A few weeks ago I received my first
negative review for Mine to Avenge.
It was an experience I knew would eventually come, but in spite of that, it was
still something of a slap in the face.
The review arrived during my lunch break
one day at work. My publisher warned me in advance that it wasn’t so great, but
he told me there were certainly enough good bits in it to benefit from, and
reminded me that it was only one person’s opinion. So, with this warning in
mind, I read the review. I felt something like the twist of a knife in my gut to
read negative comments about the ‘baby’ I labored over for more than two years to
bring to birth.
However, what did surprise me was how
quickly I got over this painful moment, and I realized I had been well prepared
for it. By the time my lunch break was over, I’d let go of it and got back to
work. I didn’t even lie awake stewing about it that night and had a wonderful
night’s sleep.
How did I manage this? I think it comes
down to having a realistic estimation of yourself and your work, being aware of
a few facts, and being willing to benefit from the situation when it’s upon
you.
In terms of having a realistic estimation
of yourself, it will hurt badly if you think too highly of yourself and your
skills. If you put yourself up on a pedestal, believing you are the next JK
Rowling before you receive a bad review, it’s going to hurt when you fall,
after finding out that others don’t see you in the same light. By the same
token, I think you shouldn’t be too disparaging of yourself - believe yourself
to be capable. Know that you have always got room to grow and improve.
Accept the fact that bad reviews are par
for the course. You can’t escape them - they will eventually come. I had been lulled
into a false sense of security because I have over twenty testimonials and
reviews now, and this was the first negative one. However, I turned that around
into a positive thought, and told myself that I am still way ahead in terms of the
ratio of good reviews to bad.
Another fact to be aware of is that a bad
review is only one person’s opinion. Reading is a very subjective thing.
Everyone has their own unique tastes and just because one person doesn’t like
your story, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t any good and that others won’t like
it. As I said in my speech at my book
launch last year, ‘If you like my book, tell your friends about it. If you
don’t like my book, still tell your friends about it - it might be right up
their alley.’
Be prepared to take the criticism on board.
Be willing to think about it and learn from it. Basically, the reviewer had two
main criticisms of Mine to Avenge.
Firstly, she didn’t like my story having more than one main character. I’m not
sure that I could have approached this differently, as Mine to Avenge is a generational saga, and different characters
take the lead depending on what year it is in the story. Secondly, the reviewer
didn’t like my flitting back and forth between eras. This is the part I am
mulling over and trying to learn from, putting my mind to see whether I could
have done it differently. I couldn’t have written the story with a straightforward
linear chronology as it would have revealed certain things at the wrong time to
the reader, but I don’t want to reject her criticism out of hand and will keep
chewing over this to see if I can benefit from it in my future work, if I
attempt another generational tale.
Don’t lose sight of the praiseworthy parts
of a bad review by wallowing in the bad parts. The reviewer was impressed
with my research, the premise behind the story and the plotting. I found this
very encouraging, given the overall generational span of the novel.
Realise that a bad review won’t necessarily
drive readers away. My son told me some
time ago, that in his opinion, ‘There is no such thing as bad publicity.’ I
read somewhere that apparently the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ phenomenon began
because of bad reviews, though I am not sure how accurate that is.
Probably the most important advice I can
give other novice authors is to be prepared for bad reviews. They will come,
and they will hurt, but it’s up to you how long you let it hurt. Don’t let it
discourage you from marketing - your audience is out there somewhere. Most
importantly, don’t let a bad review discourage you from writing, but let it spur you on to improve your skills.
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