Is Your Book Any Good? What Do Customer & Editorial Reviews Really Mean?

A Literal Literary Loser Comp Lits

This past Sunday, I had a lovely chat with a book club in Baltimore about my latest historical fiction, “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region.”

One of the participants told me she loved the happy ending. Another told me she didn’t like the happy ending. A third chimed in that she didn’t think of it as a happy ending, more of a bittersweet one.

The takeaway is, when it comes to book publishing, nobody knows anything. Neither the publishers, nor the editors, nor the agents, nor the beta-readers have any idea which book will strike a chord with readers. If they did, every book would be a runaway best-seller. The majority of books are not runaway best-sellers.

My first historical fiction, “The Nesting Dolls,” was published by HarperCollins, a Big 5 press, in 2020. The same editor who bought “The Nesting Dolls,” turned down “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region.” It, instead, was published by History Through Fiction. A micro-press which focuses on publishing history… through fiction.

Was “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region” a less compelling book than “The Nesting Dolls?”

I have no idea.

The book club response seems to be about the same. Some people liked it, some people didn’t.

If reader reviews matter, “The Nesting Dolls” has a 3.81 average rating on Goodreads.

“My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region” has a 4.17.

On Amazon, “The Nesting Dolls” has a 4.1. “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region” has a 4.4.

So it would seem that readers like “My Mother’s Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region” more than “The Nesting Dolls.”

The HarperCollins editor did not.

Why?

I don’t know.

Which brings me back to my perennial topic sentence: When it comes to book publishing, nobody knows anything.

I have not enjoyed a best-seller or two in my time. “The Goldfinch” and “Lessons in Chemistry” most recently.

When it comes to book publishing, I don’t know anything.

So I’m going to keep on writing the books I enjoy, and keep on reading the books I enjoy, and we’ll see what happens.

How about you?