By Hannah Johnson
The recently released book, Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (published by Harper), was well-received by newspaper and online book reviewers for its examination of the 2008 presidential campaign in the USA and how Obama won the election.
So why does this book have a 2/5 star-rating on Amazon.com?
It has nothing to do with the content. Kindle users are upset over the delayed e-book release of Game Change and they have collectively given the book one-star ratings in protest.
However, this has also sparked a debate in the book’s discussion forum about the fairness of this tactic and whether ratings should pertain only to the book’s content or also to its format. Readers without Kindles are upset by the ratings manipulation, and some are calling for Amazon to delete the one-star ratings for this book.
As more consumers start reading e-books, I think we can expect this type of debate to intensify. The good news is that readers are still passionate about their books, no matter which side of the debate they are on.
By Chip Rossetti In the fall of 2004, I was an editor at a New York publishing house, [...]
• Cognito Comics is launching an immersive digital graphic novel called Operation Ajax, [...]
marita
6 months ago
I don’t know much about how publishers decide to release Kindle versions, but it seems to me that a book with a 2-star rating would not be a top priority. The ratings are probably slowing the whole process down. Don’t rate the book if you haven’t read it, jerkfaces!
Unhappy Kindle users unleash a flood of one-star reviews for title with no e-book editon | Quill & Quire
6 months ago
[...] at Publishing Perspectives, Hannah Johnson highlights an interesting phenomenon surrounding a book called Game Change, the controversial political tell-all about how Barack Obama [...]
Hannah
6 months ago
Many publishers delay the e-book release to boost sales of the hardcover edition, from which they make more money. I think Kindle users are trying to show publishers that they have the ability to influence book sales as much as print buyers and that they are unhappy with publishers’ decisions to delay the release of e-book versions.
Andrew Malkin
6 months ago
We are experiencing a somewhat similar consumer reaction to our iPhone app that just was released. We have over 350 ratings many of which are 4-5 stars but magazine readers want their preferred magazines on the app NOW. We aren’t delaying, just simply getting as many up as quickly as possible. Consumers should be pushing the content creator/owner. Look for hundreds more magazines across categories in the coming month with books to follow.
Consider the Customer and Other Lessons from the DLD Conference
6 months ago
[...] This represents a shift in the way businesses develop new content and products. “The consumer is squarely in charge,” said Nike CMO Trevor Edwards during a panel about marketing strategy, and “each consumer has a lot of influence” (think one-star ratings for Kindle-less books). [...]
Kristen McLean
6 months ago
This is a structural issue with Amazon’s ratings. Amazon goes to great lengths not to meddle with the crowd-source function, even in cases where the ratings are not accurate for one reason or another. This leaves authors and publishers wide open for cyber-attacks in the case of customer frustration, ignorance, or plain old ill-will. I appreciate the message Kindle users were sending about wanting a K-version, but there needs to be a different feedback loop for that. Otherwise readers looking for a book will have their opinions skewed by those protest votes that have nothing to do with the value of the content. I DO believe this issue could be managed is Amazon introduced some more structure into the review mechanism. What about a Consumer Reports type system where there are ratings on the technology separate from the content. This will become increasingly important over time as different platforms fight it out for the digital marketplace. As it is, no one is being well served….the reader, the author, or the publisher.
Why Amazon Rankings Can Be Deceiving | Market My Novel
4 months ago
[...] One-Star Ratings on Amazon for Book without Kindle Version (GREAT post from Publishing Perspectives) [...]