Saturday 29 March 2014

Do bad reviews make a bad book?

See the reviews on Amazon


I've been writing and publishing novels and poetry for almost four years, and in that time, my work has accumulated over 150 excellent reviews.

This week, I have had the first ever 1 star review followed quickly by a second. 

To my way of thinking, there is no such thing as a bad review. If you care to look, you'll find Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and even Jane Austen  so a couple of one star reviews has put my writing on a par with the classics.  In fact, I've used these reviews as part of my ongoing Twitter and Facebook campaign. I don't welcome low star reviews of course, but now they are here, I am getting masses of extra publicity through them.

I am curious though. Why do people set out to destroy a piece of work without first reading it?

1 comment:

  1. Phillip,
    I have wondered the same thing. I recently received a scathing review from a reader who did not read past the first chapter. They didn't like my writing style I guess, but in the process of giving examples of why they couldn't read my book, they didn't even quote the writing correctly. I think it gives them a sense of power to lambast a writer knowing how invested we are in our creations. Personally though, if you are going to review my writing style, at least quote me correctly. "Grins!"

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