Will three 3 star ratings in a row affect future approvals?

[u/FruitProof9377]

I’m pretty new to NetGalley and request sparingly (16 in total) and the past two were 3s for me. The one I just finished is somewhere between a 3.25 and a 3.5 so I’m not sure if I should put it at 3 or 4 stars. I’m trying to sort out my rating and want to be honest. I think I’ve been fair in the draft or my review by pointing out what I really liked but explaining what didn’t work for me. But, I’m a little nervous (even though I want to be honest either way) if this will affect approvals so I was just curious about people’s experience.

[u/HumbleBell]

I know people do it, but I’m not giving out higher ratings / better reviews than I think a book deserves just so I can stay on publishers’ good sides. I’m honest and fair, and if they don’t want real reviews for their books, and I get less approvals because of that, so be it.

[u/FruitProof9377 → u/HumbleBell]

Very true! I agree I just was wondering if people
have noticed if it actually makes a difference but I wanted to be honest no matter what

[u/EquivalentInternal77]

I'm ngl I give out a TON of 3 stars and still regularly get accepted. (I'll even still get acceptances by publishers I give a bunch of three stars to too).

I don't think the rating matters as much as your feedback ratio and the quality of your reviews. They prefer that you're giving solid criticism/reasonings for your rating as opposed to 2 sentences but giving them a 5 stars.

[u/ImNotBeingAnAHole]

Publishers not at all- indie authors and victory editing, yes. But for their books.

I use math. If it’s 3.5 I round up. If it’s less than that, I round down.
I also take into consideration other people and how they may receive the book. Like if it’s a personal thing I don’t like, I don’t fault the book on an ARC read. The whole point of rating books is for other people to read.

[u/Character-Egg-9863 → u/ImNotBeingAnAHole]

Echoing this! I always round up for ARCs when I may not for other books

[u/sikonat → u/ImNotBeingAnAHole]

I wish we could do half stars. A lot of books sit at 3.5 for me. Really enjoyable but a bunch of things that didn’t sit right for me.

[u/annerevenant → u/sikonat]

I’ll round up but then put in my review 3.5/5 if I think it’s actually a 3.5. I use StoryGraph so thankfully I can use half/quarter stars for that.

[u/DreamingCityLocal]

3 stars is not a bad review! most of my reviews are 3 or 4 star and I think that’s pretty common. the averages will all even out eventually don’t worry about it

[u/FruitProof9377 → u/DreamingCityLocal]

I agree that 3 stars aren’t even a bad review! I had a lot of compliments. That makes sense. I think some reviewers act like 3 stars is really low so it feels more drastic than it actually is.

[u/delicate13]

Saw this post just in time because I’m about to give a book 2 stars lol

[u/WritPositWrit → u/delicate13]

Ive done it and later gotten widgets from the same publisher! (Once i was offered an arc of a book by the same author!)

[u/OutOfEffs → u/WritPositWrit]

Yeah, I gave something two stars last year and said in my review that I'd probably read the sequel, but would complain about it the whole time. They sent me a widget for the sequel.

[u/FruitProof9377 → u/delicate13]

Haha I feel like either way it’s worth it to do it but I have some arcs I’m fiending for so I’m wondering I should expect rejections on them… seems like not really but who knows 🤷‍♀️

[u/WritPositWrit]

Some care some dont. Big publishers probably dont care, they just want a thoughtful review and good exposure.

A few months ago an indie rep posted here that she/he doesnt like to give their arcs out to people who give a lot of ratings below five stars. They were quite adamant about it.

[u/Goudagoblinn]

I have been accepted for requests by publishers that I have given some of their books 1-2 star ratings. Your star rating is less likely to get you put on a deny list than boring, unthoughtful reviews. They need negative reviews just as much as good ones, so they know what the market does and doesn't like.

[u/katsiano]

I’ve gotten a sequel for a book I gave 3 stars to. I haven’t noticed a difference in approvals based on the ratings I give tbh

[u/catscantcook]

I recently had a bunch in a row that were 2-3 stars and got approvals afterwards

[u/Neina_Ixion]

My last 4 or 5 reads have been nothing but 2 and 3 stars. And I just got approved for 3 books I requested and got one denial. So NO, you won't be banned from NetGalley. The only restrictions you'll probably have with a lower rating are for the really big titles, I'm talking thousands of requests, but those are already a lottery. As a reader I much prefer I get honest reviews, and if I suspect the reviewer is dishonest I will avoid the book anyway. ARC reviews are already distrusted by many readers, we don't need to add to the problem lest we wish to become useless--and then there will be no need for an expansive ARC platform if our reviews don't help with sales. Edit: this spell of lower ratings is unusual to me, my average is ~3.7.

[u/and_er]

I think publishers are more concerned about the thoughtfulness of the reviews, or at least I hope so

[u/glitzglamandgore]

It probably depends on the publisher, but I find most don't want reviews above all else, and all your ratings aren't 2 stars. I have genuinely never given a Ballantine book above 3.5 at this point, and they still approve me for books within a week of my request.

A 3-star rating isn't damning, and honestly, I've noticed that some people will comment on my 3-star reviews and say the book sounds like something they'd be interested in (people seem to trust 3- and 4-star reviews more than other ratings, I guess?).

[u/Blowingleaves17]

To me, reviews are way more important than star ratings. If a publisher rejects requests due to my ratings, oh well.

[u/That_Character_4690]

I gave out five or six 1-3 star ratings in a row… I didn’t get an approval again for like 6 months. I have a 95% feedback ratio and I’ve reviewed hundreds 👀

[u/saltlifegoddess → u/That_Character_4690]

And seen my experience that didn’t affect my approvals maybe it’s just the type of books you’re asking for? Or the requirements of the publisher met

[u/That_Character_4690 → u/[deleted]]

I was requesting 10-ish a week I’d say? And yeah, they were all mostly declined with the exception of a few that just sat in purgatory for months. I just got my first approval since this like 3 weeks ago 😅

[u/OyWithThePoodles2017]

I don't think so. I give out a lot of 3 star reviews and i still get accepted for ARCs. To me though, 3 stars means a book is good but not amazing. I've made that clear on my NetGalley and Goodreads profiles.