When you get a bad book review
The excitement of seeing a new review of your book on Amazon can be dashed when you realize it's a negative review. Don't stress. Laura Hickey has some advice on dealing with bad reviews.
You've just been notified a review of your book has been posted. You're all excited and can't wait to see what has been written. You're clicking onto your book's page when...Oh no! They hated your book! This bad review is going to turn away customers from buying your book. Wait! This isn't the end of the world. Here's 3 tips to deal when you get a bad review.
1. You can't please everyone!
Example: One of my favorite authors is a bestseller but the author didn't receive such hot customer reviews.
Another example: I was reading some book reviews and one of the books had one of the worst ratings ever. I clicked the link with curiosity to find over 20 customers had reviewed the book and loved it. In life, you can't please everyone. Will a bad review discourage future customers? On to my next tip.
2. A bad review doesn't have to mean bad profit.
Not all customers look at a bad review as their only guide to buying. In fact, if your review is so awful, they may even buy the book to see if it's really as bad as the reviewer rated it. There's the saying that curiosity killed the cat, curiosity in this case could help you. Customers also realize that everyone has different tastes. Maybe the reviewer didn't like your book, but who's to say someone different won't? It may be bad publicity, but none the less it may help you. In fact, sometimes a customer may have read the bad review but only remembers your name and or the book's title.
3. If you're getting more than one bad review.
It's understandable if you're disappointed. It's expected, but do not allow yourself to become discouraged. If you've published an e-book and can easily edit your work, bad reviews can actually help your writing. Now don't go crazy and change everything! But if reviews are constantly pin pointing on one certain area, review your work and see if and how you could improve it. I know reviewing repeatedly can be hurtful but if it can help your e-book, isn't it worth considering? Also, don't start picking apart reviews right away, give yourself time to go over them. Picking apart your reviews the moment you receive them could prove fatal to your self esteem.
Read These Next
Beginning and Ending Your Story
Elinor Glyn, in the early half of the 20th century, considered the "world’s greatest writer of love stories." Over the course of her writing career she published 31 novels and had 9 movies made from her work. She was criticized rather frequently by the literary press, as are many popular writers today. In 1922, The Author’s Press put out a four volume course written by Glyn on how to write novels, stories and screen plays. This is an excerpt from the second volume.
Leveraging Writers Conferences to Build a Writing Career
With a good mindset and a bit of research and preparation, aspiring authors can use writers’ conferences to advance their careers. Here are some tips for making the most of these events.
Approaching Book Publishers: The Importance of Creating a System
After your book has been written and edited, you may be ready to start approaching publishers. If you are like most first time book authors, there is a good chance that you will send your book manuscript to a large number of publishers and agents. Use these tips to best target and track your submissions