The Accidental Writer: Book Reviews – What You Can Learn From Them!
My first rule regarding reviews—every one is valid. Each one represents a reader’s feelings about a book and therefore is legitimate and important and should be examined in that light. Yes, even bad reviews are valid, and smart authors will comb through the bad and good to get feedback about how effective their writing truly is. We’re all familiar with the five star rating system. It’s a very subjective animal. Normally, four and five star reviews are good, three is so-so, and anything worse is just plain bad. However a reviewer for Shatter Point gave it a three star review and then wrote that she can’t wait to read the next book! Those three star reviews can really swing both ways depending upon the text, so start at nuetral when you read them and let the words sort them where they belong.
Most articles written about reviews tend to focus on the negative ones. I’ll get to that in a minute, but positive reviews are as important. Read them carefully. Yes, you are allowed to smile when you get a good review, but after a short moment of self-congratulation, carefully study what the reader has said about your book. What does the reader like most about your novel–Pace, Plot or People. The three Ps. If your good reviews love the pace and few talk about your characters, well then maybe you need to work on better development of your characters in your next work. Also, many good reviews still point out something that didn’t quite work for the reader. Perhaps the beginning was slow or the end too quick? Take note of these, but keep in mind that trends are important. One review, by itself, doesn’t tell us much, but ten reviews that all point out the same issue, well that’s a trend.
Negative reviews will happen for any book. Resist the urge to contact whoever gave you the bad review and fire back a response. Yes, this may make you feel better for ten seconds, but it will only backfire. You will come across looking like a jerk and shine light on a review you’d rather keep in the darkness. As with good reviews, read the bad ones closely and see if they point out something you can use going forward. If the review starts with “I don’t like reading this genre,” or “I usually only review literary works,” or anything like that, don’t give it much weight, unless it points out an issue on your marketing plan. Perhaps you’ve written a thriller and the cover screams romance. In that case, avoid disaster and find a new cover artist and change it right away!
Reviews are really a great way for authors to find out what’s working and what’s not in their writing. Study them. Don’t get too high for a great one or two low for a bad one. Remember that writing is a craft, one honed over a lifetime. If you’re looking for a new read, check out Shatter Point, my newly released psychgological thriller. With over 20 reviews on Amazon it’s holding it’s own with a 4.5 rating. Still, you’ll find a couple of two ratings. It was hard, but for once, I followed my own advice.
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