Stupid, hokey, awful, unbelievable, stinks, worst book ever, gibbering descriptions, ridiculous, dumbed down.
Yes, these are words used in the few 1 Star reviews I've received for "Sundered."
Why would I share them with you? Because we all get 1 and 2 star reviews, no matter our genre, writing ability, years in the business or how dang nice we are as people, we get them. And if you want your books to be read by a lot of people, get used to the idea that those people will share their opinions with you and you can't make everyone happy.
Now, on to the good stuff.
Young, green and impressionable or sensitive authors take note as arguing with reviewers is a SERIOUS NO-NO so don't do it.There is only one thing you can do as an author when you receive reviews like this . . . .
Write another book; prove them wrong, and your fans right.
10 comments:
Advice so simple I plan to take it too heart! With my first book coming out in the next few weeks, I am nervous to hear what kind of feed back I will get. I am confident in my work and know it is good. But I am steeling myself to know you can't please everyone, hence the reason for the different genres... Either way, good or bad comments, at least you know someone has taken the time to read your words. And isn't that what we all want? Thank for the advice!
Simply put and great advice!
MJ, yes, people who've taken the time to read your book, that IS what we all want. Best of luck with your launch, I hope you get more 5 stars than you know what to do with! :0)
Thank you Kathy!
Amen, Shannon! I often suggest that writers read the reviews of the greats--and I'm not talking about 50SOG, which I have no desire to read, but some of the reviews are fun--but read the old time greats; they too have one-star reviews. There is a reason Mark Twain wrote such great quotes as, "Never argue with a fool. From a distance, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
Sound advice, Shannon. Plain and simple. Sharing! :-)
Good advice!
Not sure if my last comment will see publication here. The system routed me back to sign in with G+ and I don't see it now after I did so, but essentially I liked your post. Bad author behavior is to be avoided. People, future fans, readers will remember and not want to buy books from writers who stir the pot or comment on negative reviews. I've also seen/heard it's not a great thing to send a posse of "defenders", friends or family, out to lambast the negative reviewer. In the long run this does more harm to the author. Let the review stand and move on, write a better book and prove the critics wrong the next time. Sometimes people are mean simply because they woke up on the wrong side of the bed, their feet hurt, they're in pain, and take it out on the nearest person/object, which may be a book at hand.
You have a good attitude. Just saying, though, some of your one star reviews are bogus so I am glad you aren't taking them to heart.
As a reviewer, I wanted to say.. remember, not all reviews are reflective of the book because not all reviewers read the book. I do reviews for debut authors and established ones. The advice here is wonderful. http://haveyouheardbookreview.blogspot.com/
:) In my experience, you can sometimes turn tables by thanking the reviewer :p. I've made some unexpected fans...
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