Reviews, how exciting! That is, the good ones. The bad ones? Can ruin your day, if you let them.
I'll start with the good ones. I don't know if readers realize this or not, but authors absolutely check their reviews. Amazon, Nook, iTunes, Kobo, wherever. Especially us Indies who count on our readers to get the word out.
I've had some that simply make my day, cheer me up, or encourage me to write on. When someone takes the time to write to say how much they enjoyed my book or books, I mentally send out a warm hug and a big Thank You!
I've read where writers should not answer good reviews, just like they should not respond to bad ones. The thought is that the reader may feel as though they are being stalked. Nope, don't want to make any of my readers feel that way. So here in my blog, I can say thank you very much to all of you. You know who you are! Lol
Now the bad reviews. Yes, they hurt your feelings, you rant and yell, "they don't know what they're talking about." Then you walk away. Read those bad reviews later, once you've calmed down. And surprise, surprise. They were right. Sigh. The ones that point out obvious flaws are a great learning curve. That is, stay away from that curve and get straight. Fix your grammar problems. Work on showing your story instead of telling. Yup, that one has been difficult for me. Comes from being a mom, I think. I'm always 'telling' my kids what to do instead of 'showing'. But I am thankful for the reviewers that pointed out my errors. Ignoring them and making the same mistakes over and over, isn't that a sign of arrogance? So, I will say thank you also to the ones that gave me, quote, bad reviews. You were my teacher and didn't know it.
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