Don't Give Up

As a new author, reviews are extremely important to me. They are an unbiased opinion of what my work is really like. When I received my first bad review, it seemed that my first reaction was not anger at the reviewer, after all they are just being honest (I hope), but disappointment in myself.

For instance, the reviews stated there were typos. I personally checked, rechecked and checked some more, but that's the problem with reading your own work so many times. You already know what it's supposed to say and spell check only goes so far.

Another point they made was the way I told the story. Everyone's writing style is different and sometimes it may not translate as well as you think. It boils down to opinions. Everyone has one and the best thing you can do is accept that and move forward.

If you love writing and enjoy sharing it with people, you shouldn't give up. Take what the reviewer says as constructive criticism. The reviewers I had were not mean, they were just being honest and now I have an opportunity to learn from what they had to say.