Hey guys. I have entered new territory on my publishing journey; the reviews are coming in. While I’ve had, like most authors, my book critiqued by what feels like a million agents, publishers, beta readers, critique partners, and a few chosen friends & family, now the public is getting chance to read it.
I thought I was cool; I thought I was calm,
I thought I was ready,
but man, is it nerve-wracking. This rollercoaster ride is just a never-ending series of tremendous highs and sometimes horrible lows. You never know what each day will bring. Readers are subjective and have different tastes, enjoy specific genres, and writing styles, and I think all writers and authors get that. What no one gets, though, is mean. You can dislike and critique a book, but you never have to be mean. Someone has worked hard on that cluster of pages you hated, and while I haven’t experienced that YET, my reviews have been great except for a few that I didn’t seem to grab. But I’ve been reading others’ reviews much more closely on a few books I loved and some I didn’t care for. It’s amazing how differently people can feel.
I’m going to pretend for today that my positive reviews will continue with sprinkles and a cherry on top but brace myself because it’s tough out there! Click below to read about some classic books that got horrible reviews when they first came out. You may be shocked!
Couldn’t agree more! My reviews are all over the board (from 1 to 5 stars and everything in between) but the ones that really get to me are the mean ones that give no clue about what they didn’t like but still put up a one star. The latest one said “literally awful.” and that was it. It was of course followed by a five star from someone else saying “best book I’ve read this year” but still, I would have liked to know what that person thought was so awful – the characters, the writing, the plot, the premise??? Reviews shouldn’t be mean or spiteful but helpful to other readers and maybe even to the writer. Remember – there’s a real life person at the other end reading what you wrote.
It shocks me, Maggie, that anyone would give your books a bad review. But even the best get them. We must remember to suit up in armor before launch!