How to Get Your Book Reviewed Part Four: Dealing with Bad Reviews

Okay, so you didn't know there would be a part four, huh? I felt like this was necessary. If you made it through the first three parts on how to get you book reviewed, you need to study this intently.

By the way, I published Dawn of the Apocalypse to Amazon. Click the link to buy it, because today is the last day it's priced at 99cents.

This picture has nothing to do with
anything, but I like it:)

Now, if you think you'll never get a bad review for your book, you're wrong. The Hunger Games has gotten bad reviews, as did World War Z, the DaVinci Code, and the Bible. That's right, the Bible. If the Bible has gotten bad reviews, what makes you think you're so special?

That's right. Cry about it now.

You will feel upset when you get a bad review. I get it. Months of worth are being ripped to shreds in a few paragraphs. So how do you deal with it?

Well, look on the bright side.

1. You likely won't make the same mistake the reader pointed out in your next book, right? 
2. You get to see various points of views on the same story.
3. When there are bad and good reviews, controversy arises, which makes people more curious to see what's the big deal about your book, and therefore purchase it.
4. Most books have bad reviews. So when a person sees that a book has a bad review, they don't automatically think that they will not buy it. It's normal to see a book with bad reviews.

So get over yourself.

Now I know you still may be steaming over a bad review (if you've gotten one). I once got a bad review from a guy complaining about typos in the unedited version. There was nothing I could do about that. So here's how I dealt with it:

1. Instead of demanding he take it down, I offered him the finished copy of the book calmly and professionally and I thanked him for the review.
2. I complained to my dad. 
3. I wrote a blog post.

And here's how you can deal with it. This portion has been reblogged from carrieruben.com. (LINK):

Step 1: Feel heart leap into throat and gut sink to knees the second you spot the review. Taste a coppery sickness in your mouth.

Step 2: Refresh the page in case you’re mistaken.

Step 3: Experience a rush of despair when you discover the reviewer gave away the plot twist by dumping a truckload of spoilers.

Step 4: Remind yourself that a bad review was inevitable, and in fact, probably makes a book more credible.

Step 5: Get back to the novel-in-progress you were working on before you took the regretful Internet break.

Step 6: Allow review to fester in your psyche while you write. In doing so, tell yourself you’re a fool for thinking you can write at all. Cap this off with, “Who do you think you’re kidding?”

Step 7: Go back to review and click on the reviewer’s profile. Feel some relief when you note he has three pages packed with nasty one- and two-star reviews. But feel sad again that he said you’ve lost all ‘grip on reality.’

Step 8: Remind yourself that some people have trouble suspending reality in a fictional world, everyone has a right to his or her opinion, and you can’t please everyone.

Step 9: Still feel annoyed reviewer gave away the plot twist you’ve labored to keep secret. Seek out a handful of M&Ms for solace.

Step 10: Return to your novel-in-progress; write a few lines; and tell yourself the work is crap.

Step 11: Visit another review site and perk up when you see a new four-star review from a stranger who uses the words “can’t put it down” and “very realistic.”

Step 12: Pull up your big-kid pants and remind yourself it’s one review out of many.

Step 13: Hike those pants even higher and remember you once helped care for post-operative children in the ICU who’d just undergone open-heart surgery. Know that maintaining their blood pressure merited much greater worry than living with a bad review.

Step 14: Tell yourself that bad reviews are just as helpful as good reviews—maybe even more so—and learn from what was said. Pat yourself on the back for being an adult.

Step 15: Go to bed that night and sleep soundly. But wake up still angry that no ‘Spoiler Alert’ caution accompanied the review.

Once again, credit to the above portion goes to Carrie Rubin. Do I want you to do that? No, but you probably will. Hopefully reading that above portion will show you how stupid it is to panic over bad reviews. Like I said in the beginning: read this post and study on it.

And to reviewers, bad reviews (unless you are asked to review a book by an author/publisher) aren't nice, nor helpful to the author. A reader can decide for themselves if they want to read a book or not. So please, don't kill someone's book sales because of your preference.

Next time you get a bad review, just repeat these three magical words, and all your pain will disappear:

HATERS GONNA HATE.

And there you go.