How Many Stars Do You Expect?

Rik's Coffee Thoughts

Random thoughts, mostly about writing, publishing, sailing, God, cats, my life, my loves and whatever happens to run across my mind between the first espresso and the last cup of' before my shower.

Now - if I could only get Captain Hook to bring me my espresso without spilling it, we'd have a good thing going.

Star system of ranking books - who knows what it means?

Based on 40 plus years as an educator, I have evaluated the works of countless students, from Graduate School all the way up to four grade (8 year olds). As published indie authors, we are not in primary school and the grading of our work is probably much more akin to that of Graduate School. So, how did I grade the work of my graduate students?

1. I assumed that for a student to be in graduate school, they had to be good and so did their work.
2. Good work at the Grad level would get you a three. You're a graduate student, good work is expected.
3. Really good work would get you a four, and I would often read it more than once, think about it a bit, ponder it.
4. To get a FIVE it had to be so good I would be thinking "Wow, I have to show this to Dr. Smith. This might just make a good presentation paper at that Big Conference in Sydney, Australia next year "
5. FIVEs are not to be thrown around lightly. A paper with a single typo or grammatical error could never get a five. Ever! A five is perfect. Errors are not a display of perfection.

So - transfer those thoughts to your writing, to your published, professional work. You're a professional, offering a time of entertainment for a fee. It does not mater if the fee is 99 cents or $9.99 - if you are charging a fee, you are a professional.

And your readers are your "graders", they are "marking" your work. If you want a Five Star Review - if has to be perfect. Five out of Five is a perfect score! An ice skater at the Olympics does not get a perfect score if they stumble. To get a perfect score you cannot even stumble a tiny bit. 

If I review your book and it is a great read, but there are errors or poor grammar in places, it may be a "great read" but it won't (and shouldn't) get a five out of five!

Just Rik's morning coffee thoughts ...