For Authors: How do you recover from a bad review?

[Irene Helenowski]

Today I got my first really bad review :(  I mean, this person did not have one good thing to say about my book, which kind of took me aback because all my previous reviewers did manage to point out my strengths even if they weren't crazy about the book as a whole. 

I'm trying to stay upbeat, however, by re-reading some of my more positive reviews, especially those from bloggers who really loved my work.  I was also able to go out with some friends tonight which took the some of edge off.  I'm likewise just wondering how other authors react to bad reviews and what do you do to cheer yourself up.  

Thanks and hope you had better day than I had, LOL ;)

[Kevyn Sexton]

You did not say who wrote the review, but I suspect this person is not a professional.  Professionals given constructive criticism and mention the weaknesses, but they don't leave people bleeding.  I would read over some of the best reviews you've gotten and then delete the bad one.  Put it behind you and be more determined than ever to be successful.

[Irene Helenowski]

Thanks, Mindy - will do ;)

[P. A. J. Quatrine]

Hi, Irene,

A bad review can be a very valuable thing, depending on what's being said. If the review consists of "I thought this book was bad - avoid!" obviously that's not very helpful and rather pointless. However, if the reviewer lists the reasons as to why they disliked the work, then there is a lot to potentially gain from that.

You might read through it and say "Oh, they've got a point there, I shall endeavour to try and avoid that in future writings."

Of course, there are times when your book, no matter how well written or paced, will simply not click with someone. I would argue that, if that is the case, then it fall upon the reviewer to be objective (and I mean genuinely objective) and ask themselves "Okay, how much of my dislike for this books, is down to my own bias?" from that they can extrapolate and forge a fair opinion. 

For you, the author, I would ask for you to do the same. Ask yourself, what can I learn from this review? Be objective with the work and the review and see what insight it might give you. Sure, it's not pleasant and often quite heart breaking, but if you gain something from it, then that's always a positive. 

Of course, if that all fails, you can kick back and relax with your favourite album, or meet up with friends, or lay back with favourite drink in hand ;)

[Vivienne Diane Neal]

Irene, I feel your pain and have written an article as to how I deal with negative reviews. Hope this will be of help to you. http://voices.yahoo.com/how-handle-negative-book-reviews-comments-1...

 

Best wishes and continued success in your writing.

Vivienne Diane Neal

 

[Rodney Wild]

Well I hope your holiday was good Irene, did the person have any constructive comments?  In my opinon no review is ever going to be 100% perfect and not everyone is going to like what you wrote.  But if the comments were constuctive and has allowed you as an author to grow then the review was worth it.  I always take one review with a grain of salt as it is not a very good indicator as to how you write as an author.  Now if you had lots of reviews, then I would be concerned.

[Joy Cieslarski]

Irene:

I submitted my first book to a contest and there were 4 criterias (scoring was 1 - 5). I got mostly 4's, a 3 for spelling and punctuation errors, and a 5 for the cover (btw, I have reread my book 4-5 times and still can't find those errors).  Anyway, they said some good things, but they said bad things too and while your pride is dinged a bit, don't get discouraged. I self-published and wanted my book a specific way. I've gotten great reviews from many readers I know (and I've sold 200+ hardcover and over 50 ebooks) and no one has really trashed my book. But like another person who posted said, you can't please everyone.  Some people have a specific frame of mind when they read and if your book came across as that and didn't meet expectations, who knows what they'll say.  As the saying goes, "fall off the horse, get back on." What is the name of your book? I'd love to sample it.

 

If it makes you any feel better, when the Wizard of Oz was made into a movie, they said it was "boring and lacked imagination," yet 100's are glued to it whenever it hits the TV. Go figure!

 

Hang in there and keep writing!

 

[Marianne Petit]

I think that I’m pretty thick skinned but I have to say that I am afraid to get me book reviewed. One
bad review and book sales may go down even if there are positive ones about the same book. And you never get to read the review before it’s posted for everyone to read, so why take the chance?

Yes, I know, good reviews help sales but still it's a bit chancy and some people can be so mean.

So how do you pick a reviewer and should you?

Marianne Petit

[Diane Marie]

If the review leads you to a profile about the reviewer then take a look at it. I received a review from a woman in her seventies on a contemporary romance novel I wrote which resonates more with the younger generation. She said my story line was okay, but it got a tad boring and redundant. When I checked out her Amazon profile, I found out she’s into light-hearted stories, which mine wasn’t, and her wish list was filled with romance’s that all had something to do with knitting. (<I didn’t know knitting romance was even a thing.) In the end, I concluded I simply didn’t agree with her. It was my first review so I concluded, for a younger audience the story line would be better than okay and as for redundant I would really like to know where so because I don’t agree. Since this is my only review on Amazon thus far, I’m hoping to hear more from other readers because at first glance after reading her review, I was ready to pull the book off the shelf. If you enjoyed reading your book back to yourself then there surely is a market for it so don’t get let one reader bring you down!

[Irene Helenowski]

Thanks, everyone - you all make very good points and I will take them into consideration.  Going through my reviews, I see where I do have some weaknesses, so I am working on them now -- hopefully, the helpful points will make my sequel better, LOL ;)

[Irene Helenowski]

Good point -- Thanks Gianni!!  BTW, I'm almost done with your story and like it to this point :)