What to Do After a Negative Book Review?

I have been doing a lot of research and book reviews, both good and bad have made several appearances in my findings. Book reviews serve several purposes but the most important is its power to spread the word. Having book reviews are important for word of mouth marketing. People trust the opinions of fellow consumers after all. However, honest reviews are not just helpful to the buying public. It is also a great way to gauge your consumers interest. I have been going over some of the reviews authors in my genre have received but I have focused more on the negative ones as a way of learning what my audience is looking for. My findings have been a great help. This article will discuss why negative reviews are more helpful to the writer than the positive, how to get over a negative review and proper responses to receiving one.

Negative Reviews Are More Helpful To A Writer

Yes, you may believe you have written the next NY Times Best Seller however, even some of the great authors of our time didn’t get raving praise from everyone who read their work. Though you’d like everyone who read your novel to fall instantly in love and lavish the review section of Amazon with a blazing five stars it may not happen that way. Negative reviews are not something to take offense to. (if written with constructive criticism) But even if you receive a horribly written, highly offensive review it still holds some value. As a writer you want to always become better at your craft. You did this not by receiving praise but receive negative reviews. Sure it may hurt and you can tell if the reader is being hateful for no other reason then waking up on the wrong side of the bed but I promise it serves a purpose. During the research I have been doing to help discover how to make a life changing amount of money from e books I have looked through my competitions negative review pile. The information I have found was golden. I learned that my reading audience don’t like books that have tons of foul language, they don’t appreciate sex scenes that read like porn and they don’t like a cliff hanger that doesn’t imply a sequel is just around the corner. I took notes on all of their upsets and decided to write my next story with all of this information in mind. In general people love to say that others are ‘hating’ on them simply because their opinion is unfavorable.

This isn’t always the case though, haters do run rampant don’t get me wrong but everyone isn’t riding on the hater train. If you receive multiple bad reviews citing the same problems with your work then it may be a very noticeable problem you should fix. This especially true when readers are referring to things like editing. If you receive reviews that mention things like story line, lack of character development or even plot then take heed and learn as well as grow as a writer. Your audience is letting you know they want to fall in love with the characters, they want the story to flow learn from it. Good reviews are great but they don’t show you your weaknesses. They give you a false sense of having none. They are great for  ego boosts, confidence builders or validation but negative reviews may take you further.

How to Get Over a Negative Review? 

Negative reviews sting and some can hurt like hell. They stick with you even after the first run of your book has come and gone. The best way to get over negative reviews is to better your craft. Take away the valuable feedback and come back stronger and better with your next book. Don’t take them personally. I’ve learned through my review research that some reviewers leave ridiculous reviews and low star scores for very silly reasons. Some reviewers gave a great writer a three star review because the book was so good but ended with a cliff hanger. To me this is beyond silly. If the book was juicy, held your attention and have you yearning for part two then it is a definite five star. Most people don’t really know the makeup of a review. It is a brief summary of the product and your experience with it.

The Proper Way to Respond to A Negative Review

The best way to respond to a negative review is to not respond at all. Remain professional at all times. Remember not all readers will share the same view. If the reviews are based on editing that’s easily fixed. You can always re-edit and re post your story however, you can and must never stoop so low as to respond negatively to a reviewer it most certainly will backfire on you. I’ve seen this happen where an author lash out at the reviewer or have friends lash out at the person who spoke negatively on their work and the reading community in turn left more negative reviews and starting telling other readers not to support the authors work. This is the worst thing you can do for your literary career. If you choose to respond to the comments say something nice like “I want to first thank you for taking the time to read my work. I would like you to know that I have heard your concerns and plan on addressing them in my future works.” This will show the reader that you are not only humble but also professional as well. People will take you seriously and they tend to look favorably upon those that take the high road.

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