Have you ever put down a book because the characters are two dimensional or the plot is trite or the writing style just drives you bananas? Have you ever stopped reading a favorite author because she reused the same plot over and over or because he writes the exact same protagonist in every story (just with a different name and hair style)?
If you have, that’s okay. We don’t have to like every story we read. Different people have different tastes. My mother loves reading gothic romance while I prefer books with more heft in their plot. My dad is a big hard science fiction fan. I tend to skim over the more technical bits of a hard scifi book. As readers, we all have books we will and will not read. We all have opinions on whether we like an author’s style or not.
So why do we, as writers, get angry when other readers give us negative book reviews?
I’d like to say I’m above all that. But honestly, the first review I ever got (it was a review of a fanfic piece I’d written) made me so mad that I went off on the reviewer with a rant ending in “I didn’t ask your opinion anyway!” Except, thinking back on it, I did. Not directly, but I asked people what they thought about the piece expecting all sorts of warm fuzzies and praise to come back to me. And even if I hadn’t asked for thoughts, the fact that I put the fiction out there for other people to read means I granted them the right to have an opinion on the work.
I’ve tried to be better about this. Not that I’ve had much of a chance. My officially published work has garnered only 5 & 1/2 reviews (1/2 a review for an acknowledgement that I wrote the story, but little other information included). Of those reviews, 4 & 1/2 are positive. 1 is negative. The person who gave me a negative review said that my story was predictable. He didn’t like the characters much and it was his least favorite story of the anthology.
And you know what? That’s okay. He has his opinion. Obviously I think my stories are shiny, sparkly (like vampires!) and the best thing since sliced bread. After all, I did write them. That does not mean, however, that this reviewer is wrong about my story. He didn’t like it. He’s read stories like this before. It didn’t mean to him what it meant to me. That is okay because I have felt the same way about other authors’ works. If I have the right to dislike someone’s story because of those reasons, then he has the right to dislike my story for the same reason.
So why, oh why, do we argue with the people who review us? Do we really think that yelling at them, turning reviews into personal attacks, and screaming that our story is Nobel laureate material will actually change things?
I keep hearing stories about authors who unload on people who give bad reviews. There have been several in the news lately. (No links or names because I’m not going to encourage a pile-on here.) In an age where virtual mob backlash can kill a website in 24 hours or destroy a business, are we really stupid enough to risk our names, our brands, and our profits over the need to harass someone who is being honest about their opinion?
Here’s my piece of writing advice. If it’s not a personal attack, ignore it. If it is a personal attack, ignore it unless it is a threat of death or violence (in which case, report it to the authorities immediately!). Do not engage. Do not make the news item of the day “Bully Author Dumps on Fan.” Goodreads actually has a “Bully Author” list (which I find incredibly sad).
I have decided that if I read any negative reviews of my work, my first thought is going to be “Hey, they read my stuff!” I hope I never ever again do what I did the first time I received a review. It was stupid, childish, and completely unprofessional. And if I do act like that, y’all have permission to thwack me about the head and shoulders with my Patented Wet Noodle . Because that kind of behavior isn’t just a career killer, it’s just plain dumb.
P.S. Don’t forget that I’m giving out an Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift certificate for those who comment before August 31st on any blog post in my blog. Details are here.
