Tracey Sinclair's Blog, page 14
February 9, 2015
Interview with The Book Tart
She's so much fun - check it out! http://thebooktart.com/author-intervi...
February 2, 2015
Blogger spotlight: Nocturnal Book Reviews
Latest in my Blogger Spotlight Series: Nocturnal Book Reviews -
http://darkdates.org/2015/02/02/blogg...
http://darkdates.org/2015/02/02/blogg...
January 26, 2015
Blogger spotlight: The Book Tart
Another in my occasional series: welcome the lovely Book Tart!
http://darkdates.org/2015/01/23/blogg...
http://darkdates.org/2015/01/23/blogg...
January 17, 2015
Blogger spotlight
First in the series is now live over at my blog, where I interview Fangs for the Fantasy - http://darkdates.org/2015/01/17/blogg...
January 12, 2015
Looking for book bloggers for my blogger spotlight
Like many authors, I’ve been a little depressed by some of the hostility that seems to have arisen between (some of) the blogging community and authors over the past couple of years – its seems that the behaviour of a few overly entitled individuals has poisoned what should be a harmonious relationship, since we’re all in the business of books (hint for authors: if you start to think stalking is an acceptable reaction to someone not liking your work, you need to Step The Hell Back and take a look at your life).
My own experience with bloggers has been almost universally positive. Sure, some of them don’t like my books, some were a bit flaky, some didn’t want anything to do with an indie author and some I didn’t warm to at all: bloggers being individuals, they’re as much of a mixed bag as any disparate group of people. But most were a joy – even those with the poor taste not to care for my writing! – and I’ve connected with a lot of people whose blogs I really enjoy and, more importantly, who I really like.
So I thought that, this year, it might be fun to do a series of profiles on book blogs and the people behind them: find out a little more about what the business of book blogging involves, the highs and lows of it, and how authors can better engage with bloggers. I’ve already got some fun people lined up, but work commitments prevent me from canvassing my contacts list as widely as I should, so if anyone is interested in being featured – get in touch!(Find details here: http://darkdates.org/2015/01/12/blogg...)
[Note: If you want to talk about your blog but prefer to remain anonymous / behind your blogging ‘persona’ that is fine!]
My own experience with bloggers has been almost universally positive. Sure, some of them don’t like my books, some were a bit flaky, some didn’t want anything to do with an indie author and some I didn’t warm to at all: bloggers being individuals, they’re as much of a mixed bag as any disparate group of people. But most were a joy – even those with the poor taste not to care for my writing! – and I’ve connected with a lot of people whose blogs I really enjoy and, more importantly, who I really like.
So I thought that, this year, it might be fun to do a series of profiles on book blogs and the people behind them: find out a little more about what the business of book blogging involves, the highs and lows of it, and how authors can better engage with bloggers. I’ve already got some fun people lined up, but work commitments prevent me from canvassing my contacts list as widely as I should, so if anyone is interested in being featured – get in touch!(Find details here: http://darkdates.org/2015/01/12/blogg...)
[Note: If you want to talk about your blog but prefer to remain anonymous / behind your blogging ‘persona’ that is fine!]
January 8, 2015
Dark Dates Live!
Over at my blog I spoke to Zoe Cunningham on the challenges of bringing Cassandra Bick to life:
http://darkdates.org/2015/01/08/dark-...
http://darkdates.org/2015/01/08/dark-...
January 6, 2015
Writing resolutions you might actually keep
Ah, the heady feel of a new year, when you can leave all of last year’s mistakes behind you and emerge as some shiny, productive, improved version of yourself. At least until the second week in January, when it all seems a bit too much like hard work, the weather is bloody miserable, your next holiday is months away and what was wrong with the old you, anyway? So while I couldn’t resist the urge to add to the cacophony of New Year’s Resolution pieces, I hope at least these are some tips that will last you through the year…
Read lots, do little
This time of year you can find a million pieces of advice online about making this the year you write that novel, finish that screenplay, Become A Writer or whatever, and lots of that advice is really useful. But not all of it will work for you – and nothing will crash your good intentions faster than trying to implement a rigorous schedule of multiple new habits all at once. Pick a few small changes to start with – you’re more likely to stick with them and see results. You can always add more later.
Pick the bits that work…
Just because a whole programme or course doesn’t suit you, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. I’ve done The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron several times during my life, and always find it a useful jumpstart to stalled creativity. But I’ve never managed to complete the ‘no reading’ part of it successfully and one of the main components, the morning pages (where you journal at the very start of your day), has never worked for me. While I have learned that journaling is a useful tool, I’ve also realised that, as a chronic insomniac, an extra half hour in bed does me more good than any early morning creative exercises.
But be open to what that might be...
One of the reasons I like books about writing is they often throw up ideas or exercises that I wouldn’t ever think of – and, more than that, that I would normally run a mile from doing. But while you ultimately need to find techniques and habits that suit you, it’s worth at least trying things that might not initially appeal, whether it’s reading your work aloud, or going on an ‘artist’s date’ – the very act of stepping outside your comfort zone can be useful in itself.
Ignore any rules about ‘real writers’
‘Real writers write every day’ is probably the most common, but these come in many hues. ‘Real writers can’t stop writing’, ‘real writers will always find time to write’, blah, blah, blah. When in fact plenty of ‘real’ writers (if you are judging ‘realness’ in terms of success, which is pernicious in itself) only write for part of the year, or take long breaks between books, or find that life occasionally derails them just as much as it does other people.
Don’t wait until you have the time
All of that said, looking at my writer and would-be writer friends, I think the biggest stumbling block is the fallacy that you will be a writer one day, just not now. You’ll do that first draft when you’re on holiday, or when you take a sabbatical, or even just when work gets a bit easier. I wasted three years between books waiting for the ‘right time’: in the end, my next novel was written in 15 minute bursts, time snatched out of busy days in a demanding job. Don’t feel like writing needs a lot of time and ceremony – you really don’t need to put aside hours and hours to do it. Sure, you might benefit from doing a writer’s class or going on a writing retreat, but don’t keep waiting for the perfect set of circumstances to arrive, or you might be a year down the line and still not have written a word.
Stop being scared of the title, ‘Writer’
OK, this is a personal one to me, but it’s my own bête noire and it’s something I am determined to beat this year. Because, despite the fact that I got my first story published over 20 years ago, I have written for a dozen publications, I have won several writing competitions, have 6 books and a play under my belt and have, in one way or another, been making my living as a wordsmith for the last decade and a half, just because I’m not on the bestseller lists I shy away from the word ‘writer’. I get nervous and fumble my answers if people ask what I do, or about my books, playing it down so that they don’t think I am bragging or laying claim to a title that only belongs to more talented, more famous and more successful people. Well, in 2015: screw that. I am writer, hear me roar…
PS: I started the New Year with some exciting writer news – the lovely Zoe Cunningham is doing a one-woman show based on the Dark Dates books. I’ll be posting a Q&A with Zoe later this week, but needless to say – it’s a great start to the year!
Read lots, do little
This time of year you can find a million pieces of advice online about making this the year you write that novel, finish that screenplay, Become A Writer or whatever, and lots of that advice is really useful. But not all of it will work for you – and nothing will crash your good intentions faster than trying to implement a rigorous schedule of multiple new habits all at once. Pick a few small changes to start with – you’re more likely to stick with them and see results. You can always add more later.
Pick the bits that work…
Just because a whole programme or course doesn’t suit you, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. I’ve done The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron several times during my life, and always find it a useful jumpstart to stalled creativity. But I’ve never managed to complete the ‘no reading’ part of it successfully and one of the main components, the morning pages (where you journal at the very start of your day), has never worked for me. While I have learned that journaling is a useful tool, I’ve also realised that, as a chronic insomniac, an extra half hour in bed does me more good than any early morning creative exercises.
But be open to what that might be...
One of the reasons I like books about writing is they often throw up ideas or exercises that I wouldn’t ever think of – and, more than that, that I would normally run a mile from doing. But while you ultimately need to find techniques and habits that suit you, it’s worth at least trying things that might not initially appeal, whether it’s reading your work aloud, or going on an ‘artist’s date’ – the very act of stepping outside your comfort zone can be useful in itself.
Ignore any rules about ‘real writers’
‘Real writers write every day’ is probably the most common, but these come in many hues. ‘Real writers can’t stop writing’, ‘real writers will always find time to write’, blah, blah, blah. When in fact plenty of ‘real’ writers (if you are judging ‘realness’ in terms of success, which is pernicious in itself) only write for part of the year, or take long breaks between books, or find that life occasionally derails them just as much as it does other people.
Don’t wait until you have the time
All of that said, looking at my writer and would-be writer friends, I think the biggest stumbling block is the fallacy that you will be a writer one day, just not now. You’ll do that first draft when you’re on holiday, or when you take a sabbatical, or even just when work gets a bit easier. I wasted three years between books waiting for the ‘right time’: in the end, my next novel was written in 15 minute bursts, time snatched out of busy days in a demanding job. Don’t feel like writing needs a lot of time and ceremony – you really don’t need to put aside hours and hours to do it. Sure, you might benefit from doing a writer’s class or going on a writing retreat, but don’t keep waiting for the perfect set of circumstances to arrive, or you might be a year down the line and still not have written a word.
Stop being scared of the title, ‘Writer’
OK, this is a personal one to me, but it’s my own bête noire and it’s something I am determined to beat this year. Because, despite the fact that I got my first story published over 20 years ago, I have written for a dozen publications, I have won several writing competitions, have 6 books and a play under my belt and have, in one way or another, been making my living as a wordsmith for the last decade and a half, just because I’m not on the bestseller lists I shy away from the word ‘writer’. I get nervous and fumble my answers if people ask what I do, or about my books, playing it down so that they don’t think I am bragging or laying claim to a title that only belongs to more talented, more famous and more successful people. Well, in 2015: screw that. I am writer, hear me roar…
PS: I started the New Year with some exciting writer news – the lovely Zoe Cunningham is doing a one-woman show based on the Dark Dates books. I’ll be posting a Q&A with Zoe later this week, but needless to say – it’s a great start to the year!
November 27, 2014
In which I once again fail at NaNoWriMo
An, another November draws to a close, another year when I have not managed to even half-arsedly participate in NaNoWriMo. In theory, this is a project custom built for me: while I like to carry stories around in my head for a while before I tell them, I’m also a big fan of a quickly written first draft – I know writers who flourish by editing as they go and crafting every line till it shines before they move onto the next one, but I have never been that girl. I write everything in longhand, vast, messy, quickly written sprawls of text that will need to be rewritten and rewritten many times before anyone gets to see them, but which spill out a story I didn’t even realise I was telling as the words take shape on the page.
I write ideas sketches first – very loose scenes, non-sequential, just to remember ideas I had or lines I liked. Later these are coalesced into a narrative structure – there’s usually a bit of a gap between these stages, so going back and re-reading my original notes is always a voyage of discovery. I find things I had forgotten about, multiple versions of scenes which niggled to be rewritten; characters change and plots thicken and wither from notebook to notebook, and often when I come to write a linear draft, I spend hours flicking through the pile of journals I take notes in, looking for a version of a scene I am sure that I have written somewhere, but can’t quite remember where.
So, having finished my notes stage over summer and being ready to start a draft, I thought NaNoWriMo would be a great exercise for me: just get it on the page and out of the way! And it would have, had November not, as every year, clashed with a massive deadline for me: winter is my busiest and most lucrative season for me, and everything else – writing, life, occasionally even showering – gets out on hold.
So, props to everyone who managed to stick with the programme this month. Anyone up for organising a summer version?
I write ideas sketches first – very loose scenes, non-sequential, just to remember ideas I had or lines I liked. Later these are coalesced into a narrative structure – there’s usually a bit of a gap between these stages, so going back and re-reading my original notes is always a voyage of discovery. I find things I had forgotten about, multiple versions of scenes which niggled to be rewritten; characters change and plots thicken and wither from notebook to notebook, and often when I come to write a linear draft, I spend hours flicking through the pile of journals I take notes in, looking for a version of a scene I am sure that I have written somewhere, but can’t quite remember where.
So, having finished my notes stage over summer and being ready to start a draft, I thought NaNoWriMo would be a great exercise for me: just get it on the page and out of the way! And it would have, had November not, as every year, clashed with a massive deadline for me: winter is my busiest and most lucrative season for me, and everything else – writing, life, occasionally even showering – gets out on hold.
So, props to everyone who managed to stick with the programme this month. Anyone up for organising a summer version?
September 16, 2014
The case for digital-only short stories
One of the criticisms of the digital book market is that it puts pressure on authors to constantly churn out new material: that on top of the ‘book a year’ demands of mainstream publishers, authors are now expected to produce digital-only short stories to keep their profile high and, of course, bring in extra income. (Although these are generally priced very low, for writers as popular as Tess Gerritsen and Lee Child – both of whom have successfully embraced this model – a lot of 99p sales soon add up). Short stories are now often used as ‘promos’ for new novels, either priced low or given away free in the weeks before a novel is published (a strategy used by Marcia Clark, for her Rachel Knight novels).
My reaction to this trend – both as a fan and a writer – is a positive one, and I must admit my sympathy for those professional writers complaining about this ‘punishing’ regime is, well, zero. For a start, it’s not exactly new: most novelists will regularly produce content for magazines and anthologies (just look at the Terry Pratchett book, A Blink of the Screen, a collection of his writings that brings together pieces from a surprisingly diverse range of sources). While some writers eventually have enough of this material to be compiled into standalone publications (Kelley Armstrong and Jim Butcher being good examples of this), often this isn’t the case, and fans either have to shell out for anthologies they may not be that interested in or simply miss out on stories by their favourite authors.
Digital has changed all that. New stories can be released as standalone pieces, and old stories that would have been buried in the archives of long-defunct magazines and publishers are now getting new life as digital-only releases. I was recently delighted when I discovered that the Lawrence Block’s ‘Burglar’ series – which the author stopped writing years ago – had a whole series of related short stories that had been published in print magazines over the years now all made available for less than a quid.
As an author, I have also enthusiastically embraced the trend. I had always planned to put out one Dark Dates book a year, but in the gap between the novels, when a couple of ideas for stories occurred to me, I published them as standalone stories. The benefits were multiple: readers got a chance to catch up with characters they had already become fond of, sometimes in very different settings that those of the novel; it was an opportunity to explore relationships that weren’t filtered through the subjective lens of Dark Dates’ first person narrator, Cass, and it helped create a steady stream of reviews and interactions, which helped feed the promotional machine which is so much part of today’s indie publishing world. Later, such a mechanism provided a useful stopgap when I realised I was behind on my schedule: last year a series of personal catastrophes meant I knew there was no way I would get another full length novel out on time, so I wrote a longer short story to, hopefully, keep readers interested in the interim between books.
Planning to do this? Here are some things I have learned...
Short, but not too short: If you’re selling a story as a standalone, it needs to be a reasonable length so buyers don’t feel shortchanged: if it’s only 1,000-3,000 words of so you may be better off just putting it on your website or as a blog post.
Expand your world: If you’re writing as part of a series, this is your chance to really have some fun with the world you created. Write about side characters, delve into backstories, play with perspective (Jim Butcher has done this well: his Dresden Files story narrated by Harry’s brother, Thomas, is a great twist on his usual style and we get the fun of seeing a narrator through someone else’s eyes).
Price it low: Even very successful authors can’t really charge more than a couple of quid for a short story, so you’re best keeping your price point low. If you’re publishing on Kindle, consider doing a free promotion to get attention for your other books.
Have realistic expectations: Lots of people don’t like short stories, and even when they do, reviews can be less enthusiastic than those for a full length piece. Don’t get hung up on this, or it’ll put you off!
Compile them! Once you have a few standalones, you can put these together as one product – this is particularly useful if you’re moving from digital to print. I did this with my three short stories (admittedly, one of these was more of a novella, so combined the book was a decent length) and it was well-received by readers who prefer print books.
My reaction to this trend – both as a fan and a writer – is a positive one, and I must admit my sympathy for those professional writers complaining about this ‘punishing’ regime is, well, zero. For a start, it’s not exactly new: most novelists will regularly produce content for magazines and anthologies (just look at the Terry Pratchett book, A Blink of the Screen, a collection of his writings that brings together pieces from a surprisingly diverse range of sources). While some writers eventually have enough of this material to be compiled into standalone publications (Kelley Armstrong and Jim Butcher being good examples of this), often this isn’t the case, and fans either have to shell out for anthologies they may not be that interested in or simply miss out on stories by their favourite authors.
Digital has changed all that. New stories can be released as standalone pieces, and old stories that would have been buried in the archives of long-defunct magazines and publishers are now getting new life as digital-only releases. I was recently delighted when I discovered that the Lawrence Block’s ‘Burglar’ series – which the author stopped writing years ago – had a whole series of related short stories that had been published in print magazines over the years now all made available for less than a quid.
As an author, I have also enthusiastically embraced the trend. I had always planned to put out one Dark Dates book a year, but in the gap between the novels, when a couple of ideas for stories occurred to me, I published them as standalone stories. The benefits were multiple: readers got a chance to catch up with characters they had already become fond of, sometimes in very different settings that those of the novel; it was an opportunity to explore relationships that weren’t filtered through the subjective lens of Dark Dates’ first person narrator, Cass, and it helped create a steady stream of reviews and interactions, which helped feed the promotional machine which is so much part of today’s indie publishing world. Later, such a mechanism provided a useful stopgap when I realised I was behind on my schedule: last year a series of personal catastrophes meant I knew there was no way I would get another full length novel out on time, so I wrote a longer short story to, hopefully, keep readers interested in the interim between books.
Planning to do this? Here are some things I have learned...
Short, but not too short: If you’re selling a story as a standalone, it needs to be a reasonable length so buyers don’t feel shortchanged: if it’s only 1,000-3,000 words of so you may be better off just putting it on your website or as a blog post.
Expand your world: If you’re writing as part of a series, this is your chance to really have some fun with the world you created. Write about side characters, delve into backstories, play with perspective (Jim Butcher has done this well: his Dresden Files story narrated by Harry’s brother, Thomas, is a great twist on his usual style and we get the fun of seeing a narrator through someone else’s eyes).
Price it low: Even very successful authors can’t really charge more than a couple of quid for a short story, so you’re best keeping your price point low. If you’re publishing on Kindle, consider doing a free promotion to get attention for your other books.
Have realistic expectations: Lots of people don’t like short stories, and even when they do, reviews can be less enthusiastic than those for a full length piece. Don’t get hung up on this, or it’ll put you off!
Compile them! Once you have a few standalones, you can put these together as one product – this is particularly useful if you’re moving from digital to print. I did this with my three short stories (admittedly, one of these was more of a novella, so combined the book was a decent length) and it was well-received by readers who prefer print books.
September 7, 2014
Why a bad review can be a good thing
One of the pleasures of publishing is other people’s reactions to your writing: I don’t imagine there’s a writer out there who doesn’t love getting nice feedback. If you didn’t want readers to connect with your writing, you wouldn’t put it out there, and the validation that comes with a good review can’t be overstated. Equally, because writing feels so intimate – you’re putting a little piece of your soul up for judgement – when someone doesn’t like your book it can feel like a personal insult, and some authors can be driven to react accordingly. Here’s why that is a very, very bad idea – and why, in fact, a negative review can be a blessing in disguise.
Accept it will hurt – then get over it
I know, as an author, what it feels like to read a bad review, and I won’t lie to you, it’s never fun. You spend ages and ages – months, sometimes years – slaving away over something, you put your heart and soul into it, and then someone who probably skim read it on the tube or with one eye on whatever TV show they were watching dismisses it out of hand! How very dare they! Clearly they are imbeciles who wouldn’t know a good book if you hit them over the head with it… etc, etc, etc. And that’s fine: you can throw a tantrum, rant at your partner or your friends or even your cat about all these idiots who shouldn’t be let near a computer… but that’s where you need to stop. In public, online, you never, ever react.
Don’t try and ‘correct’ them
The fact is, whatever they say, their opinion is correct because it’s their opinion. Your opinion might be that they are a moron, which is your right, but there’s really no benefit in trying to change their mind. So don’t add a comment on their blog about how they ‘misunderstood’ you (I’ve seen even well-established authors do this, and it never goes well); don’t bitch on Twitter or Facebook, don’t comment on Goodreads or vote their reviews as unhelpful on Amazon. It makes you look petty, turns other bloggers against you and it’s simply a fight you can’t win.
Don’t get others to defend you
There’s plenty of craziness out there already: don’t add to it. We’ve all seen these dramas where authors have been so offended at a review they’ve vented to fans, who have ended up swamping blogs with nasty comments (or even threats, which is obviously never justifiable) simply for the crime of not liking a book. Don’t sockpuppet comments yourself or get friends or family to do it for you. If there are people out there who want to debate your work, fine, but you shouldn’t be manipulating this out of hurt feelings.
Can you learn from the review?
This is particularly helpful for indie authors, who tend not to have the same process of quality control for their products as mainstream authors. Go back to the review, when you’re calm: maybe there are some valid comments in there? Is there something you could have fixed, or points you could take on board? Some things may be easily mended; for instance, if you’re an indie author and a reviewer says that the book was poorly edited or proofed or the cover looked cheap, maybe next time you just need to spend some money getting your next manuscript professionally worked on before you put it out there. If they say the story is confusing, or the writing sometimes not that clear – do they have a point? Think about what your beta readers said (and you should always, always have a team of beta readers to give you feedback before you publish – nobody in the world can properly edit or objectively judge their own stuff). Did you ignore any feedback from them that is being repeated by the reviewers? If so, you might have to accept they were right. Look at the good reviews you are getting – are they saying similar things, even though the reader in question liked the book overall? It’s rare you’ll get a review from someone who thinks your book is flawless.
Not everyone will like you…
Of course, you may also just think that the reviewer is stupid (who knows, they may be, there’s plenty of dumb people in the world) or that they didn’t ‘get’ your book. So what? Every book you loved, every writer you adore – someone, somewhere, will hate. Why should you be any different?
And that’s a good thing!
Nothing is more suspicious on Amazon or Goodreads than pages of perfect reviews: it looks like, at best, the only people who’ve read the book are your friends, at worst, you’re paying people to say nice things. Throw in some one and two star reviews, and at least it looks like actual people in the real world have read your book. Sometimes getting a bad review can prompt discussion, too – and people talking about your work is exactly what you want.
NEVER buy reviews!
Do I need to even spell out why buying reviews is a terrible, terrible idea? It undermines the whole system, it tars all indie authors with the same brush, and ultimately, it’s bad for your writing. I know plenty of people in professional publishing, and it’s not a kind industry. Buffeting yourself against genuine, helpful feedback means you won’t ever get better, and sooner or later, your bluff will get called. Putting yourself out there inevitably means that some people won’t like you and they might say mean things about your work: but that’s part of what being a writer is. Authors who can’t accept that are in the wrong job.
Accept it will hurt – then get over it
I know, as an author, what it feels like to read a bad review, and I won’t lie to you, it’s never fun. You spend ages and ages – months, sometimes years – slaving away over something, you put your heart and soul into it, and then someone who probably skim read it on the tube or with one eye on whatever TV show they were watching dismisses it out of hand! How very dare they! Clearly they are imbeciles who wouldn’t know a good book if you hit them over the head with it… etc, etc, etc. And that’s fine: you can throw a tantrum, rant at your partner or your friends or even your cat about all these idiots who shouldn’t be let near a computer… but that’s where you need to stop. In public, online, you never, ever react.
Don’t try and ‘correct’ them
The fact is, whatever they say, their opinion is correct because it’s their opinion. Your opinion might be that they are a moron, which is your right, but there’s really no benefit in trying to change their mind. So don’t add a comment on their blog about how they ‘misunderstood’ you (I’ve seen even well-established authors do this, and it never goes well); don’t bitch on Twitter or Facebook, don’t comment on Goodreads or vote their reviews as unhelpful on Amazon. It makes you look petty, turns other bloggers against you and it’s simply a fight you can’t win.
Don’t get others to defend you
There’s plenty of craziness out there already: don’t add to it. We’ve all seen these dramas where authors have been so offended at a review they’ve vented to fans, who have ended up swamping blogs with nasty comments (or even threats, which is obviously never justifiable) simply for the crime of not liking a book. Don’t sockpuppet comments yourself or get friends or family to do it for you. If there are people out there who want to debate your work, fine, but you shouldn’t be manipulating this out of hurt feelings.
Can you learn from the review?
This is particularly helpful for indie authors, who tend not to have the same process of quality control for their products as mainstream authors. Go back to the review, when you’re calm: maybe there are some valid comments in there? Is there something you could have fixed, or points you could take on board? Some things may be easily mended; for instance, if you’re an indie author and a reviewer says that the book was poorly edited or proofed or the cover looked cheap, maybe next time you just need to spend some money getting your next manuscript professionally worked on before you put it out there. If they say the story is confusing, or the writing sometimes not that clear – do they have a point? Think about what your beta readers said (and you should always, always have a team of beta readers to give you feedback before you publish – nobody in the world can properly edit or objectively judge their own stuff). Did you ignore any feedback from them that is being repeated by the reviewers? If so, you might have to accept they were right. Look at the good reviews you are getting – are they saying similar things, even though the reader in question liked the book overall? It’s rare you’ll get a review from someone who thinks your book is flawless.
Not everyone will like you…
Of course, you may also just think that the reviewer is stupid (who knows, they may be, there’s plenty of dumb people in the world) or that they didn’t ‘get’ your book. So what? Every book you loved, every writer you adore – someone, somewhere, will hate. Why should you be any different?
And that’s a good thing!
Nothing is more suspicious on Amazon or Goodreads than pages of perfect reviews: it looks like, at best, the only people who’ve read the book are your friends, at worst, you’re paying people to say nice things. Throw in some one and two star reviews, and at least it looks like actual people in the real world have read your book. Sometimes getting a bad review can prompt discussion, too – and people talking about your work is exactly what you want.
NEVER buy reviews!
Do I need to even spell out why buying reviews is a terrible, terrible idea? It undermines the whole system, it tars all indie authors with the same brush, and ultimately, it’s bad for your writing. I know plenty of people in professional publishing, and it’s not a kind industry. Buffeting yourself against genuine, helpful feedback means you won’t ever get better, and sooner or later, your bluff will get called. Putting yourself out there inevitably means that some people won’t like you and they might say mean things about your work: but that’s part of what being a writer is. Authors who can’t accept that are in the wrong job.
