A Drift of Quills: Authors vs. the Dire One-Star Review

Face it—nobody likes a one-star review, whether we’re authors, parents, employees, or anything else. Today A Drift of Quills discusses how they feel about those zingers. Are one-star reviews ever helpful?
The more I thought about this particular can of worms, the more I wanted to put a lid on it! Yes, people have the right to express their opinion. No, it’s not always kind, helpful, or even necessary. Yes, the person under the glaring light of criticism might learn something valuable. No, that doesn’t give Everyone Else the right or the duty to shred someone’s work to pieces.

Did it just get really foggy in here?

Has a low rating of my book ever helped me? Well… no. I can’t say it has. The few I’ve received are vague or whiny. There’s no meat to them, you know what I mean? They don’t do me any good, and they don’t really help other readers, either. It’s like having someone say that peas are nasty, disgusting things that everyone should avoid. But wait! Other people like peas! And I hear they’re good for you. And such a pretty color. And round. (Do you happen to like round things?)

Don’t go getting too excited about stabbing folks with one-star reviews and tacking on lengthy criticisms, though. While some books are really horrendous (I’ve read my share!), take a minute and breathe. Remember what it’s like to be a human being. (You are one, right?)

I’ve found it helps if I walk away from the book I hated. Simmer down a little. And then I try to think of something I actually did like about the book. Yes, sometimes it’s a challenge, but there’s usually a description or a funny comeback, or something worthwhile.

And if I can’t think of a single positive thing about the book, I write a flaming rant of indignation and fury—And then I never post it anywhere.

Because sometimes… peas.

P.S. BROADDUS

Author of The Unseen Chronicles series
Parker’s website

Interacting with criticism is never easy as an author. There’s opportunity to grow, to shape our stories, and do better, but it still isn’t easy.

From the reader’s point of view, reviews can provide a wonderfully unvarnished perspective on what to expect. I read reviews on everything from books, computers, a new lawn mower or a plastic doodad to organize junk. Just how well does this doodad organize? How well does a this mower mow? How well does this computer compute, and how well does this book read? (Click here for the rest of the story!)

PATRICIA REDING

Author of the Oathtaker Series
Patricia’s website

I believe that in general, the more reviews, the better. When I see a book with few reviews and those that are posted are all 5-stars, I tend to think that the author got a few friends to post positive ratings in an effort to promote sales for the book. By contrast, when I see a book with quite a number of reviews, I expect that I will find that some people have highly praised the work, while others will have been considerably less flattering.

When I personally review a work, I try to put myself in the shoes of the average intended reader for that work. (Read more!)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

How do you like getting “one-star reviews” for things you’ve done?
How do YOU deal with giving them?? Let us know in the comments below!

Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

P.S. BROADDUS

PATRICIA REDING

Share this:

Leave a ReplyCancel reply