Book Reviews from an Author’s Perspective… Peggy Jaeger

I’ll be the first to admit this and do so proudly: I read my book reviews. Every single one, on every single book. And no, I’m not a glutton for punishment.

Reviews to me, as the author, are beneficial in a number of ways—and not just because fabulous ones increase my Goodreads rating. There is as much to learn from a glowing review as there is from a not-so-favorable one, if the reviewer explains why they rated the book the way they did.

As an author, I know just how much time, effort, sleepless nights, and worry go into writing, editing, and releasing a book into the universe. So when a reviewer adores a book, 5-stars it, and then makes sure those in their realm know about the book, as the author you float on a success high. Contemporary romance author Kari Lemor says, “When an author gets an excellent review, they should sing and dance and celebrate.”

I’ve done all three.

Urban Fantasy author Artemis Crow agrees. “Positive reviews are great. Who doesn’t love validation?” Too true.

But… there are always those who won’t love your book. The reasons are varied, and can include anything from the reader not liking the POV you’ve written in, can’t relate to the plot line or characters, or were expecting a sweet romance and the author had them having steamy sex on every conceivable surface they came across.

Just like every single human being on the planet won’t like you as a person, every single reader on that same planet won’t like what you’ve written every single time. Some books just don’t resonate with a reader. This doesn’t make it a bad book, it’s just not for that person.

You may think you’re the next Nora Roberts, whereas a reader may think you write like their third grader.

You may think your book is the next best thing everyone’s been waiting for, and a reader thinks your story’s been told a million times before, and yours is just meh.

Or you may think every review should be 5 stars, and many a reviewer is giving you 3 stars— which is still good. I don’t know why we’ve been conditioned to think it’s bad, but we have.

It’s the dreaded 1 and 2 star ratings that make authors reach for the emergency chocolate they’ve stashed in their desks, though, and be consumed with worry about sales and reputations. Writers have fragile egos. We want everyone to adore what we write, but the reality is that never happens. That old adage about pleasing some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time, is simply a fact of life. And some people, i.e. readers and reviewers, are very vocal about why they don't like something they’ve read.

Goodreads, Bookbub, and any other social media book review sites are rife with both excellent and horrible book reviews. A book can have 50 glowing 4-5 star ratings and reviews, but the author will be engrossed with the one review that’s negative.

My advice for authors when this happens, because it happens to us all: Grow some thick skin.

Words hurt. That’s the truth. But it’s how you react to those words that will define whether or not you have a long and happy writing career, or a short and miserable one. You can obsess over a 2-star rating with an accompanying written review until it makes you mentally and physically ill… Or you can brush it off and consider the 50 positive 3-5 star reviews you got instead.

The most important advice I ever received from a seasoned author when I received my first 1-star review and was as close to a mental breakdown as I’ve ever been, was do not – DO NOT – under any circumstances, engage with the reviewer. Do not try to prove them wrong, shame them, or call them stupid/illiterate/not worth living (insert your own descriptor here). Their opinion of your book is their opinion, and it is not wrong to them. You just don’t happen to agree with it.

Despite how hard this is to do, it is excellent advice, and not following it can lead an author into serious professional and personal trouble.

Case in point: We all remember the Goodreads debacle several years ago where a new author was given a scathing review of her book by a book influencer. The author was astounded anyone wouldn’t like her book, which was her first mistake. To try and prove the reviewer wrong, she began a campaign to discredit the reviewer, even going so far as to hire a private detective agency to dig up dirt on the person. Part of her crusade was calling out the reviewer on every social media platform, and even engaging in tit-for-tat “conversations” with her and her readers.

This author sabotaged her career before it ever had a chance to begin, because the Internet came for her – and not in a good way. She was vilified for her behavior by everyone, called every name in the book, cyber-stalked, and ultimately reaped the repercussions of her actions when her book sales never took off the ground.

The lesson learned here? Don’t ever do what she did if you are an author.

“Negative reviews are painful,” Artemis Crow states, “but I would posit that there is something to be learned, especially if the reviewer takes the time to spell out what they didn’t like.” In the case of the Goodreads scandal, the reviewer cited numerous trigger warnings in the book the author hadn’t divulged, and even a few she appeared to make fun of (in the name of dark comedy and satire).

Kari Lemor told me a story about a reviewer who left a 1-star review on one of her books due to “inappropriate language” in the narrative. “The book was about a severely injured marine,” Lemor explained. “His language was appropriate for his character. I used that review in a promotion for the book and got quite a number of downloads from people who understood that, and wanted that type of language.”

Reviews and ratings are important to writers, not only for the ego part of the writing equation, but for the purpose of getting new readers for a book. We fear that if a book has just 3 and 4-star reviews, it will be passed over by someone looking for a new author to read, or the newest bestseller to jump on the bandwagon for. I am the type of reader who, if I see a bunch of 4/5 star reviews and a couple of 1 stars, am intrigued, and if I don’t know the author or the book, will dive into learning why the disparity. And every time it comes down to what I’ve already said – the book simply didn’t resonate with that reader.

“Reviews,” says Crow, “are for readers. If there is something I can fix (in the story), I do that and go on. If their issue is beyond my control, I let it go, staying true to who I am as a writer, and the stories I want to tell.”

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