Have you ever read a review? Almost every author, singer, or producer or seller of any product, wants reviews. They need reviews.
That said, they aren’t always happy when they get one. Why? Unfortunately, reviews can be a mixed bag.
Take this one, for example. This is the first line of a long review of a new cd by my favorite singer (a worldwide star). I’ve left the artist’s name off this example.
Um, what? I own the cd. The accompanying booklet lists The London Philharmonic Orchestra and two professional choirs. As I follow the reviews of this cd it’s clear that people either love it or hate it. Roughly three-quarters of the reviews are 5-stars.
Here’s an example of one of the many 5-star reviews:
The rest are 1-star or 2-stars. How is that people can have such extremely different tastes and opinions?
The fact is, they do. It’s the same with books and other products.
Last night, I checked my book reviews. I was happy to see that the first book in my time travel series had gotten a new review. (Note: There are currently three books in this series.)
Here’s the latest review:
Book 1 was great. It made me inpatient for book 2. Book 2 was uh. I lacked the details and adventure that the first book provided. Book 3 Sucked! Book 3 was like a ripoff of book 1’s story and turned into a lifetime move script. I will never buy from this author again.
Sigh. Okay, this review was a major disappointment. First off, she thought book 1 was great but gave that book a 1-star review. Second, book 3 was a totally different story than book 1. But disregarding that, what’s wrong with a lifetime movie script? I like lifetime channel movies.
All three books in the series have some really great reviews. Again, this shows that you can’t please everyone.
The biggest problem is that many people rely on reviews to decide whether or not to purchase a product, which means reviews can affect sales. But it isn’t only that. For the makers of the products, it can be very discouraging to get a bad review. It can affect their self-confidence and it can’t hurt their enthusiasm to continue their work.
All I can say to all you authors, singers, etc. is: Don’t let the bad reviews get to you. Knowing that everybody gets them, no matter how famous/popular they are should tell you that you’re in good company. Take the advice if you’re lucky enough to get some good advice, but otherwise, let the bad reviews go. Keep focused on the positive ones! In most cases, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
6 Comments
November 28, 2018 at 3:42 pm
I agree, Susan. I was reading reviews on GR this morning – briefly, I don’t really like Goodreads – about the book I had just finished, and could not have disagreed more with a ‘major disappointment’ comment and nit-picking remarks.
I think people forget how hard it can be to produce work, and think they are entitled to be rude as well as opinionated. That said, negative reviews often speak for themselves, if you see what I mean. As long as we get something out of writing, we keep doing it. 🙂
November 29, 2018 at 6:16 pm
Thanks, Fran.
November 28, 2018 at 6:05 pm
I so hope that all writers and artists take your words to heart. There are people out there whom you’ll never please. Many of these are damaged folks whose anger is provided a convenient outlet by online reviews. Another are trolls who take pleasure in inflicting confusion in pedantic comments, etc. There are also less-than-honorable writers who write bad reviews against books they think compete with their own. Then, there are just readers who don’t get it. Of course, even a single one-star review can bring down the review averages, especially if they haven’t gotten the visibility they need for the new book, probably because it doesn’t have enough reviews! LOL! It’s an endless chase.
November 29, 2018 at 6:16 pm
Well said, Richard.
November 29, 2018 at 4:49 pm
I read maybe one or two of the good reviews, then read a 2 or 3-star review. If an author has 10 reviews, all 5-star. I will probably ignore the book. I’ll assume ALL the reviews are from friends and family, completely unreliable. I don’t care if your mom or grandma loved the book. What do REAL readers think???
So a couple of “bad” reviews can actually work in your favor. It means that REAL readers bought the book. If 75% or more are good, that’s a good sign. If it’s 100% positive, we’re probably seeing fake or paid reviews.
November 29, 2018 at 6:16 pm
Good point, Juli. Thanks.