I am working on a new rating system - the 5 star thing works, but I really didn't have much method behind it. Granted a 5 star book is a 5 star book, but I want to do something now that has a formula behind it. So take my rating for what you will and read the review - it gives more than the rating does anyway (at least I hope so).
Here is my new method that I will follow for forthcoming book reviews:
A total score of 10 is possible and I will divide the score by two for rating sites that have 5 stars (which is most of them). But on here my reviews will be a ?/10 and here is the guidelines along with some general explanations:
2 pts characters - do they grip me, feel like I am with them, in romance do sparks fly b/w them
2 pts plot - well plotted, everything flows, is there a message and is it well presented (if no real message in the book - it will not be penalized unless it was supposed to have a message)
2 pts writing - not stilted, conversations flow along with other writing, not too wordy or too sparse
1 pt attention holding ability - enough said
1 pt ending - not meaning acceptable to me but is everything tied up as it should be (if part of a series does it tie it up enough for the one book knowing there will be loose ends)
1 pt believable - if it's fiction is it too over-the-top - paranormal is a whole new world, so I'm not talking normal - just is it too much or not
1 pt romance/tension/suspense/etc - this is left open according to genre - how well does it match it's genre, is the romance good, is the suspense suspenseful, is it really geared towards young adults?
So there it is - I reserve the right to tweak this as I go along. I will also take suggestions of what you like to know about in a review - I'm still learning here and want to provide the best reviews I can, knowing the whole time that reviews are subjective.
So please offer suggestions if you have them, if not I will start my new ratings on Wednesday with my next fiction review (tomorrow's review is non-fiction and I really don't put ratings on them - I need to work out a system for that too).
Monday, January 25, 2010
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4 comments:
I'd say try it and see how it works for you. I know that I've tweaked my ratings a few times, and think most readers have as well.
Good luck!
That sounds like a good system, I am using a pretty boring system, just grading books out of 5 for their general feel. I hope the new system works how you want it to!
I think that is a good way to ease some frustration of trying to figure out how many stars to give something! Hope it works for you :)
Great rating system. I'm still with the 5 stars, it seems to work for me. Hope this new system gives you added flexibility.
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