A Word on Negative Reviews

There's more to the truth than just the facts. ~Author Unknown

So yesterday, comments by an author who completely self-destructed online due to what she perceived to be a negative review (I read it ... it wasn't that negative) went viral. Be warned, if you read this, when she runs out of ways to argue, she just drops the F-Bomb...

The blog owner finally shut off comments (after 300+) but what's mind-boggling about the whole thing (and this is something we see far too often on the Internet now) is that the author simply didn't think twice before hitting send. And, as a result, she alienated thousands of potential readers.

I saw a comment elsewhere that she's now garnered hundreds of negative reviews on Amazon, and this person said that the author must be laughing up her sleeve because that many people bought her book. Sorry, commenter, you don't have to buy a book to leave a review on Amazon.

She even had a coffee mug created in her "honor".

My point in sharing all of this is simply this: authors will get negative reviews. It's the nature of the beast. From Jane Austen to Louis L'Amour to Stephen King, all authors get negative reviews. Period. It's how one deals with them that makes the difference.

The owner of the blog (above) actually has a post about negative reviews that I think is very well written.

EHow has articles on it.

I found other article about the subject here and here . I'm sure there are more.

How have I handled it in the past? I've thanked the reviewer for taking the time to review my book (when it's been possible to thank the reviewer -- as a side note, I really hate sites like Fictionwise that don't allow space for reviews ... the biggest benefit to a negative review is finding out what someone didn't like) and moved on.

I'm a super critical reader. I like only about half the books I pick up, and I love only a few. I understand how one person's opinion can differ wildly from another's.

Bad reviews are a fact of life. If you're going to be an author, get a thick skin or get out of the business.

I feel sorry for the author, above. She's going to have a rough time getting past this debacle.

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We're quiz free today ... the one today was stupid.

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