So I've been writing book reviews for some time now. It isn't always the best feeling because it's difficult to write a review that an author might take offence to but I feel it is necessary to be honest. I always give the good with the bad and try to keep my reviews balanced.
This isn't a business for the faint at heart. Sometimes getting a bad or even okay review is helpful to the author. It's better to get an honest, straight-forward opinion than to have a bunch of yes-men around telling you something is great only to find out that the general populace disagrees.
My advice? When a reviewer writes you a review and you don't like what they have to say, take it and put it in your pocket for contemplation at a later time. You might be upset or offended now, but if you look at it later, with a clear head, you might just see that what they said could help you and your career.
My advice? When a reviewer writes you a review and you don't like what they have to say, take it and put it in your pocket for contemplation at a later time. You might be upset or offended now, but if you look at it later, with a clear head, you might just see that what they said could help you and your career.
The saying goes, "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes." Well, I have. I too am an author and feel that I have some experience in the business of getting reviews and being criticized. If an author doesn't receive constructive criticism at the beginning of their writing career, they have no way of growing.
As an author, I've gotten some great reviews and some not so great. I've even been told by one reader that I should NEVER write another word. Of course, she has been the only one to say anything like that. In her case, there was no constructive criticism, just someone being as mean as possible. If I were to post the email she sent, it would make my readers cringe as it does me when I think on it. Even when I received her response, I took it, accepted it and moved on. I didn't respond to her and start up an argument. I let it be. She is entitled to her opinion, just as everyone else is.
As an author, I've gotten some great reviews and some not so great. I've even been told by one reader that I should NEVER write another word. Of course, she has been the only one to say anything like that. In her case, there was no constructive criticism, just someone being as mean as possible. If I were to post the email she sent, it would make my readers cringe as it does me when I think on it. Even when I received her response, I took it, accepted it and moved on. I didn't respond to her and start up an argument. I let it be. She is entitled to her opinion, just as everyone else is.
I, like most of my fellow indie authors, am just beginning on what I hope to be a long career as an author. I know that my work isn't perfect but I strive for it to be. I'll take help wherever I can get it and suggest that you do too. Taking that criticism and using it to your benefit can be a HUGE help!
