This is the first of my “Ask An Author” posts. Today, I’ve asked my panel of published authors the question, “How do you deal with bad reviews?”. If you’re an author and want to participate, too, feel free to leave your answer in the comment section. We’d love to hear it!
“Shrug my shoulders and continue to be a better writer. A review, even from a professional reviewer is an opinion. Everyone is entitled to theirs even if it disagrees with yours and other reviews.”
– Lindsay Downs
“I’ve come to realize the only way to deal with bad reviews is not to read them. (Something else that’s easier said than done). If that doesn’t work: ice cream or chocolate.”
– S.L. Stacy
“First, evaluate if the reviewer has a point. We’ve all read things we didn’t like. If that can be true for us, then it can be true for others who read what we’ve written. Learn from bad reviews, provided you have fairly evaluated if they are correct or at least logical. Also, keep in mind that in order for someone to give you a bad review, they must have read your work. That’s a positive. And don’t be afraid to reach out to that person and thank them for reading and reading carefully. Invite them to share any further reviews, positive or negative, with you personally. It’ll make it more likely they’ll read more of what you’ve written.”
– Decker Schutt
“I vent to friends, treat myself (usually a cupcake), then try to learn from it.”
– Tricia Andersen
“I used to read them, but now I’ve found its better just to NOT read them.”
– H.N. Sieverding
“I have been lucky so far in one way by not having bad public reviews, but then again it is hard to actually get any reviews these days without paying lol. I think you have to learn to ignore trolls, do not reply to them but take any constructive criticism on board and learn from it.”
– Paula Acton
Meet the Authors
- S.L. Stacy writes: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance. Find her on: Blog , Facebook Page , Goodreads , Twitter , Pinterest
- Tricia Andersen writes: Romantic Suspense, MMA Romance. Find her on: Facebook , website , Blog , twitter , pinterest , instagram
- Paula Acton writes: A mixture for short stories a dark, medieval fantasy for my novels. Find her on: Blog , Facebook , Twitter , Website , Amazon
- Decker Schutt writes Suspense, Thriller, Paranormal, Science Fiction. Find him on: Blog , Twitter
- Lindsay Downs writes: Regency Romantic Suspense, Regency Cozy Mystery. Find him on: Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , Goodreads , Lindsay Downs-Romance Author , Amazon
H.N. Sieverding 
Reblogged this on Paula Acton and commented:
Today I pop up on the lovely Heidi’s page discussing reviews