The Fall Out from My First Bad Review

One day I logged onto Amazon and to check the stats for The Blood Gem.

Yes!  Someone left a new review. I'd been hoping my last free promo would garner some new comments from readers. 

For indie writers, reviews might as well be currency. 

I hurriedly clicked over to the page in sweet anticipation of reading how my book is the new hotness.

And there it sat.  A glowing one star  followed by a scathing commentary.

Prior to this I'd prepped myself.   There's plenty of talk in the writing community about getting the bad review.  What to do.  What not to do.

Some say to laugh it off.  Others say learn from it if possible. You can't please everyone.  But no matter what, getting negative reviews is inevitable.

I thought I was ready for it.  Everyone is entitled to an opinion.  I would take the high road and when the moment came, I would find the diamond hidden in the poop.

Yeah, well. . . that didn't happen.

I closed my laptop and went to bed. 

I didn't write for days.  My body conked out and I developed a really bad a sinus infection.  The last thing I wanted to do was write.

On the J train going to the office, the critic's words would come back to me unbidden.

Even now, I can quote lines from what this person wrote.

On the kindle forum, somebody suggested to go read the reviews for your favorite 'traditionally' published writer.

I did.  And OMG!!! 

People feel free to rip writers a new one.  And they do it with glee.   Some sound like they know the author personally and they're still pissed off the writer's dog crapped on their lawn. 

Again, everyone is entitled to their opinion.  And yes, if one buys a crap product a little annoyance may be justified. 

But c'mon how about some constructive criticism delivered with a huge-ass dose of common courtesy? 

Sometimes the anonymity offered by the internet is corrupting.  Or maybe it allows us to show our true natures?

I belong to Toastmasters where we learn the art of giving effective speech evaluations that are supportive and instructive.  It's not that hard. 

After reading those reviews I put on my big girl panties and got back to work. My next book is a dystopian story about love and deceit and the ties that bind us together.

Writing is weird and hard and fun.   And when the 'publish now' button is hit, that book (usually) represents someone who has put a lot of time and effort into it.

Now, I've read some crappy books - self-published and traditionally published. No one should get an instant stamp of approval just because they've spent x amount of hours working on anything.

In the future when I leave a review, I will write it as if the author is sitting next to me.  And if I act like a bitch, they're allowed to punch me in the face.  

This was a good lesson.  The next time the single star pops up underneath one my books, I'll be ok.