Publishing can be weird. For many of us, it means spending hours in solitude, crafting a story we love, with characters that we’ve carefully designed, and a plot that we’ve intricately woven. We reach a point where we are satisfied that it can’t get any better. Then, we seek to unleash it into the wild. That’s where things can go sideways.
Because, eventually, that story is going to find its way to someone who just doesn’t like it. That could come in numerous forms. A harsh critique from a reading partner. An unkind rejection from an agent or editor. The dreaded one-star review.
It happens to everyone, but that doesn’t make it any less hurtful. It’s like someone telling you your kid smells funny or your dog is ugly. Ouch!
But receiving less-than-glowing feedback does not have to be soul-crushing or dream-ending. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you get that negative review.
Receiving feedback—positive or negative—on something you’ve written can be an emotional experience. You’re invested in the story, and you care what other people think. The first thing to remember is to be in the right mental space before you read it. Had a stressful week at your day job? Just had an argument with a loved one? Been stuck in traffic on I-25 for the last two hours? Maybe not the best time to see what someone else thought about your work. You can’t control when someone leaves you a review, but you can control when you read it.
A second thing to keep in mind is that not every story is going to click with every reader. As I write this, Stephen King’s The Stand has more than 10,000 one-star ratings on Goodreads. Think about that. More than 10,000 people read that book and could not find enough that they liked about it to muster a second star. James by Percival Everett—a Pulitzer Prize-winning book!—has nearly 2,700 one-star ratings.
Reading is subjective. Sometimes our stories find their way into the hands of people they weren’t designed for. That’s okay. It happens to every story at one time or another. In those cases, the review says more about that reader’s experience with the story than it does about the quality of your writing.
And that’s why it’s important to get feedback from multiple sources. If you’re at the critique group or beta-reading stage, take advantage of the opportunity to hear multiple perspectives about your story. Something that doesn’t work at all for one reader might be the thing another reader likes best about your work. If you’re in the post-publication review stage, don’t obsess over that single one-star review—it fits into the overall mosaic of reader experience, and you shouldn’t give a bad review any more importance than a good one.
And, if you do decide to make changes to a story based on a reader not enjoying it, don’t do anything right away. Give yourself a day or two, even a week, and then reevaluate the feedback you received. That negative comment might look a little different to you when emotions are cooler and you’ve had some distance from the initial shock.
Those tips really amount to the most important thing: don’t let a harsh reaction steal your dream. You’re a writer, and one bad comment is not enough to change that.
The other side of the coin, though, is that sometimes the reviewers have a point. Don’t dismiss feedback out of hand just because it isn’t what you want to hear. If you pick up common themes from multiple readers, it’s time to think critically about your story and find improvements you can make.
Getting better is always a superior choice than giving up, and it’s the best way to find some good in a bad review.
Photo by Gerd Altmann at Pixabay.com
Travis Tougaw grew up in a military family. As a perpetual "new kid," he quickly learned the value of sharing stories to connect with others. Having settled down after his own stint in the Air Force, Travis stopped relocating, but he's never stopped telling stories. He's always on the lookout for characters and storylines that will grab readers' attention and keep them turning pages. Travis lives in Colorado with his wife and children. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, outdoor activities, playing musical instruments, and trivia competitions. The first three books in his Marcotte/Collins investigative thriller series (Foxholes, Captives, Last Call, and Death Grip) are now available. Learn more about Travis and his books at https://travistougaw.com.