by Kate M. Colby
Book reviews are the lifeblood of books. A healthy rating encourages potential readers to buy, makes an author eligible for merchandising from retail sites, and improves a book’s overall ranking on those sites. However, if enough readers read your book, eventually you’re going to get a bad review (probably several). Those dreaded one-star ratings are the cost of exposure.
After hearing a few author horror stories on the subject of reviews, I wanted to provide a public service announcement of sorts. Sure, several other authors have written on this topic already, but just in case mine is the first you read (or you want another opinion), here is my advice for how to handle your book reviews: good, bad, or ugly.
First, it is important to remember that you are not your book. Reviews are a subjective reaction to your creative work and not you as a person. (We’ll get to the 1% in which this is not the case in a bit.)
Personally, I try not to read reviews (good, bad, or ugly). This is not to say that I don’t try to cultivate them, or that I do not appreciate them (Seriously, if you’ve reviewed one of my books, thank you!). However, I know myself. A bad review can temporarily shatter my confidence and ruin a whole writing day. That’s not worth it to me, my work, or my readers.
My solution? I have my husband check my reviews for me (once a week or so). If there’s a good review, he lets me know. If there’s a bad review, he distills it down to only the constructive criticism (and leaves out any rudeness), so that I can learn from the review, without being upset by it.
You have to decide what’s best for you. If you’re a sensitive soul like me, try getting a spouse, friend, or family member to be your review buffer. If you’re a tough cookie, read all you want. As long as reviews don’t over-inflate or deflate your ego, there’s nothing wrong with reading them.
So, that’s my general policy. Now let’s drill down into the specifics. For the purpose of this article, “good” reviews refers to positive reviews, “bad” reviews refers to critical reviews, and “ugly” reviews refers to hateful or personal reviews.
Good Reviews
Good reviews tell you two things: what readers like about your book and who likes your book. When you get a good review, take note of the reader’s praise and try to keep those themes in your writing. Also, do a little research on your reader. What other books have they liked or disliked? From their profile, do they fit within your target audience? These will tell you if your book is reaching the right market and give you an idea of where to advertise or how to promote your book in the future.
When I published my first novel, I checked my reviews often and responded to the positive ones (That’s all there is when only your friends and family are reading your book!) with a ‘like’ or comment on Goodreads. Now, I don’t respond to any positive reviews. It’s not that I don’t appreciate them (Again, I totally do — thank you!). It’s that A) I don’t want to offend anyone by accidentally skipping or not commenting on their review, B) it sets a precedent that I might also respond to neutral or bad reviews, and C) I really don’t have that kind of time. Note to my readers: if you want to have an actual dialogue about my books or receive a personal thanks, just shoot me an email via the contact page.
It’s worth noting that I have never responded to any reviews on Amazon or another online retailer. As a social network, Goodreads muddles the line, but on retail sites it is clear: do not respond to reviews. It’s unprofessional and the retail sites are likely to frown on it.
Bad Reviews
We all know these. They’re the ones that make us want to crawl under the covers or throw the laptop out of the window and never write again. But bad reviews can be good. Beyond providing you with constructive feedback, they tell other readers what this person did or didn’t like about your book, so that they can better judge for themselves. Your target audience can be persuaded by bad reviews (Is it full of cursing? Sounds up my alley!), and your non-ideal audience will be warded off (Sex? No way!), thus preventing another bad review in the future.
It is my policy to never respond to bad reviews. First off, I respect the reader’s right to their own opinion. Second, they’ve already “wasted” enough time with my book, they don’t need me saying anything to them.
Some authors make exceptions for this. For example, some will jump to defend a concept the reader clearly missed that could change their perspective of the book. Others will respond if a reader makes a factual error in the review. My professional opinion is to stay silent. Most times, you will only irritate the reader more, or never receive a response to your rebuttal anyway.
Here are a few other ways to react to bad reviews:
Remember, you are not your book. The conception of bad writing (or actual bad writing — let’s be honest, it happens) do not make you a bad person or unworthy creator. It just means you have more to learn. We all do.
Take comfort in that even the best books have bad reviews. This may come as a shock, but there are people out there who hate Harry Potter. I know, but it’s true. Go to the page of your favorite author and check out some of their book’s most scathing reviews. If they can survive it and have their work admired, so can you.
Go read some of your five-star reviews. Or social media comments or emails or whatever. Focus on the readers who get and love your work. They’re the ones that really matter.
Really need to respond to that disgruntled reader? Write a response and destroy it. Do this by hand so there is no temptation or possibility of posting it online. Craft your elegant defense or your childish slew of insults, then rip it up and throw it out. You’ll feel better without doing any damage to your professional image or online relationships. Venting to a trusted friend — NOT in online writers’ groups or forums — is another idea. Seriously, though, don’t put your gripes online. A) It can be found by readers. B) It still makes you look bad. C) Negativity will just bring other writers down. Don’t be that person.
If all else fails, I like to get existential. You are only certain of this one life. Is one person’s dislike going to keep you from pursuing your passion? I didn’t think so.
Ugly Reviews
These are reviews that make personal attacks on your character, threaten you, or which are given to your book because the reviewer has a personal vendetta against you. Luckily, these are super-rare, but they can happen. Again, I strongly encourage you not to respond. Instead, contact the website administrator and ask for the review to be removed. If the review is not about the book or makes explicit insults or threats, this should not be a problem. It cannot prevent the reviewer from repeating the attack from a different account, but it is the safest and most responsible course of action.
No matter what praise or criticism, your books receive, remember that you are not your books. Their success or failure does not reflect your character or personality. While writing ability is very personal, it can be improved over time with patience and practice. Whether in book review responses (don’t do it!) or anywhere else online, always be respectful and courteous to readers. And most importantly, never let anyone else keep you from writing.
Guest post contributed by Kate M. Colby. Kate is a writer of multi-genre fiction and creative nonfiction as well as a writing-craft blogger. Kate graduated summa cum laude from Baker University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, Creative Writing, and Sociology.
Thanks to you for providing us with these good and useful tips
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You’re very welcome! Thank YOU for reading.
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Reblogged this on everthedreamerblog and commented:
In a previous post I wrote about the lack of reviews on my two published books, at least on Amazon. I did get some reviews on Goodreads after a giveaway. Three were good; but one was a scathing one-star review that, as the following post describes, almost made me toss my laptop and my writing dream. This morning I came across this excellent article written by Kate M. Colby which appeared on Ryanlanz.com. It really puts book reviews–good, bad, and ugly–into perspective and reveals the benefits both good and bad can render, along with methods of dealing with any ugly reviews.
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Thank you for sharing this post and your experiences. I know how much bad reviews can hurt, and I’m glad to know you found my post helpful. Just keep writing and remember that, for every bad review you get, you’ll get many more good ones. 🙂
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Those scathing reviews really sting. At one point, I looked up some books I liked on Goodreads, especially when I thought the 3-star averages seemed low. Sure enough, some books are either loved or hated, but the interesting thing was that the people who hated one particular book in question didn’t understand it! There are people out there who blast through a book and miss the message, or review a book they admit is way out of the scope of genre they like. Never quit writing because of something like that. Remember: the review says more about the reviewer than you or your book.
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Wonderfully said! I couldn’t agree more. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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Thanks for sharing, Kim!
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You’re welcome, Kate!
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Thank you for hosting me, Ryan! I’m happy to see that your readers have found my post encouraging!
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It’s a pleasure as always to have you on. : )
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Thank you for such wonderful advice! I was previously one of those people who read and never gave feedback, but I’m trying to change that. Ever since I took up writing, I’ve realised that reviews are the lifeblood of motivation for writers. I’ll try to bear this article in mind when I both write and read reviews.
I’m actually someone who doesn’t like the Harry Potter series. Neither do I like ‘Twilight’ or ‘The Hunger Games’. I don’t get along well with popular books; they always seem to be more about an unusual setting or a strong hook than they are about character development!
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There’s really nothing like becoming a writer to make you realize how important reviews are and change your perspective on how you write them. Best of luck with your writing goals!
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Thank YOU for reading! I was the same way. I never really gave reviews to books, except the occasional star rating on Goodreads. Now I try to offer more constructive feedback and put reviews up on Amazon as well. Hopefully, I’ve helped some fellow authors out. 🙂
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Awesome post, Kate. Everything you said is true, and all authors should keep your points–and perspective–in mind. Most reviews, taken altogether, sound bi-polar. What one reader loves about your book, another may hate. I’m gratified if one person enjoys my story!
Pinned & shared.
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Thanks for reading and sharing, Linda! It sounds like you have a great outlook on reviews. In the end, knowing that you’ve made someone happy is a wonderful feeling. Best of luck with your writing!
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Spot on! 100% agree with everything you’ve said! (Love the idea of a review-buffer! I’m going to pick that suggestion up – brilliant!)
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I’m glad you found the post helpful, Helen. Thanks for reading!
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Have you gotten many ugly reviews? They sound awful! And I like the idea of having someone filter out bad reviews. You must have a great husband!
Thanks for sharing!
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I haven’t received any reviews that I would call ugly. While I have received a particularly scathing one-star review, the reviewer only tore apart my writing and story (no personal attacks or anything like that). Of course that review hurt, but after checking out the reviewer’s Amazon profile, it became pretty clear that this person wasn’t my target audience and is a tough critic overall. My take from it: that one star review will add legitimacy to my reviews and show other readers what they might not like, thus helping me avoid more bad reviews in the future!
Thanks for the great question and for reading!
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That’s a great way to look at a tough review. I hope I can do as well when I get my inevitable bad reviews. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Beyond the Precipice.
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Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner.
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Thanks for writing this article since it was a good one. I got my first review on a book, and it turned out to be an author of all things. It really stung, and made me want to stop writing. It made me feel horrible for days, but everyone has them. I should not let it stop me from writing my novels. Thanks for the post and it’s good to know that I’m not alone.
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You’re absolutely right – every author has bad reviews and bad days. It definitely stinks that the person to leave you a negative review was another. However, there’s a good lesson for us in that experience! Whenever we leave reviews, positive or critical, we should write them with the respect and care we would want if it were a review for our own book. Keep up your writing and don’t let anyone get you down!
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I received a personal attack ten days ago. It said I should be in jail or worse. I wrote a highly personal story about my addicted condition and the aftermath. It is a dark tale to be sure, but in the end I find the true meaning of life and come out of a 21-year fog. The reviewer said he hated me so so much. I figure I’d get a few bad reviews from people who loved Japan and I have, but not one that ripped me as a human after I exposed and admitted my flaws. Ouch.
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I’m so sorry that you went through this experience. It’s difficult enough to have our work critiqued when it’s fictional, let alone when we’re the subject of the book. If the review is threatening and/or abusive (which it sounds like it could be) and focuses on your personal character (as opposed to the content of the memoir), it might be worth reporting it to the retailer or social media site. Chances are, if this person has written one abusive review, they have or will write others. Whether you report it or not, remember that one person’s opinion doesn’t define you. From this comment alone, it sounds like you’re a strong person, and I’m sure your writing reflects that!
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I reported it this morning so hopefully it will be removed. I’m not sure how anyone can transparently share a story that portrays them as a bad person who has learned valuable lessons without being crucified from time to time. It is part of the punishment for a life poorly lived I suppose. I think the cruelty is unnecessary however.
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Absolutely. They can disagree with your choices, but they have no right to be cruel.
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Great advice here 🙂 Yes, there is value in negative reviews, both for the writer and potential audience. But if writers can’t handle reading them, I think that’s okay. It’s also great to remember that reviews are subjective, not an insult 🙂
(And yes, ignore and report the really heinous ones!)
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