Have you ever wondered why some of the novels you see in Webnovel have no star ratings? They are the novels that have gray stars on them and most people don"t bother giving them a second look.Elyon was one of them. Whenever he encounters a novel without a star rating he just overlooks them and proceeds to check other novels. His reason? He thought that those novels with gray stars are dropped or in hiatus. Basically, he labels them as "dead novels."
He didn"t know that the majority of these novels are the stories of new authors, who just started writing their story in Webnovels. There are literally thousands of novels that are written in this platform and some of them are buried in the pages of history.
So what is a star rating? A star rating is the rating that you see on a novel. Some of your favorite novels have 4.6, 4.8 and some of them have 4.9 ratings which are quite high. A novel"s rating come from the reviews of their readers. In order for a novel to have a star rating of its own, it must first have "10 reviews" and the average of those reviews will form the star rating.
After becoming an author, Elyon changed his point of view regarding novels without a star rating. Some of these novels appear on the daily updates and the trending list. The trending list is one of the best places for a novel to be advertised. Even now, Elyon doesn"t know the requirements on how to appear on the trending list.
His fellow senior authors said that the trending list is completely random. Even those novels who are very popular will not necessarily appear on the trending list. The only requirement is that your collection should not exceed over three thousand to be featured on the trending list.
[A/N: We"ll talk more about collections in the next chapters.]
Elyon just finished writing a chapter and decided to take a rest. He looked at the front page of Webnovels and saw the trending list for the week (the trending list lasts for a week and is reset afterward).
More than half of them don"t have any star ratings and he immediately understood that they are stories made by new authors. Elyon casually checked the t.i.tles and he found one t.i.tle at the very back of the trending list.
[A/N: The trending list have many novels. In order to see the rest, you just need to swipe to the ---> right side for the other novels to appear.]
At the end of the list is a novel he found "Little Red Riding Hood, A modern day tale."
He smiled despite himself and decided to click the cover t.i.tle.
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[RomanceLittle Red Riding Hood, A modern day tale.Author: IleneMae]
Synopsis
Everyone knows the story of little red riding hood but what if she lived in modern times and the Big bad wolf was after her for more than her basket of goodies.
...
Lillian was a kind and caring woman. She spent her time helping the homeless and caring for the elderly.
Her bright green eyes and flaming red hair made her look like a beautiful fairy. She was four foot four and a very pet.i.te woman.
...
Breathtaking isn"t it?"
She was startled and jumped at the deep sound of a man"s voice.
She turned around to look into the deep dark cold eyes of a man she never thought she would ever see again. Jake, her knight from high school. Here in the flesh. She thought back wasn"t his name Smith back then.
...
"My Mr. Wolf what big eyes you have." She said smiling at him.
"The better to see you with my dear." And with that said he bent down and kissed her.
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There were no reviews, no comments, no anything. He decided to start reading it because he has a feeling that this novel will bring him surprises.
He read through the chapters and contemplated. The overall appeal of this novel for him can be summed up in three words and that is "Simple and Clean."
There are no complicated writing, there are no complicated scenarios. Everything was simple and that is probably the reason why it is easier to read. For him, it was a good novel. It has a lot of potential and even though there some grammar and spelling mistakes, it doesn"t change the fact that the novel is a good read.
He returned to the front page and once more looked at the grayed out star rating. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he clicked the give a review b.u.t.ton.
"Let me be the first one to give you a review. I hope that it will help other readers get a good impression of your novel." Elyon wrote his review. He didn"t bat an eye and gave it a perfect 5-star rating.
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As a fellow writer, I hate to see something good rot away because no one wants to give it a review. I hope this will help you and make you realize how great a writer you are.
Writing Quality: 5/5
No problem with the quality. A few mistakes, but that can be easily ignored.
Stability of Updates: 5/5
I checked and saw your chapter releases. Keep it up and you"ll go a long way.
Story Development:
The concept is great and witty. The romance is promising and if the right elements are pulled into the picture, then the success of this novel is a.s.sured.
Character Design:
5/5
The Better to see you my Dear. Cla.s.sic and Cla.s.sy.
World Background 5/5
Your world building is great! Keep it up!
Overall: 5/5
I"m looking forward for future updates. I love to read good stories and I hope to see more from you ;)
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"Ilenamae, more power to you." Elyon smiled and added the novel to his library. He believes that this hidden gem will sparkle as long as people will be willing to give it a read.
He opened a new word doc.u.ment and began to write a new chapter. He still has to make another one before the day is over.
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Author"s THOUGHTS
In the past, I don"t really pay attention to any novel without a star rating. I thought they were dead novels. Little did I know that these novels are very much alive. The authors behind these novels update them on a regular basis with the hope that someone out there will be able to read and appreciate their stories.
Some of these novels are dismissed and most people don"t really care about them. They rot in some corner of the web and the authors who wrote them either gave up or persist in their work.
I believe that perseverance is a good trait a person must have. But sometimes, reality makes it hard even for the most stubborn of people. People wants to be appreciated. No matter how small, no matter how big, they want to be appreciated.
If someone doesn"t pay attention to their efforts, then these people will ultimately lose their motivation. Their drive to move forward and persist will disappear. When the author loses all hope and abandon their works, then that is the time that the novel dies.
So please my dear readers. If you happen to see a novel on the daily updates or the trending list that have no star ratings, don"t dismiss them right away. Give it a chance. Give the author a chance. Wouldn"t it be great if you found a hidden gem along the way?
Once you found one, don"t forget to leave a comment. It will work wonders and make the Author happy. If you want to go that extra mile, give it a review. Sometimes, even bad reviews can help as long as it"s an "HONEST Review."
Point out the things that you like about the story and point out the things that you don"t like. If you really like it, make sure to encourage the author not to drop his novel. Trust me, these simple things can split the sea and move mountains.
Give it a try. Try to encourage an author today and maybe, just maybe, the author will be motivated and double his efforts. Who knows? The small seed of hope that you planted today will give birth to a towering tree that will give you the best stories that you had ever read in your entire life.
All that we ask as Authors, is that you give our novels a chance.
P.S While I was writing this chapter, I once more visited Little Red Riding Hood, A modern day tale. Right now, the story has a star rating of 4.8. Great Job IleneMae! Please continue to write good stories for everyone to enjoy ^__^