I know. I know! You’re so tired of me talking about this subject but, if you haven’t caught on already, reviews are what makes the self publishing world go ‘round. That being said (for roughly the five millionth time), when it comes to reviews an author needs to be able to take the good with the bad. As humans we’re well aware that you can’t please all the people all the time, whether it comes to creating art, doing a job, selling a product, or even writing the finale for an epic fantasy cable phenomenon with dragons. We do our best. We speak our truth. And we try, try, try to produce something worthwhile for the most part. HOWEVER, and I say this in the nicest possible way, a bad review doesn’t help anyone if you don’t explain specifically why you thought it was bad.
That’s because not all bad reviews are created equal. They are merely one person’s opinion. Believe me when I tell you that a one or two star review on something painstakingly created out of love is never easy to stomach no matter who you are, but one person’s trash may just be another’s treasure. If you read a book and don’t like it because there was too much graphic sex, talking dirty, or spanking for you the next reader who comes along might just say “Take my money now! That’s exactly how I like it.” Or maybe you thought the alpha was too bossy, or our leading lady whined too much, or maybe, just maybe you didn’t understand the plot. That’s all fine and good, but if you don’t say that in your review it’s really not helping anyone be more informed about what they‘re getting. This also goes for the hundreds of “It’s not my cup of tea” reviews out there. You’ve already taken the time to post that sentence, all you need to do now is add one single BECAUSE and then everything is illuminated, not just for the writer but for all the hungry for help readers out there who are trying to find their next great read. It doesn’t need to be a book report, a line by line rehashing, or even a long winded, emotional diatribe. A simple and succinct “I didn’t like the ending” *** is a lot better than “ One star. I hated it. The end.”
As always, thanks for listening and happy reviewing.
xoxo
J
(***Please see Monogamy is Dead).