BOOK REVIEWS

Why reviews vary — and why you shouldn’t take them personally.

Your book isn’t for everyone. Some people may love it, and others may hate it. Some don’t like fiction, some don’t like non-fiction, and on and on. It’s not about what one person thinks. You should judge your reviews by what the majority of your readers think. Reviews can change from one day to the next.

My book took time before I saw the first sales. It took a while to figure out how to make it happen. Hopefully, some of the tips on this site will help speed up the process for you. I believe the important thing is that you enjoyed writing your book. It was hard work, it’s on sale, and that is a great accomplishment!

Some authors prefer not to read their reviews. In my opinion, a bad review can be your best friend if it is a legitimate one. Ask yourself: Why didn’t they like your book? For example:

• "On page five, I noticed five grammatical errors.” Embarrassing, yes — but you can fix them.

• If the reviewer simply doesn’t like your genre, discard it and move on. If they didn’t like your genre, they shouldn’t have read your book.

• “I read the Introduction and didn’t like it, so I didn’t read the book. One star.” Oh my! I tried to get one of those removed, but it was still there the last time I checked.

• Look at the reviewer’s history. If they’ve read hundreds of books and given most of them one star, maybe they should consider a different hobby. Disregard the review.

  
  

A couple of bad reviews won’t ruin your average. Is it upsetting? Sure. But it isn’t worth stressing over. Move on!

However, if a review is legitimate, there’s nothing wrong with revising and republishing your book. Constructive criticism shouldn’t be ignored. Nobody’s perfect. Use bad reviews to create an even better book. My first edition averaged 3.5 stars. My second averaged 3.9 stars. My next revision averaged 4.2 stars. I updated my book again in October this year. I can’t wait to see if it changes my rating once more.

For those who haven’t seen this already on my Facebook, I believe this puts reviews into perspective:

Sometimes your writing may even become a hobby, and you don’t sell any books. Hobbies can also be rewarding.

GONE WITH THE WIND: A Reality Check

Listed below are the reviews for one of the greatest stories of all time:

• 55% (557,606) – 5 stars

• 25% (258,651) – 4 stars

• 12% (126,196) – 3 stars

• 3% (36,556) – 2 stars

• 2% (22,380) – 1 star

  
  

In summary:22,380 readers gave this book one star. 36,556 gave it two stars. 126,196 readers gave it three stars. I seriously doubt the author was concerned.

New York Times statistics: Gone With the Wind was the No. 1 national bestseller for two consecutive years and won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It has sold more than 25 million copies in 37 countries.

The movie earned over $506 million in four years. There have been eight re-releases over approximately 60 years, and total sales are estimated at $3.3 billion worldwide.

Final Encouragement

Never get discouraged by reviews and never give up writing. If writing is your passion, keep writing!

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