How to cope with a negative review

We authors pour our hearts and soul into our craft. Sometimes, it takes us many years of hard work and rewriting to release our work to the public finally. We hope that everyone likes our book and writes rave reviews. But what if the opposite happens? What if a reader says your novel and/or writing skills suck even after putting so much effort into editing and proofreading it? It hurts like crazy, doesn’t it?

We imagine ourselves trying to convince the reader that they got the story wrong, hoping that they will change their mind. We wish that they would realize how harsh they are being and write a more favorable review. And, of course, we get angry with the reviewer and think they don’t know any better. All these responses are acceptable as long as we don’t actually try to interact with the reader. (Never, please never, contact a reviewer who has not liked your work. It will make you look bad as an artist.)

But another thing that happens is this little thing called self-doubt that creeps into our minds. Is my writing really that bad? Maybe I should take down my novel. Perhaps I should stop writing. If we are thinking any of the above thoughts, let’s take a step back.

Let’s ask these questions instead. Is there anything constructive in this review that can help me improve my craft? Are there suggestions or tips to do better next time? If yes, let’s incorporate those points into our future work. If not, let’s ask another question. Should I let one person’s opinion decide my future as a writer? The obvious answer to that is no, absolutely not!

I recently read a blog post (after receiving my first critical review) that talked about how authors that receive negative reviews have a higher tendency to become future bestsellers. This is because readers do not trust books that have only good feedback. It’s impossible for everyone to like our work.

So, let’s recap, how should we cope with a really bad review? We ponder for a few minutes, see if we can learn from it, and then move on. And we hope the blogger was right and our book will become a bestseller! Plus, we write new novels and prepare for the next review round. Because we are authors, and we write because we have stories to tell. It’s okay if some people don’t like them. And someday, we will learn to become immune to it.

How do you deal with bad reviews? Let me know in the comments below.