Don't read your own reviews. I got that piece of advice more than once from veteran authors as early reviews started rolling into GoodReads and the official release date for Close To You loomed large.
And let me say this is it good advice. Right up there with eat very limited processed sugar and get 30 minutes of exercise a day. But here is the truth, I did not have that kind of willpower in me. At least not when it came to my debut novel which had been ten years in the making since I first started writing. I could no more stop myself from reading reviews in those early days/weeks than I could stop myself dreaming of Taylor Swift reading Close To You and tweeting about it to her twenty-six million followers (dream big, I say).
Who knows? Maybe if I am ever fortunate enough to be a veteran author with a stack of titles out there in the big wide world the lure of reading my own reviews will abate. But for now, these are my four tips for those of us who cannot say no to that GoodReads or Amazon page!
Don't Be Obsessive
Checking in every few days in okay, sitting on the page for an hour hitting refresh to see if any more have come in since the last time you did is, well not.
Make Sure You Have Perspective
Ever read a book that all your friends raved about and then when you picked it up you thought it was a bit meh? Guess what, that will also be the reaction some readers have to your book. It's not personal. Your book, for whatever reason, isn't going to resonate with every reader. That's okay. It doesn't make you a bad writer and it doesn't make them a bad reader.
Don't Rely on Reviews As Your Primary Validation As A Writer
If reviews become your primary source of validation then the way that you write becomes subject to the whims of strangers. The way that you perceive your own capabilities as a writer becomes on a rollercoaster of other peoples' opinions.
I have a team of editors whose job it is to let good books be published. I have an agent whose income relies in hi being able to recognise good writing. I have a cadre of critique partners who are all great writers. If they tell me something needs work, I listen. If they tell me something isn't working, I try to fix it. If they think that the writing is good and the characters are compelling, then their opinion has to mean more to me than the reader who had a bad day and thought my characters were whiny, immature and made her want to throw my book across the room.
Don't Ever Ever Publicly Respond To Negative Reviews
I read a bad review for Close To You recently. Which I was actually remarkably okay with (see point above) but what really got under my skin was the factual errors. Hate my book if you must but at least have the courtesy of spelling my name right and not making errors about the content. In the words of Disney Let it go, let it good.
In that vain, don't encourage friends or family to do so either. I've read a few review responses that were clearly by friends or family of the author and it just looks petty. Sometimes well-meaning people will go off on their own and do something like that without you knowing but do everything you can to discourage it.
What about you? If you're an author do you read your own reviews? If you're a reader have you ever seen authors respond to reviews and what did you think?
Kara, yes, I always find it funny when authors tell authors not to read reviews of their books. Why not? I actually think it's a good way of understanding what readers think. If all we do as authors is listen to people who say all the good things then we're getting an unbalanced view.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of excellent reviewers out there and we as authors can learn a lot from them. Yes, the first review I read of Angelguard was titled something along the lines of : "Don't buy this - it's just terrible" and that hurt. Fortunately, most of the reviews since then have been generally positive.
Hey, not everyone is going to like our novels as much as we do. That's okay.
Excellent post, Kara. Yes, we've got to not allow reviews to be our validation as authors. Let the Lord be our validation.
So true, Ian! Readers do provide a valuable perspective on our work. They're the ones we're writing for after all :)
DeleteKara, great post! I do think there are some author who struggle to accept constructive criticism and would be wise to ignore the low star reviews on their books.
ReplyDeleteAn advantage of traditional publishing with a good traditional publisher is you already have the validation on the quality of your book before it's released. As a trad author, you've experienced the editing process where your book has been criticised and edited to make it better. You understand the value in pushing harder, digging deeper, and rewriting to make your story sparkle. Smart indie authors will hire editors to replicate this process and ensure their book is good quality. But, for the authors who haven't invested in a thorough editing process, the reviews become the big test on the quality of their book. That's not a good place to be in because reviews are subjective and readers have different personal tastes.
That is so true, Narelle! I am grateful for all the years spent learning how to receive and process critiques before I got published. Not a single reviewer of Close To You has so far gotten even close to some of my most scathing content judges :)
DeleteWell said. Especially about not letting family and friends comment on reviews - it looks sad. I recently read a review which a once-favourite author commented on. Once-favourite because, well, the comment didn't need to be made and it made her look petty and defensive.
ReplyDeleteI'd add that authors also shouldn't comment on positive reviews. I know the temptation is there to thank people in public, but it can look stalkerish (when the comment appears too quickly) or passive-aggressive (when they only thank 5-star reviewers).
Besides, start as you mean to go on. You're going to get hundreds, thousands of reviews, right? Fans won't thank you for thanking them when they want you to be writing the next book.
That's so true, Iola. I remember once an author commented in a review I'd left for her book literally a few minutes after I posted it. It was just a short "Thanks" kind of response but it felt a little weird.
DeleteI've privately messaged two reviewers for very specific reasons but I don't comment or like a review in the forum that it's left. A couple of times I have shared one on my author FB page if there was a particular reason to.
Thanks, Kara. Like you, I can't resist reading reviews, but I like your point of not letting them be my primary validation as an author. That has to come from editors, critique partners, and ultimately, God. Narelle mentioned indy authors. I once reviewed an indy book and mentiond (after several positive commnets) that I wished the author had developed a certain aspect of her story more as it had lots of potential for story tension. She ended up rewriting part of the book and asking me if I would revise my review. We have since done some manuscript exchange
ReplyDeleteThat's a great response to your review by that writer, Leanne! Funnily enough, I received my first one-star reviews for Close To You this week so I've been busy taking my own advice about validation :)
DeleteCarrie Turansky had a fantastic exchange with a man who wrote: “Reading the blurb on the back, it’s clear that the story is some kind of Edwardian bodice-ripper, unashamedly cashing in on the current popularity of Downton Abbey.” She blogged about it, and it's a great read: http://carrieturansky.com/index.php/google-searches-little-green-men-and-more/ (Christ-like behavior at its best). Thanks for the post, Kara. When my novel comes out next year, I will have to read this again :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Patricia. That was a great response by Carrie!
DeleteI find it hard not to peak at my reviews, and the truth is there are going to be people who love the book and those who don't. We all have such different tastes. Every review is simply one persons opinion, nothing more. And your right, whither they loved the book or not, it doesn't validate who we are!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know a well established author like yourself can't resist peaking, Lisa. I'm in awe of those who say they never even take a glimpse at GoodReads or Amazon :)
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