Someone posting “this story sucks.” Does not constitute a bad review. Explaining what about the story sucked and why it did is more helpful. Just saying you disliked a story because it wasn’t your cup of tea leaves a lot to be desired.

 

So if you’re ready to take the plunge and read reviews, I have three sure-fire ways to overcome and/or accept a bad review. 

 

Ignorance is Bliss- What you don’t know can’t hurt you.

 

1. For the love of ink, Do NOT read reviews.

 

One of the very first reviews I ever received was negative. The person called my character weak, and unable to handle anything life threw at her. There were a few other things that were said, but I’ve forgotten. Then I’ve had reviews criticizing the amount of sex, even when the book description states “contains descriptions of explicit sex.” Hello! That line alone means the upcoming read is nowhere near sweet (nothing more than a chaste kiss happens) and you may want to select a different book.

 

Of course, I know some authors who read every review they receive, good, bad or indifferent. My skin is not that thick and at the end of the day. I’m still going to write the story of my heart.

 

Grab a tall glass of your favorite drink. I suggest a shot of liquor or three. My go to is a pitcher of margaritas. Now that we’ve got some liquid courage let’s go.

 

2 Stay objective - In other words, don’t take it personally.

A good reviewer will know how to keep their comments on the story, without attacking the author. A reviewer should be able to say what was liked or disliked about the plot, characters, and whatever else and why it made s/he feel the way it did. 

 

I know the story is your baby and blood, sweat, and many tears have been shed for the sake of getting the scene just right, but don’t take it personally when the reviewer trashes your hard work.

 

3. Opinions are like Bellybuttons

 

Unless you were created from clay, you have a bellybutton and just like bellybuttons, everyone has an opinion. If you see one out of ten reviews that are bad, it’s one person’s opinion. Now if you see a trend where each reviewer says the same thing, i.e. good plot, but the heroine was TSTL (too stupid to live) Then you may want to re-evaluate how much depth you’re putting into your character.

 

When all is said and done. even the big time Best Selling Authors get bad reviews. Don’t believe me, go check out James Patterson, Diane Mott Davidson, F. Paul Wilson, or Christine Feehan. Their fans can be brutal. And if that’s not enough to mollify a bad review, there’s always tequila.

Technology is a wonderful tool, when it works. The incursion of the Internet thank you Al Gore (snicker), has allowed the world to be a vastly smaller place. We no longer need to rely on papers letters or postcards to travel days or even weeks to an intended destination, but can send a digital version and the recipient can have it in their hands in a matter of seconds or minutes. We’ve come to rely on better and faster ways to communicate with one another.

 

At first, platforms like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, were considered great time sucks, but businesses and authors alike saw the power of social media and soon there became an app for that.

 

I don’t know who coined they phrase, but “an app for that,” became a catch phrase. Everybody who was anybody had an app. As an author, having an app was a great tool. And being truthful here, I miss being an app. 

 

Having an app was convenient. Instead of writing down a long list of links or carting around a purse full of bookmarks or other swag, I could just tell anyone with a smartphone, “I’m an app..” And it was free! Who doesn’t love free? 

 

A lot of apps are free to download and meant as a convenient way to access the essentials.  Such as banking, cellular and airline apps. At a glance you can check your balance or transfer funds, pay your cellphone bill, or check the status of a flight. 

 

But what about those other apps? You know the ones with fruit, candy and letters. Those are definitely time wasters, and yes I have those apps on my mobile devices. I haven’t played with candy because well I got stuck on a level. At one time I had about 15 games going on a word game. I love word games, but I spent way too much time doing them. And we won’t discuss my addiction to the cute little fruit. You know the game. Starts with an ‘f’ and ends with saga. Playing that particular game for a few minutes . . . is a great mind cleanser before bed. Well, at least for me it is.

 

Did you know there was an app to help you organize your apps? That That way you can schedule posts? If you get one of those apps, you’ll have more time to crush lollipops or in my case make a super fruit.