Does it disappoint you when you get a bad review?

Merle Temple No author can please everyone. We all have our personal likes and dislikes. I focus on the generous notes we get from readers and the reaction from audiences when I talk about my novels. When a college chooses your book as required reading for all English students, you are invited to sign books for the cast of Criminal Minds, and K-12 schools use your book in their English classes, you must be doing something right. Still, you engage those audiences to learn what worked and what didn't. I use negative reviews to try to understand how I might improve my writing, but those who leave a one star rating with no comments and then block their accounts, prevent authors from gleaning any idea about their reasoning or likes or dislikes, and do a disservice to all who love books. They act as spoilers, not adding anything constructive to the process or helping creative people who are trying to hone their craft. Goodreads should not allow one or even two star ratings without some rationale for the rating. It is a flaw in the system. There are so many fake accounts today, it is impossible to tell if the rater is even a real reader or someone with an agenda. By all means, rate a book as you see it, but don't just pick the low hanging fruit and spoil the orchard, leave a review to enrich the harvest for everyone.

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