You’ve got to develop a thick skin if you’re going to get SERIOUS about SELLING books.
(Please click on image to enlarge.)
OK, so you’ve been listening and paying attention to our little blog. You’re even starting to enjoy wearing your SBM Hat*. Unfortunately, I’ve got to throw just a little cold water on you right now, before we take another step forward. I’ve got some news that may hurt, so I want you to hear it from me first: Not everybody is going to like your book. I’m sorry to be the bearer of such dastardly news – but that’s just a fact.
HOWEVER, the point I want you to take from this is that it’s best to get used to that idea NOW, and move on, rather than have it punch you in the gut later.
This situation reminds me of a conversation I once had with a friend who was startled because someone in her office did not get along with her. “But everybody likes me,” she wailed. It seemed strange for a woman in her late 20s to be coming to the realization that, in fact, everyone did NOT like her. The same is true for your writing. The cold, hard fact is that no matter how good your book is, there will be someone who doesn’t like it. It may truly be the World’s Best Book, but still there will be people out there who simply do not care for it.
Writing is an art, a passion, a devotion – and to do it well, the writer exposes a piece of her soul. She puts her thoughts, ideas, creations into words and onto paper … and if she means it to have impact beyond her own personal catharsis, she will release her creation for the world to see. And comment upon. Putting your writing out there exposes you to the reaction of your readers, both positive, and not so positive.
If you’re going to sell this book, though, you’ve got to put aside the detractors, find the people who love and support your work, and cultivate them. Avoid getting hung up on the one reviewer who didn’t like your book, focusing instead on building your platform with readers who are clamoring for more.
See you Monday!
MARCIE
*Savvy Book Marketer
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Marcie Brock, Book Marketing Maven 
I like your articles, they all make a lot of sense. Thank you for the good work!
Thanks, Amy. I’m going to have to read the unique story on your blog when I get a few minutes!
You may have read my post on this topic recently. I was startled by my first bad review because the criticism seemed to be over the top and the main charge really alarmed me. I’ve heard that if you get bad reviews it will really kill your career, so when do you become concerned and when do you blow it off? Should you even read your reviews?
Bad reviews can be detrimental – especially early ones. But what’s FAR worse is when the author gets defensive and fights back with the reviewer.
This happened recently with a pizza restaurant in Phoenix – one customer was unhappy and posted his experience on Yelp. However, rather than chalking it up to one discontented soul, the restaurateur dug in and started fighting back with the reviewer, calling him names and making it personal. The same happened with a gal on Amazon. She actually sold a lot of books, but her reviews now are all bad because by engaging with the first bad reviewer, she turned it into a game for others. So was it worth it to argue back? I’d say no.
A better idea is to encourage your fans to write positive reviews for your work!
The thing is, every piece of work gets bad reviews – that’s my point. Look at the best-reviewed films on RottenTomatoes.com. If there are 94% positive reviews, it means there are still 6% negative ones. If the majority of your reviews are bad, there may or may not be something to take away from that. (Every book is not going to be our greatest work.) But one bad review will never kill a career.
Sarah –
Interesting timing on this. Here’s another blog post on exactly this topic – she mentions by name the gal with the Amazon troubles whom I spoke of in my previous comment. Her advice to the woman with all the bad reviews is quite interesting … she suggests the author pull her books off Amazon, clean them up (ahem, as in hire an editor) and republish them under another name. Would be quite a trick if she could pull that off – she’d definitely have the last laugh.
http://selfpubauthors.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/the-rules-are-harder-for-indie-authors/
Marcie