Authors, Don’t Believe Your Book Reviews – Guest Post by Patricia Leavy
Every author in the world must deal with book reviews. Let’s be honest, it can be brutal. I would love to tell you, “Don’t read your reviews.” Truly, I would. Yet that’s totally unrealistic. Your publisher will send you reviews. Your publicist will send you reviews. If you submit your book to professional review services, they will send you the resulting reviews. It’s impossible to escape, even if you have the willpower to avoid scrolling through your own online reviews or putting your name on Google alerts (and if you do have this willpower, good for you, what’s your secret?).
Why are reviews so damaging? Once you have a review in your head, it can be hard to get it out. For creatives, who always need to make themselves vulnerable enough to write the next one, this can be rough. We love our books, we love our characters like they’re a part of us, and we know how much we labored to get every word just so. It’s no wonder negative reviews can hurt so much. And boy, do they hurt.
But it’s not just the negative reviews we need to be wary of. Praise is just as dangerous. You heard me right. Good reviews are also dangerous. If you believe the good reviews, then you’re more likely to believe the bad ones. If how you feel about your work is dependent on anything external—like the subjective perspectives of readers or critics—you’ll always be blowing in the breeze of others’ opinions. As the saying goes, “Don’t believe your own press.”
So, am I saying you shouldn’t believe your reviews because they may hurt your feelings? Not exactly. I’m saying you should take them with not a grain, but a fistful of salt because they are merely the subjective opinion of individuals. I have one novel that I submitted to three of the most popular professional book review services. One gave it a rave, another gave it a mixed review, and another trashed it. Same novel. Same process. The only difference: the readers. The thing is, readers don’t come to a book as objective, clean slates. All readers bring their personal experiences and preferences to each book they read, as they should. That’s why some may love your book and others may hate it. And that’s okay.
I’ve been an author for over 20 years, and I’ve published over 40 works of fiction and nonfiction. People often ask me how I keep going, especially since publishing can be a brutally tough arena, and if I can offer any advice. Here is what I’ve figured out that keeps me going. Develop your own relationship with your work that is not dependent on anything external—positive or negative. Allow readers to do the same.
By Patricia Leavy, Ph.D. author of Film Blue and Hollyland
