Today we have a guest blog by Wayne Zurl on what to do when someone writes a bad review of your good book. This is a great synthesis of a lot of bits and pieces of advice we've all heard, but sometimes forget......Thank you, Wayne.
Some people have no bedside manner. That’s certainly true of
a few book reviewers.
Don’t you hate to get bombed by a blogger who has only six
followers and spends most of his/her time passing judgment on kitchen
appliances? You ask yourself, “Why didn’t he/she leave my book alone and pick
up a Veg-O-Matic?”
How should you handle the pain of a bad review? Let’s take
it by the numbers and I’ll give you my thoughts.
1-Allow the steam to escape from your ears before
proceeding.
2-Get all thoughts of physical violence and verbal
retribution out of your system before moving
on to step three.
3-Look at the poorly worded, opinionated, juvenile, asinine,
obnoxious, nasty, insensitive, grits-for-brains review, written by an obviously
uneducated cretin, OBJECTIVELY and assess its merit. Perhaps among all the
hurtful statements, something can be learned from a valid point (no matter how
ill-phrased).
4-Do not
immediately click on Amazon’s comment box and write, “Oh, Yeah?”
5-If you must
reply, (and there may not be a necessity to do so) you owe the reviewer (and
your reputation) civility. Type in: “Thanks for your opinion,” and send it on
its way. Then without delay, grab a paper and pen and for your mental wellbeing,
finish your thought with: You moron! Up yours! What makes you think you would
know a good book/story/poem (strike out those that do not apply) if it bit you
in the ass? Your psychotherapist will be proud of you for practicing catharsis.
My best advice (and who follows his/her own advice?): Don’t
dwell on the negative thoughts of others. Most great authors have received negative
criticism from someone.
Second best advice (and I like this one much better): If
available, print out a photo of the reviewer and hope you see them on the
street some day. This advice, from a kid originally from Brooklyn.
