Should a published author read reviews?

First, I must state that I am a self-published author (through Createspace, which I will blog on my experience later) who currently has two novels out on Amazon.com.  In Search of Grace (August 2012) and Dragan’s Redemption (November 2012).  I am very much a newbie to the publishing world yet I have already exceeded my personal expectations in sales and am extremely happy where I am  to date.  The genre I write is romance and paranormal romance.

I know that other self-published authors have made the decision to pay to have reviews written in an attempt to boost sales.  I personally chose not to go that route even though I find the idea intriguing from a marketing standpoint.

Should a published author read reviews?  My answer is yes and no.   For the yes side,  it is a chance to connect with what some of my readers are thinking, so I do read the reviews on my work.    In saying that my skin thickened really quickly after reading some of them.  There are readers out there that can be cruel just to be cruel.  One reviewer in fact had done many reviews and every book read was given no higher than 2 out of 5 stars.  Instead of taking it personally, I started to wonder about the person that did the reading and whether or not any book would meet that persons standard.   Then, there are the reviews I am grateful for.  They are the ones that like the storyline, and take into consideration that the author (such as myself) is doing it ALL, from editing to marketing to the actual writing.  They are honest yet their ratings are kind.  I like kind.

For the no side.  If you, as an author, are going to live or die by a review and you could possibly stop writing because of a bad one.....then STAY AWAY from the comment/review sections. 

Many of us write because it is as natural as breathing and to be without a pending story is a slow painful death into oblivion.

Peace

Kelly