Yes, I Read My Reviews

​My new book, THE DARKEST FLOWER, is available for download a month early on Amazon First Reads as of today. It doesn’t go officially on sale until June 1st, and anyone who prefers to read a paper book or a library copy has to wait until then, but for all of May 2021, any Amazon customer can read—and review—THE DARKEST FLOWER. The reviews are the point, actually. They’re the reason for First Reads—to build up word of mouth to drive sales for the lifetime of the book. There will be a lot of reviews. They will not all be positive. I am ready.
 
The advice given to authors is always the same: Don’t read the reviews. Reviews, they say, are for readers, not authors. Don’t read them, don’t get offended by them, and don’t, whatever you do, engage with or argue with any review. It’s all great advice and I have no intention of responding in any way to a bad review. Share away if you hated my book. That’s your absolute right as a reader.
 
I’m going to read those reviews, though. I always do.
 
I love to write books and would write in any case, but I certainly wouldn’t go through the struggle to publish books if I didn’t want to share my writing with other people. If there were no reviews, publishing a book would be like dropping it into the ocean, vaguely wondering if any fish watched it sink. Reviews are proof that other people are reading my books. I’d be flat out lying if I claimed not to prefer the reviews that express a deep and abiding love for my characters, the story, the twists, and the writing.
 
But I like the bad reviews, too. After spending years writing and trying to get published, I’ve developed a pretty thick skin—hundreds of rejections will do that to you. Here are the reasons I read my bad reviews, and why they don’t bother me as much as they might.
 

1. Legitimate criticism helps me do better next time. If a review says that a main character was “too perfect,” I can use that. Next time, she’ll have more flaws. If a review tells me that the beginning was too slow or hard to get into, I can speed it up in the next book. Writing is a perpetual learning process, at least for me. Sometimes bad reviews are right—I’d like to think I’m a big enough person to learn to do better where the criticism is justified.
2. Not every book is for everyone. If a reviewer of my thriller book says they were disappointed by how there wasn’t enough romance, or they wished another suspect had turned out to be the guilty party, or they wished the book had been set in Seattle instead, or they once had a girlfriend with the same name as my main character that they hated, there’s nothing I can do about that. The book wasn’t for them. That’s okay. The world is full of more books than any one person can read in a lifetime. If mine isn’t for you, that’s all right. Read another book.
3. Some reviews are not merely intended to express an opinion—they’re intended to maximize the (sometimes very large) following of the review author. They’re a different form of writing. And that’s okay, too. I’m not the intended audience. On occasion, this type of review is very positive, but it’s no coincidence that the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads that get the most “likes” or “helpful” votes are the long, baroque, let-me-tell-you-17-ways-I-despised-this-book kind. They’re fun to read and are often of the highest writing quality.
4. And following from that, sometimes the most terrible reviews actually increase interest in and sales of the book. This is the “no such thing as bad publicity” theory. I have a friend who jokes that she goes on Goodreads to find the reviews of romances that use the word “smut” to know which books she definitely wants to buy. Seriously, folks. Using the word “shocking” in a review is always good publicity, even when you meant it as an insult. People love to be shocked.
5. Some reviews are so terrible they increase sympathy and support for the author. I’ve seen this happen. It can drive sales.
6. All reviews—even the bad ones—mean that someone took time out of their lives to read my book and then MORE time to write a review. Even if you hated it, I’m so grateful for that.

 
After having said all that, now I’m worried you’ll think I WANT bad reviews. No, of course not. Please don’t go out there and TRY to hurt me, okay? My skin is thick but it is not titanium. Every author dreams of getting raves and tearful emails of adoration from readers, and I’m no different. Having a book go out into the world with my name on it is a big deal—and part of that deal is knowing that reviews are good and reviews are bad.
 
I hope you enjoy THE DARKEST FLOWER and post a review. If you don’t enjoy it, I still want you to leave a review. Thanks for reading.