Stark, raving bad reviews
Stark, raving bad reviews
Before I was published, I dreamed of the day something I wrote might get reviewed. The idea that characters and a story, which had begun as the kernel of an idea in the confines of my head, might exist to someone else seemed amazing. I was so busy hoping that I didn’t stop to imagine how I’d feel if those reviews were less than positive. Having never given anything a negative review (full disclosure: this is due more to ‘can’t be bothered’ than kindness) I presumed anyone who had taken the time to review what I’d written either on Instagram or Amazon would only have nice things to say.
Oh no.
The published authors amongst you may be splitting your sides and rolling in the aisles by now. Negative reviews aren’t just par for the course, they ARE the course. A quick google searched revealed that The Great Gatsby was reviewed as “no more than a glorified anecdote” and The Cather in the Rye derided as “disappointing”.
If anything, experienced writers seem to regard them as battle scars. Presenters of the popular writing podcast Honest Authors, Holly Seddon and Gillian McAllister, begin most of their shows by reading out their 1-star Amazon reviews. Like most things, I imagine it gets easier to laugh about them the more experienced you are. And the more positive reviews you have to counteract them.
I’m lucky. My debut novel, My Best Friend’s Murder, has been largely well-received. It’s garnered almost 500 reviews on Amazon and the blogging community have been extremely supportive. But every so often, something comes along that stings – in this case, a Polish blogger who gave the book a 1/10 review and said some scathing things that sadly were not lost in google translation.
Husband and friends told me to ignore her, that she was probably jealous of my success. The cabinet maker who came around to measure my sitting room up for a long-awaited bookshelf (how on brand) told me she’s probably a failed writer herself. They might be right, but it still smarted. I went through Amazon, obsessively reading the one-star and two-star reviews, ignoring the positive review my old English teacher had thoughtfully left me.
In the end, it was another book that saved me. A Sunday Times bestseller that came with a fierce recommendation from a friend and the sales figures to match it, I found myself lukewarm about the book. I liked snatches of it but skimmed through the rest. The idea that this book has done so phenomenally well but elicited no reaction in me serves as an important reminder that you really can’t please anyone. When it comes to literary tastes, there really is no ‘one size fits all’ so like F Scott Fitzgerald and JD Salinger before me ;) I’ll just have to deal with negative feedback. I’d like to say my Amazon scrolling days are over but I know myself well enough to know I’ll keep reading my reviews. Just perhaps not the Polish ones.