Spoiler Alert

I discovered a new review for Lies and Love. On the one hand, the reviewer gave the book four stars. On the other hand, she not only listed all the things she didn't like about it, but she gave away the entire story ~ including the ending.

I honestly don't mind her criticisms, and some of them are valid. Well, maybe one of them is. What I do mind is her comprehensive recap. And to top it off, she wrote something to the effect of, "you knew how the story would end" and then proceeded to tell everyone. While the end isn't exactly a surprise, neither are romance novels' endings. 

I sought out other authors' opinions regarding spoilers and most of them just shrugged. What can you do? was the consensus. A couple people noted that the review will drop down on the page once additional reviews are posted. What if there are no additional reviews? A few authors postulated that spoilers wouldn't dissuade someone from buying the book. I wonder.

See, this is the downside of soliciting reviews. I absolutely braced myself for bad ones, but I never once considered the possibility of spoilers. 

And, you know, the whole enterprise is a lot of work and frustration (not to mention embarrassment). First I went looking for ARC readers. I put myself out there on social media, with no response. I found a few Goodreads ARC groups and debased myself trolling for takers and got about four, only one of whom even followed through. 

I set up a LibraryThing giveaway that resulted in 13 winners. I emailed each of them to ask what format they wanted, only to find that my calibre software, while claiming to produce MOBI's, cannot create a MOBI anyone can actually open. So, once again I looked like a fool. And half of my winners haven't even responded. (Should someone tell them that this will lower their LibraryThing chances in future giveaways?)

That all equals a 1/2 per cent success rate. Was it worth it? Hardly.

No more. My second novel-turned-novella is nearly ready for publication, and I'm just going to put it out there like I'd always done in the past before someone on the internet convinced me I really, really needed reviews. Seriously, is that $4.32 royalty check worth the mortification?

Regrets; I've had a few.