A writer’s journey can be tough. It’s full of ups and downs. Sometimes the downs are really low down, sometimes they aren’t so bad, but they still hurt because they trigger those feelings of rejection that never seem to completely disappear.
I know two really great writers in two different genres, with two vastly different experiences, but feeling similar frustrations.
One (who after receiving multiple, upon multiple 4 and 5 star reviews for her book on both Amazon and Goodreads) just received her first one star review. This reader had a very specific beef with the writing that none of the other reviewers seemed to pick up (including me).
I discussed this with the writer as I also have experience with some people not really “getting” parts of STAR SICK while others seem to click with it on page one.
Honestly, my personal experience is that people who don’t love the book are afraid to review it at all. Which kind of sucks in its own way, but it happens.
Criticism can sometimes be super subjective, and writers face it daily. Sometimes we crave it and sometimes we don’t want any. But that second writer friend of mine, one who also has had a share of excellent reviews, seemed to see a recent drop off and is just exhausted with the up and down. She knows that lots of people have read her book, but only fraction of them have reviewed it.
She thinks people don’t understand how important reviews are, and she might be right.
Beyond vanity metrics, reviews help writers succeed as they push us up in ranking. Even if we have a bunch of great reviews, we don’t really stand out unless we have hundreds upon hundreds of reviews, good and bad.
That’s the thing, the more reviews a writer has the more insignificant those bad reviews are. They just get pushed down to the bottom and people who are excited to read our book ignore them.
You know how that is, as a reader yourself. You read what you want to read and when you go looking for something you read it, regardless of how other readers have responded to it.
Even if something has been rated negatively and has a lot of controversy around it, people might often still LOVE IT for whatever reason. It makes them happy. It’s something that they like despite negative response. The controversy just aided in making the book famous.
Whatever it is, you still read the book.
That’s how taste works. Sometimes you like something, sometimes you don’t. It’s subjective.
But it makes me wonder, do we all have our own reviewing style?
Consider these questions:
- Do you want to tell the author right away if you love something?
- Or if you only kind of like it, are you nice and leave a positive review anyway?
- When is the drop-off point for you?
- And the ultimate question: Do you feel some books don’t deserve reviews at all?
That last question gives me pause, because in a way, isn’t that a bit of a power-trip?
Lot’s of people use KU to get rich fast. They have a team of editors, ghost-writers, blurb-writers, etc., and they often did zero work (not kidding) they launch their book and BOOM because of metrics, it’s at #1.
Indie authors, especially debut indie authors often use most of their own skills, (except maybe editors and cover artists), and have been writing their book for years, not months, and often have to put a lot of self-doubt aside before they hit publish.
We know how busy readers are. We know how picky readers are. But still we hit publish. We hope our efforts might be rewarded. That readers will see how hard we worked.
Some do.
Some don’t.
And worst of all, if you are an indie author, why wouldn’t you do your part to help fellow authors, especially if they aren’t competing with you?
And for me to even be SHOCKED when a really talented author who really knows what they are doing still has to beg for reviews?
Harsh.
Another fun question, did you ever read something and think, “Oh, this wasn’t ready to be published.” Do you think, “Someone should tell the author”? “Someone should be the first to step up (and humiliate them)”?
Oh, what if they are out to drinks with friends, or just received a proof of their paperback book in the mail with some formatting errors. Wouldn’t it be a kick to interrupt their evening and DM them the hard truth?
Or do you just leave a middle of the road review listing the things you liked and didn’t like.
OR do you leave a one star review listing the way the book needs work?
OR do you stay quiet like Homer Simpson slinking back into the bush?
Maybe considering the things I said about indie authors above, let them make some mistakes, get their feet wet and try to do better with their next book. If you didn’t think the author was absolutely talentless, then how are you benefitting the readers who like them by gatekeeping their success?
Maybe the things you didn’t like weren’t mistakes and were actually intentional, but that isn’t your cup of tea?
Regardless, whether you are like my Fantasy author-friend who got some mean feedback, or my Romance author-friend who is recently hearing crickets, you are left feeling the same way.
You did all the work, you weren’t lazy, but it seems everyone else is.
And that’s a crummy way to feel.