How to Survive Bad Reviews

Whether you're a New York Times' bestseller, a new author or a self-published writer, bad reviews come with the territory. Here are six, easy steps to survive a negative review with your sanity (and reputation) intact.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A computer
• Internet connection
• Patience

1. KEEP PERSPECTIVE: Reviews are subjective (or biased) by nature. As such, don't take them as gospel. Instead, keep in mind that a negative review doesn't always equate to a bad book. Most readers know this and judge books on several things, including blurbs, cover images and excerpts.

2. 
    
   Channel your anger into creativity

   DON'T GET MAD - GET BETTER: Most reviews, even the snarky ones, contain a kernel of truth. Instead of dismissing lukewarm or negative reviews as bogus, take an objective look at the review. If it addresses specific points, consider carefully if these are things that you can improve on.

3. 
    
   Don't let angry blog posts haunt you

   DON'T BLOG (OR TWEET) ANGRY: Published posts (even those from member-only Yahoo groups) are available in the public domain. Flame wars often leave authors holding the wrong end of the stick. Late night rants to blogs or to social networking sites can quickly circulate the internet. The results can negatively affect an author's image or book sales.

4. 
    

   DO DAMAGE CONTROL: While a bad review isn't the end of the world, it can sour readers on an author's future books. Make it easy for readers to choose your work by offering free reads. Excerpts (at least a chapter long) from current, upcoming books and stand-alone short stories give readers a risk-free way to sample your work.

5. 
    

   SALVAGE "MEH" REVIEWS: Usually even scathing reviews include some positive points. If a reviewer enjoyed the use of dialogue or description in your book, highlight these features.

6. 
    

   TARGET REVIEW SITES: Authors don't need to wait for reviews to appear in their Inbox. Instead, do some reconnaissance. Research sites that specialize in reviewing books with the same genre or heat level as yours. Read at least ten reviews on each site to get a feel for the tone and reviewing style of the site. Also, familiarize yourself with the rating systems.

Tips & Warnings

• GIVE PROPER ATTRIBUTION: Some sites require that the reviewer name and/or link to the full post accompany all review "snippets."
• BEFORE SUBMITTING A BOOK FOR REVIEW: Ensure the latter isn't on your publisher auto-submission list.
• DON'T dispute negative reviews. As mentioned in Step 1, reviews are subjective. All readers (professional reviewers or otherwise) have the right to share their opinion.

[kitdonner]

on 9/16/2009 Perfect! Simple, sweet, and positive! I'm saving this one!

[veronica1987]

on 9/13/2009 great article, Michelle.