make sure you have thick skin going into it, that'll help a lot! :D (And I think it'd be super fun to experiment with it again someday... we shall see haha!)

[@patrickleitzen9752]

My favorite review was 4/5 stars from a person who publicly reviewed something in the neighborhood of 170 books and had an average review of 2.6 stars. Still makes me teary eyed

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Aww love that! Speaks volumes to hear praise from someone so honest!

[@billblume2877]

Bethany, thank you so much for this video. I'm going to be submitting my new book to NetGalley and this has made me a lot more comfortable about how to approach it. You've answered a lot of questions for me.

[@faylaott4225]

I just tried Book Sirens for my latest book. The cost is a lot less ($10.00 per book upload, and then you pay $2.00 per reader who actually downloads the ebook. They are quick to answer questions, so customer service is great. It's easy to narrow the audience as well. They are also careful to watch for readers who just download without following through on the reviews.

[@megdalena01]

That sounds really expensive. Bethany said she had 111 people read her book. That's $232 vs the $50 she paid. ouch.

[@mahamfatemi5660]

@@megdalena01 Booksirens has a limit. Once you spend $100, they automatically add you to their annual author plan, which you can send unlimited ARCs for a whole year and you don't have to pay anymore. So in this hypothetical case, after 45 readers, the other 66 readers would technically be free and included in the plan.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks for sharing Fayla! That sounds super interesting, I think I've heard of Book Sirens before, but don't know much about them! Could be really cool to try for a smaller number of arcs... I was reading the other comments on here though and found it super fascinating to do the math ... sounds like they cap at $100 but I would personally lean toward paying less (the $50 for the co-op for example) and then supplementing with my personal arc team which is completely free. But ultimately, getting reviews from readers is a win so that's awesome!

[@faylaott4225]

@@BethanyAtazadeh yes, I forgot to mention that part. I think it definitely works better for authors like me with a small fan base. I'm working hard to build my platform, but trying to work smart, too. It would also work well if you plan to release several titles a year. I so appreciate your videos, Bethany. Thanks for all you do for authorpreneurs! 🥰

[@faylaott4225]

@@mahamfatemi5660 thank you for adding to the discussion. I forgot to mention that part! 😊

[@cynthialovesbooks]

I use Netgalley as a reader and I only apply for books that I (1) am truly interested in and (2) that I know I can review by the deadline. I am still working on my first novel and I don't know if I would honestly use Netgalley since I plan to self-publish. Like you said, traditional publishers use it because they don't have an emotional stake in it and are free to filter reviews. If I were to consider it, I think I would ask a friend to be the one to sort reviews, much like on Goodreads. This video was really helpful. Thank you.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Love that! That is exactly what authors hope for and means so much to us, so thank you for making a point to do that! And I like that idea of bringing a friend in to be a buffer, because you're right that sometimes we're a little too close to the things we create to be unemotional haha

[@HowlBunny]

5 star to me means the book changed my life. That I would scream it’s name from the rooftops and die with it in my grave. 4 stars is an amazing book. 3 stars is a good book. A fun Read. 2 stars is a book that definitely needs some work. NetGalley to me seems like a library where anyone can walk in, read a book, leave a review. I think it’s good that your reaching readers outside your scope.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Haha love the rating system, makes total sense! Hmm I never thought about it like that, but it kind of is, very true. And I agree!

[@AmraPajalicAuthor]

Thank you so much for sharing. I've heard from other authors that NetGalley views are much more critical, but that you get more reviews so your experience confirmed what I've been hearing. I'm going to be dipping my toes in and putting up my next book up. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah I'd heard that too, so I shouldn't have been so surprised haha... Glad the video was helpful, and hope you have an awesome experience!

[@jennikramer1625]

"The bad stuff is easier to believe." -Vivian, AKA Pretty Woman. SO TRUE!

[@tracy-marie]

I agree. It is a tough position authors are put in when creating a series. You don’t want to give away too much because the next book won’t have enough interest. I am dealing with that now. I have yo make tough decisions now to hold something’s back.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Right? It's so tough to market subsequent books haha, you're not alone... I think personally that the secret is to just keep marketing book 1, even as subsequent books come out, because if book 1 is good, it'll naturally market all the following books in the series! :)

[@claytonwchurchill9308]

You said, “ After reading my reviews, the people pleaser in me is broken and confused.”…I totally relate. :) “I loved the story” 3 Star…, “I found the writing to be rushed” 5 Star…, “Vigilante Justice, I find offensive!”…5 Star, “An amazing read” 3 Star. HUH?????? My attitude and approach is this…I love to cook and most of the time (like book creation) my food is vey good (4 Star) to great(5 Star) but sometimes (but rarely) I get carried away with herbs, spices and salt (2-3 Star). So, I had made this AMAZING Bolognese Sauce (code for a meaty pasta sauce) and gave it to a friend who loves to eat but never has much to say about anything. He never said anything about what he thought about the sauce. The people pleaser in me wanted to know so I asked him, in person, “what did you think of my sauce? He shrugged his shoulders and said, Hmmm, it was okay”…:(. Needing to know why it was a 2-3 Star (the people pleaser in me and my interpretation of a Star value) I asked, “will you please tell me why you didn’t like it?” His reply was, “what do you mean, it was the best sauce I’ve ever had. So good I licked off the plate.”…….HUH? Lesson here, as you pointed out…everyone has a value system of their own and a Star Rating and descriptive choices of words are unique to every single person (reviewer). So…I strive to make the very best content, with the best freshest ingredients (that I believe will make it all come together) to be amazing….just remember, some love spice and salt and others loved bland and mild. NOTE TO SELF….”You can’t be everything to everyone, so stop trying and just do the very best you can with the ingredients you’ve got” “But really try to use less salt…really!” Enjoyed your video, thanks! Happy Holidays. C W Atlas ( pen name)

[@SheegogProductions]

(Oh, I've missed this style of video!) Thanks for another look into the publishing side of things, and I'm glad you found a way to make it work for you.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

So glad you liked it and that it was helpful! :D

[@k.c.lannon8563]

I had the same experience as you in 2020 with one of my books on Netgalley. I was totally unprepared for how harshly some reviewers rate books! But the experience really taught me about genre and reader expectations. Thanks for sharing!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yikes! So sorry you had a bit of an unhappy experience as well, but you sound like you have a really great perspective on it and it's a great learning opportunity for sure!

[@MWinklerBooks]

Thank you for sharing this journey. I sympathize so much with you on the emotional coaster. It's so hard to hear anyone didn't like your book. I'm glad you seem to understand that doesn't mean they don't like you, and it only means you didn't write it for them. :) I may do NetGalley someday, but I'm on book 2 of a trilogy that's taking years, so it'll be a while if I do. XD Thanks again for sharing the journey.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That's such a good way to phrase it, love that! So glad you enjoyed the video, and if you do decide to try NetGalley, hope it goes amazing! :D

[@MadgazelleFilms]

Oh goodness - thank you so much for being vulnerable and sharing this with us! I like your idea of limiting NetGalley to first books in a series and also controlling who can get access a little more. But I appreciate your detailed video because I learned so much!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

So glad you liked it! It was a bit scary to post and I almost didn't haha, but so glad it can be helpful to see what it's like!

[@MadgazelleFilms]

Oh I get that - which is why I wanted to thank you for being brave!

[@selfpubwithdale]

Great insights! I'd never heard of a NetGalley Co-Op, so this was GREAT news since that $300 cost is hard to justify.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Dale! I hadn't heard of co-op's before this either, so I was so excited - and I agree, $300 is ridiculous haha!

[@assylkhanatj4305]

Thank you for sharing your experience! Good luck and don't give up!

[@nicolepierson9621]

As a Netgalley Reviewer this was a very interesting watch. Your book sounds interesting, and I look forward to trying it.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Nicole, I really appreciate that! Hope you enjoy if you decide to read!

[@kle105]

Love your take on it from an author POV. I’ve been on Netgalley about 9 years as a reviewer. I think the access really means downloaded. Once you request or get approved you have to actually download before getting access. Even then we might not read it right away depending on publish date or how many books we have already. Three stars is good, I’m stingy with 5’s as I save those for books I love, loved it. In our profiles we specify the genres we read so that can help also with who to approve. Also some publishers do read now for a weekend only then require approval.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you, that means a lot from someone with your experience on NetGalley! Ahhh that makes total sense as far as how access works. Glad to hear that three stars seems to be generally considered good on netgalley, a lot of people have said that, so it was a good thing to hear and helps me reshape my view of the star system! (Oh, and love hearing that the read now thing is a good way to kick it off that other publishers do, so it wasn't a total loss!)

[@LeeAnnJ]

I like this. Don't beat yourself up. Think of it as a great way to improve, if anything. You reached outside your comfort zone and that's always a fantastic way to grow as an author. Look at it like this, your target audience gave you 4 star reviews which is fantastic. Those not in your typical genre gave you 3 star reviews, which to many, is average or slightly above. Think of it like this, a steak eater giving a vegetarian dish a 3 star review is a compliment to the chef. It's not something they normally eat but it is something they tried and genuinely liked.

[@sarahwawrzyniak]

I just heard about this in a Facebook group and am thinking about doing it for my debut fantasy romance novel. The other author mentioned they only approved accounts that gave good ratings, I hadn't thought much about that but now that I've seen your video I can see why this would be so important! Thanks for sharing Bethany! Such good information.

[@danapratola]

I love your views on the star ratings because it's exactly how I feel. Doing a co-op would be great for me. Fantastic idea!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you, I'm glad I'm not alone haha! It was a cool experience in a lot of ways, glad you liked it!

[@TheWriteAngle]

Thank you for your openness and honesty in this video. You captured the way many of us authors feel when we receive reviews.

[@RebeccaKSampson]

Love these case studies you do Bethany!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Rebecca!

[@jamiewhimsy]

Thanks for making such good video, it's very informative and i also like the personal/emotional layer of it

[@Averyr91]

Omg I adore you and this video! I love seeing the authors side I’m a reviewer not an author, and I’ve reviewed on Netgalley for about 3 years now??? And I’ll say a 3 star is an enjoyable read for me, it wasn’t perfect and needs improvement, but it’s average and enjoyable! A 3 star is by no means a bad book. Also I’d like to add, your reviewers did a very bad, unjustifiable job reviewing your book. They have no clear reasons as to why they disliked it, or the issues they had with the world building like they should have. This is why I believe Netgalley should have a minimum on sentence requirements and ask questions - too many people use it to get free books and are unprofessional. I’m inclined to agree with you friends somewhat, that people just wanted a free book. But I’m even more inclined to agree that in my experience with fellow reviewers - too many of them are not well written, have no experience in reviewing or the drive to do it well. It’s a oversaturated community now with a lot of people who think one sentence is a proper review. All in all, I hope in the future you get access to better reviewers. Don’t feel too bad - it’s likely the reviewers weren’t that good - as opposed to your actual book. Also: as someone with a 20% review rate until recently because I got VERY sick for 3 months and came back to like 50 approvals - I can promise you unless it’s Macmillan (they hate me LMAO they never approve) most top publishers didn’t care about my approval and/or waited for me to get it back up and then approved - never denied me them.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate this! This is all really helpful to know!

[@AuthorpreneurPodcast]

13:04 - Now, this is going to sound super nerdy, but I did create a spreadsheet and track the reviews so I could get a sense of what the majority of the readers were saying in the reviews. I've noticed that readers who buy the book have a different experience than the ARC readers who need to finish the book by a specific time, and most readers didn't raise the issue.

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

That’s super interesting! I love a good spreadsheet and analytics ❤

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Love that! I enjoy tracking things too, it can be super helpful!

[@SulaimanKarriem]

Great n Honest information. Thank you for this ❤

[@francisco5434]

I was in the Air Force and we used a ten point rating system to accompany a bullet list of accomplishments. Ten was supposed to be reserved for exceptional “Airmen of the Year” types, but there was no way to enforce it, and it became inflated, because people are subjective. A five that was intended to mean average became a career ender, so the vast majority were tens. They cut back to a five point system: same thing. Until you involve A.I. to gage feedback on content and discern both reviewer skill and develop metrics based off of keyword use in the feedback, the star ratings will be misleading. In the mean time, I would provide a survey checkbox so all reviewers evaluate the same things: “How unique were the character’s personalities?” 1. They all sounded the same … 10. They were distinct with different thoughts, preferences, and voice. Address all major points: Plot, tension, pacing, believability, motivation, goals, immersive readability, writing mechanics, writing craft (writer’s voice), climax, resolution, etc. This gives a solid range of choices on a set of primary story structure, so you are comparing apples to apples. A.I. assigns stars based on actual metrics. The only way you get an overall 2 is if all categories were 2’s. But getting a 10 has the same limitation. This would make getting extremely bad or extremely good ratings rare and more meaningful. Only then do you add your feedback thoughts on subjective open-ended questions: “What did you like best?”, “What’s your overall impression?” If the reasoning doesn’t match the checklist it is illogical and the author accepts or rejects it. If it logically matches, it’s automatically approved. The system could still be played, but it would be rare.

[@Dice-Gamble]

Hey Bethany, I'm working on releasing an industry-specific dictionary (so a reference book), for a business field that doesn't have one. Do you think that is something that I can get reviews for? (Yes, a very odd one)

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

For something so specific you might struggle to get the right readers there. What I would do is offer free ARCs in industry groups. That’s how I’m getting advanced readers for my book launch planner, offering it to ideal users in my network.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Hmmm that's a good question... For NetGalley specifically, you'd have to do some research, they *may* be only fiction, but I'm not sure? But for reviews in general - 100%!! You might not put a book like that on Goodreads, but on Amazon once you start selling it (or whatever vendor you work with) you can start to ask your target readers to leave a review. Check out my videos on ARCs for more info on that!

[@Dice-Gamble]

@@Financiallyfreeauthor Thank you Carolyn. Yeah, I was planning on sending ARCs to industry personnel in different countries/regions. I've just subbed to your channel. Would love to see what you've got in regards to launching books

[@Dice-Gamble]

​@@BethanyAtazadeh (Oh wow - feeling starstruck right now...lol). Thank you for that insight.. I will definitely check out your ARC videos. Also do you do consultations?

[@phantomx3.0]

had no idea what NetGalley was but this sounds interesting. thanks for sharing your perspective

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@vanessahenrymiles4118]

Thank you so much for being honest and helping us newbs’s out!

[@jocelynlasley738]

Thank you so much for sharing! Netgalley is something I have considered, and I think I am officially convinced I will hold off for now lol. I would be interested to see what happened if you tried it again after implementing what you've learned about how to choose your reviewers, but I totally understand if that's not something you're interested in after such an emotional experience.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Jocelyn! So glad it was helpful and I think I actually might attempt NetGalley again someday when the right book comes along - we shall see haha!

[@timtrottproductions]

Loved this video. One favor, thought - leave the titles on screen long enough to read. I had to roll back and pause (24:43) to read your final decision about using NetGalley again.

[@ZarinaAhmadzada]

I got on net galley as a reviewer 10ish days ago, I already got approved for 4 books, I'm only 10% through of them. To be absolutely honest, I didn't expect to be approved with my fresh account, that's why I applied to so many books back to back. I was like 'maybe one will choose to approve me' after watching this video, I feel the urgency to finish reading them. But I feel like I can't be too harsh now bc you guys are sitting there reading it. Pls don't guilt trip us to being nice when we feel something is not good or mediocre. Speaking of, 3 stars means mediocre not bad. It means it could be improved. But as you said, no one can please every single person. So please don't sit there and read the reviews 😢 to improve your book, I guess authors have other teams,no? Like the manager or the publisher, I don't know. Anyways, I'll go and read my books now 😅

[@mhappleton765]

Once again very helpful. Because of the mistake you made by not following the advice of the Co-op, I would suggest you try it again but operate based on what you have learnt. As a first time author, I will definitely give it a go.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Hope you have a good experience if you do!

[@cassie_hart]

That was super interesting, and definitely gave me things to think about. I think that because Netgalley started out as trad pub only, a lot of the readers there are used to trad books, and while there are absolutely many amazing self-published books out there, it's not exactly the same market - we have the ability to write things as niche as we want, or as off the wall as we want, as weird and wonderful as we'd like, whereas so many trad books fit within narrower 'this will pick up a buzz' kind of constraints. And I think people who primarily read trad books expect that. I'd be interested to give it a go at some point, though I'd want to do it with more restrictions as to who I approved after watching your video! Good to learn and grow though. And, you know your fan base adore your books!!! regardless of what those particular reviewers might think.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Cassie! You make some very good points, I never thought about it like that, very interesting! If you decide to try it, I hope you have an awesome experience!

[@RoseKindred]

This was interesting. I was looking into this before but sidetracked it because I always thought it was for established authors. Not for someone like me who is going to release their first indie book. Writing? Check. The whole social media and marketing thing, nope.

[@crazysmall.artist]

You're not gonna get very far if you don't do the social media marketing.

[@RoseKindred]

@@crazysmall.artist Yes obviously, I know that. It is difficult to learn how to do with someone in my position, so trying the best I can through tips on YT.

[@megdalena01]

Marketing is hard!! :(

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Rose! I always thought it was for traditionally published authors too, but if you're not super comfortable with social media and marketing, I'd recommend netgalley because it's definitely more hands off than other ways authors gather ARC readers and distribute them, so that's a plus! :)

[@theofficialzhang]

This might be a little late but personally, I have a different rating system for ARC books and books I read for personal enjoyment. For ARC books I tend to rate them on the basis of whether it is subjectively a good book or not (like does it have realistic characters, a good plot, worldbuilding, and themes? Is it easy to read? etc.) So those books tend to be rated higher since there isn't too much I can complain about for those things even if the book isn't for me. When I read books for personal reading, they tend to be rated lower. My personal rating system is like this: 1 Star - Hated it (very few books get this rating) 2 Stars - Dislike it 3 Stars - Okay book 4 Stars - Liked it (most books get this rating) 5 Stars - Absolutely adored it, one of my favourite books ever (very few books get this rating) Hope that helps!

[@georgefeliu2383]

Good video. I wish this video came out last September before I published my last novel. I'll probably try this for next novel. Thank you.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you! I wish I'd tried Netgalley sooner too, but I didn't try it til December haha... good luck trying it next time though, hope it goes well!

[@armanisar-feinial1789]

I've used it. The thing is that trad vs indie bias is a thing. We don't necessarily get breaks where a trad book would, ie, random typos. So, I presume if it's a 3 star, and they give me a raving review, presumably they have an issue with my prose, or there is a freaking typo.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That makes sense!

[@paulmahoney5326]

Hi Bethany, The way I rate it is: 5 Stars-excellent book like Harry Potter; 4 Stars-better than average, but not to J.K. Rowling's level; 3 Stars- Average or OK read, has some room for improvement; 2 Stars- Below Average-probably boring, predictable, or uninteresting characters/plot; 1 Star- Hated it, might not have finished it.

[@chuckpresti4795]

I'm a debut writer and this is Very helpful, thank you for sharing!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

So glad it was helpful!

[@fionahowellwrites5302]

3 stars is like average to me. That means I liked it but it wasn't my fave. 3 stars is good to me though. Doesn't mean I hated it. If I hated it, I would give it one or 2 stars. This was interesting. I was thinking of doing this for my book. I need more reviews...It's hard to get people to write reviews.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That makes total sense, and I've had a lot of people tell me that too! I guess I just hadn't given reviews a ton of thought prior so it challenged me to rethink how I looked at them haha!

[@gamexpress111]

I did wanted to try NetGalley but wow it was expensive when I saw the prices so I opted out. IDk after watching this video, I still think I would pass after hearing your experiences; they don't sound that great lol. But I do feel you about one star reviews aha but at least in that way, we can use those one star reviews and make our books better! We can use the feedback and surprise those people 😄

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Totally understandable! But yes, once we grow thicker skin, the one star reviews can often be surprisingly helpful and we can learn from them (or if they're just mean-spirited then we can laugh them away lol)

[@mrslilivincent]

This was such a great documentation of your experience. I think I'm going to do this as I'm a debit author this fall. Are there other places like this? Have you ever applied for a Kirkus review?

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Lili! I hope you have a good experience if you do! And I did Kirkus once on my debut, and personally saw it as a waste of money!

[@runningvibes]

Writing is subjective. As long as you’re writing the story you want to tell that’s all that matters. I enjoy your writing videos!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Very true! Thank you so much!

[@markmatthews1972]

Im not sure if you planned your review this way. One of your last sentences was that you could look at the reviewers profiles to determine how many starts they normally gave out. Thats some very important info, maybe add that towards the front half. Overall great review, ive never heard of NetGally before. Im a unpublished fantasy wannabe author. Im thinking ill use the site. Again, gr8 stuff, thanks.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

I didn't sorry! It just came out that way. Glad it was helpful!

[@MissShembre]

Have you looked into Book Siren? It seems to be similar. I signed up a few months ago and have post pub ARC'd 1 book so far. The other ARCs have been through fb.

[@patriciawalker7098]

Thank you.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

You're welcome!

[@d.e.carlson4145]

Thank you for the informative video! Quick question, is it considered acceptable for authors to share reviews on social media? Do you have to ask the reviewer permission first? Obviously I wouldn’t want to share the bad ones but I might want to share the good and I’m wondering what the common curtesy is!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

They’re considered public! I think sharing a negative review wouldn’t be a smart move, but sharing a positive one and thanking the reviewer is usually seen as a compliment!

[@SunshineJoleen]

3/5 means better than average. 5/5 is a perfect score. 4/5 is VERY good, almost perfect. I think being worried about a better than average score reflects the school system where one was educated. I lived in France for many years, where tests are graded out of 20. Teachers would tell you flat: "20/20 is for God. 19/20 is for the teacher," so I sometimes have to dial back my alarm when people expect a perfect score. Think of it this way. You'd be proud if your restaurant had been awarded 3 or 4 Michelin stars. Not every restaurant is a 5-star restaurant, but if you told someone that you dined at a 3-star restaurant in Paris, they would assume that the food was really good and probably a bit pricey! -- Bad 🌟 Readable 🌟 🌟 Shows potential 🌟🌟🌟 Good 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Amazing 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Nominate her for a Pulitzer As a reader, I'd buy your book based on a 3-star rating and positive comments... so don't worry!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

I love that perspective! Thank you for the encouragement! :)

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

A lot of positive comments on your world building! As someone who sucks at world building, I’m impressed ❤

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Aww thank you so much Carolyn, I appreciate that! Worldbuilding is hard but so fun!

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

@@BethanyAtazadeh I am seriously in awe of people who are able to do it!

[@wordfullyyours]

Since you mentioned it in the vid, I'm both a writer and a reviewer. I try to stick to the books written by people either long parted from this world or make too much money to care what I think lol

[@badraven_indieauthor]

Bethany, with all your due respect, being a people pleaser will never work for me. Having said that, we have different outlooks in writing. If someone likes my writing and wants to come aboard and enjoy the ride, good!but if not, that's Ok. I'm so glad you have exposure and wish you all the success in the world!

[@rolirolster]

I'd take any review at the moment, even a 'one star, I hate it' review.

[@lesleybarklay798]

Everyone's so funny about reviews. I will give a three star review to a book I finished, and thought was good, and enjoyed. Typically, I would continue reading the series, but it's probably not a book I'll read over and over again. I see three stars as a good review 😀

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That’s so fascinating because it seems like the majority of comments on this video agree with you, and I had no idea this was the common opinion but it’s so encouraging and reassuring to hear!

[@lesleybarklay798]

@@BethanyAtazadeh another writer's group I'm a part of have the same opinion as you, seeing three stars as bad. I think maybe Goodreads calls three stars "good", but in Amazon's description says (I believe) "okay."

[@nvb888]

Thank you for sharing. I understand how you feel, and I am happy that you are taking steps toward processing your emotions in a healthy way. It might be helpful for you to familiarize yourself with the traits of narcissists. They are individuals who only value themselves and belittle others to boost their own ego. Once you become aware of their behaviour patterns, their opinions won't affect you as much.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

So glad you enjoyed the video! And while there probably are a few individuals like that out there, I think the majority of these reviewers didn't have any ill will and were just giving their honest opinions, and a lot of them were very good reviews! So I think this video is in a lot of ways just a reflection of an emotional author right before a book release haha - but I honestly welcome all reviews! Even bad ones can be helpful for authors because we can learn from them!

[@nvb888]

@@BethanyAtazadeh I am so glad that you look at the situation in this way! I was just trying to protect your wonderful sensitive nature. I also believe that it is important to be able to take "constructive criticism." But some criticism is useless, and it is important to be able to recognize it, instead of trying to find faults in your work, or even yourself. I am sure that you are able to overcome all this:) Best of luck to you!

[@thewritingsongbird5108]

This was really interesting, thank you!!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@zrienkersh1475]

Why would they cut off books on the last week?? Have heard really nothing great about Netgalley.

[@ProfessorBurlingame]

Oh, Bethany! I'm so sorry you were put through the review ringer right before your publication date. As always, I'm impressed with your fearlessness when it comes to trying out new opportunities as an indie author. You're my hero. I can say as an anthropologist that your reaction to other people's opinions has something to do with the brain, but even more to do with your sense of self and safety in your world. Of course you want people to understand and accept your book. It's an extension of you and people not liking it feels like them not liking, understanding or accepting you. This can feel dangerous. But, I think you've realized that opinions don't have to be taken so personally. They really are more about the person with the opinion than they are about the thing they're judging. I say give NetGalley another go, but with the tweaks you mentioned and after a spa day. 🙂

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you! And that makes total sense that we focus more on negativity as humans, I have heard that before! But I definitely get thicker skin after a book is released and has been out for a while, so I probably would just avoid reading reviews until after a release in the future haha!

[@ProfessorBurlingame]

@@BethanyAtazadeh It seems like the only sane thing to do if any author wants to maintain their mental health!

[@EmbraceTerror]

What bases do you approve readers? Do they give a profile of what genre' they read -- yours or not -- that you could give you valid information to approve or reject reviewers?

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

At first, like I said in the video, I accepted everyone - but after doing more research, I found that trad pub requires an 80% review rating or higher, so I made that a factor. I also required that they listed my book's genre as a genre they actually enjoyed reading. If they don't even enjoy fantasy, I wouldn't approve them haha

[@EmbraceTerror]

@@BethanyAtazadeh Nice! (I remember you said the first two parts, but not the third. Sorry.)

[@heatherr2141]

I'm almost exclusively an audio book Reviewer. But this is a fascinating side to hear. I'm so interested in your side. I've never thought about the fact that authors have to PAY. That's interesting, it makes sense. But I'm shocked I didn't think about it sooner.

[@heatherr2141]

I'm going to keep replying to my own comment to keep them in order. I had NO IDEA that the author was the one reading these reviews. I thought it was thru the publishers. I feel AWFUL. 😢. I post my most brutal and raw reviews in netgalley. If it's not a 4 star or higher I don't post about it about it outside of netgalley. But the idea of me hurting an authors feelings is making me so so sad

[@heatherr2141]

Sorry, your getting like a verbal vomit commentary of my thought process

[@heatherr2141]

I know that last year 2022 I went thru a "yes year" where I read whatever. But you really want to love a book on release day. I read 315 books last year. I regret reading less than 5. But I totally get what you mean about "auto approval"

[@heatherr2141]

So the 201 members downloaded the book before you archived it. Where as 278 people had access to it originally!!!

[@heatherr2141]

That's so weird that you don't get your full month

[@nodels100]

I feel your struggle so much! The review system and the star system are so contradicting it's almost ironic. The true problem is that some people get really into "free books" but don't really look into the genre. I had horrible people reviewing my book and taking a stab at me personally because they weren't my target audience. It's a shame, really, that because of people like these, the book has a bad rating (3.5 out of 5, which is pretty bad in my mind). And truly, it's just one of these things on the internet, in which people are really nitpicky about pretty much anything that doesn't apply to them, and like - if you don't like the book genre, just don't read it! no need to badmouth something you don't like because you're not the target audience. I'm still happy you got good reviews, even if some of them were confusing! thank you for sharing your experience!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah it's a really wide range of opinions when it comes to what the star ratings mean, but in the end I agree with you, the target reader is the only one that really matters! So glad you enjoyed the video! :)

[@kathleenbolanos]

Aww! I would have CRIED!! Im so sorry ❤❤❤

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Kathleen! There were some tough moments, but I keep growing thicker skin with each book haha!

[@MissShembre]

I haven't had a book to review yet, but I have an Etsy shop. The standard goes like this: 5 stars is you got your item in a timely fashion and it is as pictured. 4 stars is maybe it broke but the seller is a good person. Then 1 star is you didn't get the item OR the reviewer is actually unreasonable. Some reviews will be confusing-- like the 4 star people who had a great experience but NEVER give 5 stars for personal arbitrary reasons, or people who give reviews without talking to me first about their problem. I was bummed last week because a customer I absolutely bent over backwards for left only a rating. It was 5 stars, but I literally made a new sewing pattern and spent large chunks of time communicating with this customer. I wish I had tips on overcoming this, because I'm people please-y, too, but the only advice I can give is that people just be people, but I suspect you already know this

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Aww man that's rough! I could see the rating system being equally confusing as a seller on etsy!

[@JoshBearheart]

I'm not sure I would go with NetGalley as it kind of appears to be more catered for people who just want free books than people who actually want to leave an honest review. A couple of the reviews you shared looked detailed, but others seem more like they were just leaving a review because it was expected. It also struck me as not everyone who read it would be the target audience (which you point out), which would cause the reviews to be skewed. I recently got a review over on Reader's Choice, which actually was a much better review than I expected. I think they offer free reviews, but mine was part of the contest I entered over there. I'm not a fan of paying for reviews, though I can understand the idea behind it. Getting reviews at all is a real pain, but that makes each one worth even more!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah I think I prefer the free option of creating an ARC team and getting reviews from target readers who truly enjoy the story as well, it's more work, but it's free and very valuable!

[@morningcoffeesubs9008]

I just got netgalley as a reviewer as I have my own Bookstagram and I love the idea. However, there's of course responsibility with it because if I request a book I definitely will read it within 2 weeks and I'm aware that this is expected from me. I feel like that if a book doesn't need to be requested, some users might grab it to read it whenever - the timeline doesn't feel as strict potentially. What I find really odd is giving a 3 star rating and only writing positive aspects. I read books that I enjoyed and gave 3 stars because of certain things like the writing style. However, if that's the case, the reviewer should definitely go into detail why it's 3 stars and how they didn't rate it higher. I feel like that's very helpful for authors but also makes the review more trustworthy. I totally get why a 3 star rating only with positive content makes you confused.

[@pithygrapefruit]

I don’t feel like 3 stars is a bad review to need justification. 3 stars is actually a good review for most books. 4 is great. 5 is usually best of the year or all time favorite.

[@AuthorpreneurPodcast]

11:05 - I was just about to suggest this. Like you, I have opened ARC campaigns up on other platforms and received a multitude of low-rated three-star ARC reviews and a two-star arc review from another self-published author in my genre on another site that's similar to NetGalley. And, even when you manually approve the readers, some of these styles of reviewers will slip in. And there's nothing wrong with a reader who likes a book and gives it three stars; I'm talking about that reviewer who readers everything and has a review average of 2.8 stars.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah that's a good way to describe it, it's like those specific types of readers see 3 stars as the top rating haha...

[@ahsokatano22]

You mentioned the psychology and someone who loves psychology I just wanted to add here: Humans as social creatures want a place to belong and be accepted. And when a negative thing is said about you, you can -not everyone does, and I do think it depends on what is said, but you can hyper focus on the negative because of this. It is, if I remember correctly, an evolutionary tactic for survival, to be apart of a group and socially accepted by said group.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That makes total sense!

[@susanbuckminster282]

Thank you!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

You're welcome!

[@wielandsmith]

Yeah, I agree. Three stars would make me feel bad, but I guess some people are comparing you to Shakespeare... So 5 stars Shakespeare... 4 stars Poe... then again I like the idea of sending it towards your specific audience, and it shows there are so many different tastes and opinions. I'm finishing up my first book and the onslaught of what people think has been pretty difficult to take.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Haha! Yeah it's all relative and to a lot of reviewers, from the comments on this video, it seems 3 stars isn't really considered bad, so it's all subjective! But don't worry, other people's opinions about your story can be really intense at first, but after a while, you grow thicker skin and remember that your ultimate number one reader is YOU! :)

[@devongambrell]

Would this be similar to Book Sirens?

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

I bet it's very similar!

[@tammay7254]

Great video! As an indie author, I don’t consider 3 stars an “I hated the book” but more of a “Meh, it was OK but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Tam! That makes total sense, and I've had a lot of people tell me that too! I guess I just hadn't given reviews a ton of thought prior so it challenged me to rethink how I looked at them haha!

[@writercleavebourbon]

Adding on about 3 star reviews. I agree with you. I cringe at them. I have also heard they are good on goodreads etc. And I agree with the argument that all 5 star reviews are suspicious, so it's good to have lower reviews here and there. What I don't like is how some promotional sites require 5 reviews at 4 stars or more. If you have a book with a lot of reviews that's fine but a book with just a few reviews and a reviewer who "likes" the book but only gives it 3 stars because they think that's high praise is actually hurting you and your promotional efforts. I know some people who say 5 stars is perfection so I do not give that high because there is no perfect book!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That's interesting, I hadn't thought about it that way!

[@kamillamikkelsen4698]

I think it's misleading that you can approve people based on their review rating I can see the meaning in e.g. approving based by genre, finished books and like that

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

It’s an average, not a guaranteed number. ;) if someone has an average of one star rating then I’d view them as not giving books a fair chance and find it totally reasonable to reject them.

[@matthewdeancole]

Your experience lines up with what else I heard about NetGalley i.e. NetGalley reviewers tend to be tougher on the ratings.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah that kinda sums up the overall experience really well!

[@everynewdayisablessing8509]

I watched other videos on this subject and decided it is not worth it. You get professional reviewers with extremally high standards that will read your book even though it may not be their genre. Best opinions are from people who love the genre you write in. What a librarian may hate, they may love, so NET GALLEY is not for me. I would cry for days for having so many 3 stars, and those people said they liked it, so... NG is for people with steel nerves and deep pockets. I would rather hear from my readers. Hugs to you for going through this tough experiment.

[@wysteriafox2977]

To me a 3 star review means i liked it but wasnt in love with it. Just basically inoffensive and fine that i read it

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That makes sense - and I think a lot of people feel that way too! I hadn't really ever thought much about ratings before this though so it definitely challenged me to rethink what they meant haha!

[@cynthiagates9627]

Please don’t read too much into the reviews like you said. You are talented and have done what so many people say they’ll do in writing a book and more importantly fine tuning the craft. I’m a published author as well and I once had this guy leave a review saying that there was too much slang in my book. Funny, because my book has ZERO slang in it yet he gave it 4 stars ? I am still offended by the review but that’s just his weird opinion. Writing and publishing books opens the door for all kinds of reviews you just can’t take them to heart. Have a good day :)

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you so much Cynthia, I really appreciate that encouragement! It's definitely tough to hear criticism, but when it's relevant it can help us grow! And when it's not relevant like the review you mentioned-which trust me I can relate to, because I have a couple super off reviews on The Stolen Kingdom like that lol-then you just gotta brush it off and not let it affect you, because you know it's false. I've actually heard that sometimes people accidentally review the wrong books, so there's a chance that person wasn't even talking about your book and just picked the wrong one. Very unfortunate, but it happens!

[@wielandsmith]

Human brain selective memory is apparently a survival mechanism.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

I've heard that!

[@vivian7518]

My experience was similar! I put my debut novel on netgalley and some readers downloaded it, dnf-ed it within a day, then gave me 1 star ratings. I haven't really been able to get other types of reviews, so my avarage rating on goodreads is terribe. It was even below 3 stars at some point. This was the first time anyone read my writing (besides beta readers and my editor) and I felt horrible.

[@Financiallyfreeauthor]

Oh my goodness that’s so heartbreaking. I’m sorry. Putting your writing out there is hard enough!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Aww man I'm so sorry Vivian! It can be so hard to get the first bad review on something we poured so much of our heart and soul into, but just know that it's only ONE person's opinion. YOU are the most important reader of your book as an author, and as long as you were true to the story you wanted to tell, that's what matters, and the reader's who need it will love it!

[@DavidaChazan]

As a reviewer, you should know that three stars is a good rating, and you shouldn't think those are bad. As for access, not everyone visiting NetGalley will get the "request" or "read now" button. It depends on where your publisher has international release rights. So, because I don't live in an English speaking country or Europe, instead of either of those buttons, sometimes I'll get a "wish for it" instead. That's supposed to tell the publisher something, but I'm not exactly sure what, since I've never had any of my wishes come true. Also, keep in mind that not everyone can put their reviews on Amazon, either. Amazon can be really shitty about this. Often it doesn't let us put up reviews if we haven't spent enough money on the site (yes, really)! Mind you, it can be arbitrary with them - go figure! Finally, I don't know if you can see it, but if you can, you might want to check to see if the reviewer has put up any links with their review, like to their blog. If so, and if I was you, I'd go to those blogs, and read their reviews there, and maybe put up some comment about it. So, for example, it sounds like this book is part of a series, but maybe that wasn't obvious in the blurb. Sometimes people will feel like a book is unfinished if it is part of a series and they didn't know that, and that will effect your star rating. Also, sometimes we give out half stars, but these sites don't let us do that. In those cases we have to decide if we should round up or round down. You might have gotten more people rounding down to three instead of rounding up to four. Keep it in mind. (And no, I'm not going to read your book - I don't read YA or Fantasy. Sorry!)

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah I think you're right, and the majority of comments seem to be saying the same thing that three stars is good. I definitely don't have a lot of experience on the reviewer side, so I just had to reframe my perspective to understand haha... And I had no idea that NetGalley had different options outside the U.S.! I did know about Amazon being finicky though, such a bummer from the author perspective, so I hope they relax their rules a bit someday but unlikely... That makes total sense, thanks for sharing!

[@DavidaChazan]

@@BethanyAtazadeh Do you get wigets you can send out to bloggers? Because YA Fantasy has a HUGE following in the book blogging world. If you find those reviewers, and send them widgets to your books, you have a better chance of getting more reviews.

[@Fr0stGenesis]

Thank you for traumatizing yourself for our benefit. As a new fantasy indie author, I shall learn well from this wisdom 😄

[@Writing4Jesus247]

Everyone's rating system is different. I had someone say they loved my book, had no negative comments but they gave it 4 stars so I was like ".....What didn't you like? What made it not 5 stars??" Like so confused lol. My star rating is ⭐ hated it ⭐⭐ didn't really like it ⭐⭐⭐ enjoyed it, cute read ⭐⭐⭐⭐ really enjoyed it, solid read! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ incredible! Loved it! Read it, everybody!! So idk if that helps. It's hard when two readers say the exact opposite! Usually I just go with the positive person😂

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

That star rating makes total sense! Haha love the perspective of leaning towards the positive review!

[@Writing4Jesus247]

@@BethanyAtazadeh hehe thanks!😊

[@patrickleitzen9752]

Just remember, 3/5 is still over the 50% mark, so above average :)

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Very true, thank you!

[@elaynegriffith]

Awww, totally hear you on the hyper focusing on the bad reviews! I got a rather harsh and demeaning review from this clearly conservative, old, white trucker guy (not my audience at all) who accidentally gave me a compliment by saying my SF was “A future as imagined by Greta Thunberg, but at least more imaginative” as if that was a bad thing 😂 I was like, “oh my, why thank you, sir. Yes. Yes it is.” 🤣 I thought about reporting it to Amazon cause it was mean spirited and kinda misogynistic, but he actually endorsed it to my target audience, and helped me see who my specific audience was/wasn’t. He also read the whole thing even though he hated it. Thanks! Lol. As for netgally. Idk. Maybe. Maybe for my fantasy series release at the end of 2023. Thanks for all the insight! Sorry you had to go through the trenches for us though 😆 Have a cocktail and a hug 🍸🤗 You’re doing great!

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

It's so easy to do! But that's a good perspective on the review you received, that cracked me up! If you do decide to try NetGalley, I hope you have a great experience! Thank you!

[@romeoandthechickenfeather]

Well, I mean, if Pride and Prejudice is a 5 star review, I can see why people don't give them out lol Personally speaking, very few books come close to that level for me. Ultimately, I guess you just have to keep in mind that you produced the book you envisioned - other people's reviews are valid, but have to be viewed through that lens.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

LOL! I could've used a different example, where if you look at your favorite book in the world, no matter what it is, you'll find a one star review. And that's a better depiction of how it's all preference and everyone likes different kinds of books - and you're right that everyone has a different lens!

[@daximil]

As I'm certain many people on here are saying, I don't like giving 5 star reviews on anything. 3 stars means it's good. 4 stars means it's great. 5 stars means that it's the most amazing, fantastic, eye-opening, life changing, "the world has become a completely different place for me", thing I have ever read in my entire life. 5 stars means it will go down in the bowels of history as "the moment" when all of creation radically changed. 5 stars means that God himself read it and went "Wow. That's good. I never even though of that!" So I wouldn't be too worried about not getting those 5 star reviews. 🤣🤣

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah you're right, that seems to be a really common theme that 5 stars are very rarely given out... It's refreshing to hear how other people view the rating system, because it definitely helps me understand how other people approach it compared to how I always approached it haha! Thanks for the encouragement!

[@EmbraceTerror]

I'd say that the bad reviewers were being dishonest -- and you fell for it emotionally. To call any fantasy book a textbook is not being honest. If they said that your book felt dry like a textbook to them, even if they were still being dishonest the review would seemingly come from their feelings about your book and not related to your book's contents. As for calling your world-building bad, that is subjective (assuming the reviewer was being honest). Telling what they didn't like about your world-building would be more honest whether or not you agree with the statements (again, assuming they were leaving an honest opinion and not trying to get you to react emotionally).

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thank you Deb, I really appreciate the encouragement!!

[@samanthas6073]

I think you’re being a little unreasonable. Everyone has their own rating system. A three star doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. Many people consider 3 good or at least okay. I say this as an author who has used Net Galley many times. I have been where you are, hyper focused on some of the bad reviews even as I receive good reviews. I had one reviewer claim my book was a waste of time. I will never forget that review because it was for my debut and it gutted me at the time. Pretty sure I cried about it, lol. But I had to learn to just tune out the reviews OR accept that not everyone is going to gush about it. If you do look at a lot of the lower stars they’re usually from readers who rate lower in general. I also think NG reviewers are just tougher than reviewers you’d find elsewhere like on Booksprout, Book Sirens, or Hidden Gems. At least that has been my experience. It’s probably for the best to not open the review emails or opt out of the option to receive them. I began sending mine to spam so I wouldn’t be tempted to look at it. Victory is great though.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Yeah that seems to be the common theme in a lot of comments, that three stars aren't considered bad to most people. I just had to reshape my view of them and come to that understanding, and it took a little time. So sorry you had such a rough review like that, every author gets them no matter how good a book is, but they still hurt! It's totally normal, but I can definitely say that with time, we grow thicker skin! :)

[@RidleyPark]

⭐⭐⭐ is average. 😉

[@taniascott452]

You're being too hard on yourself, 3 stars is good! A lot of these reviewers are pretty critical. My books always score lower on goodreads than amazon for example.

[@BethanyAtazadeh]

Thanks Tania! That means a lot, I appreciate it! And yeah I've heard Goodreads is consistently a lot lower than Amazon for pretty much all authors... kinda weird and not sure why haha, but it's true!