Every now and then
an author reacts online to a bad review. And I wish I could give him
or her the best piece of advice I ever received about reviews. It
was from science fiction author James Gunn.
It was this.
"Read the last
line first".
Simple and
effective.
The last line tells
you whether the reviewer liked the book or not. Then you know.
Whether you actually read the review after that is up to you. I know
several authors who don't read their reviews at all. Not even the
glowing ones.
If you do choose to
read a bad review, then read it, shrug and move on. If the reviewer
goes in for an ad hominem attack, you can smile while you shrug.
That's not a reviewer to take seriously.
Don't respond.
You'll be seen as "hitting down". This always sounds
bizarre to authors, many of whom reside well below the poverty line,
but there it is. There's a widespread perception that we all have castles in Scotland.
Bad reviews are not
fatal, to you or your book.
Just remember to
read the last line first.
No comments:
Post a Comment