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One thing I know for sure: being a writer is not for the faint-hearted or the thin-skinned.
We’re faced with so many challenges, not the least of which is, ‘What if
someone doesn’t like my book and gives it a negative review?’
I mean, I pour my heart and soul into my books, right? How could someone
reject my baby?!?
In answer to that, here’s a quote from Joanna Penn, whose workshop I
attended last month: “Your book isn’t your baby, it’s your employee. Make it
work for you!”
Isn’t that a refreshing way to look at it? (Check out Joanna's website The Creative Penn - it's fabulous!)
But how do we prepare ourselves for negative reviews? And how can we
deal with them when they happen?
Some writers never read reviews of their books, but I do. I’m way too
curious. According to The Five Love Languages, I’m also a ‘words of affirmation’
girl, so it can be tricky for me. But I’ve learned a couple of things along the
way which I’d like to share with you in the hope it will be of help to some.
I’ve had two negative reviews quite recently. One of them was for
my novella, ‘All is Bright’, which I indie published last year in a box set called
‘An Aussie Summer Christmas’ along with five other authors, including our own Narelle
Atkins and Rose Dee. Unfortunately, I can’t directly quote the review for you,
as the boxset no longer exists on Amazon, but I can certainly remember the gist
of it!
In ‘All is Bright’, my heroine, Amy, has been secretly in love with her brother-in-law
for years, and continues to feel horribly guilty, even though her sister passed
away five years ago. The reviewer hated the premise, citing it as being
disgusting and immoral, along with a few other choice adjectives. ‘All is
Bright’ was responsible the boxset receiving three stars, not four.
The second negative review was given to ‘Too Pretty’ only last week. I
was at the Hillsong Colour Conference, where I’d been mightily inspired and
encouraged. Just as well! A review for ‘Too Pretty’ came up in my Twitter feed one night, so
I checked it out. It was really well done, with all these funny gifs which
really made me chuckle. Until I came to the words: “What did I think of the
book? I didn’t like it.”
Believe me, she didn’t. For two reasons, neither of which I agree with,
funnily enough J You can read the review here if you like. Seriously, the gifs are awesome!
For an affirmation chick like me, by rights these two reviews should’ve
flattened me. My roomie at the conference, who also happens to be my bestie,
said, “How do you cope with something like that? I’d be
devastated if that was said about something I’d created.”
But I’m not devastated. Here are some
reasons why:
1.
As mentioned before, not everyone will like my
stories, or ‘get’ my work. After all, each of the seven billion personalities
on the planet are unique and will never totally agree on anything, especially
when it comes to taste in music, art or books. It’s just the way it is, so I choose
not to stress over it. There’s no point.
2.
Having a negative review makes the rest of them genuine. Clearly, I haven’t bribed my friends and
rellies to write lovely things about my books.
3.
There can be elements of truth in negative reviews. If
you end up with a number of them all saying the same thing, then perhaps it’s a
good idea to take notice!
4.
Negative reviews of my books DO NOT define who I am,
because my identity is not defined by my writing. It’s defined by who I am in
God.
To my mind, that last one is the most important. Last year I went
through a bit of an identity crisis. You can read about that here.
In a nutshell, if you know who you are, or more importantly, whose you are, then negative reviews are
a thousand times easier to handle. God loves me. He adores me. And while that may sound incredibly simplistic, at the end
of the day, to me, that’s what matters the most.
Andrea Grigg lives on the Gold Coast,
Queensland, and is the author of two contemporary Christian romance novels, and a
novella. She would love to connect with you via:
Email: andreagrigg@live.com
Great post, Andrea - thanks. Negative reviews (and feedback) are hard, but I was nodding at everyone one of your points and especially the last one. Plus, even the greats, the classics, the New York Time bestsellers get 1 & 2 star reviews.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanette :) Sounds like we're in good company doesn't it?
DeleteAmen! Andrea, I too enjoy reading reviews of my books - it's a good learning experience on many levels but it's also a (passive) way of engaging with your readers. As a reviewer myself I'm tickled pink when an author reads one of my reviews.
ReplyDeleteAnd your point 4 is super.
Hope you enjoyed Colour.
Bless,
Thanks for stopping by Ian. Colour was just what I needed :)
DeleteI love the Joanna Penn quote - I never liked the analogy of a book as a baby, and that's the perfect comeback.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, our identity is in God. He loves us and values us just the way we are. No matter what the reviews or comments say.
Such a comforting thought, isn't it? Thought you'd like the quote ;)
DeleteHi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteWow, that lady with the GIFs sure knows how to write a review, doesn't she? I'm glad you took it in the right spirit, as you're right, it happens to us all and our work doesn't always click with everyone, and nor should we expect it to. Thanks for the reminder to assess reviews with our common sense, but not necessarily with our whole hearts. I also appreciated the post about your identity crisis, which I must've missed back in September. Thanks for sharing the wisdom you've learned along this writing journey :)
Hi Paula - thanks for that. Always appreciate what you have to say :)
ReplyDeleteAndrea, great post! Books are products, not people. I've always disliked the baby analogy but I'm not keen on the employee analogy, either, for a bunch of reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe premise for Too Pretty is polarising. I loved the book but I can also understand why some readers won't like it. I also love your attitude - thanks for sharing your perspective with us. :)
We'll have to discuss the employee analogy soon. Love to know your thoughts, as always :)
Delete