This week, I celebrated a time-honored milestone for elite level authors... I earned my first 1-star review for my book. I might sound snarky, but I'm not. In working with authors for several years now, I've learned to reframe how I see so-called "negative" reviews. Here's how:
1. See it as a positive that your message is getting out into the world. If my book gets a 1-star review, it means that it's reached beyond my "circle" to people who don't give a flying fudge what I think. That's not bad. That's good!
2. You can't make everyone happy...and you shouldn't. If you're trying to make your book for everyone, it'll fall flat. It'll be a book for NO one. That person isn't your audience. Life will go on.
3. Striking an emotional chord. 1-star reviews are usually a sign that you struck an emotional chord or nerve. Not a bad thing. When you have a strong stance on anything, you're going to turn some people off. That's okay. It's your story, not theirs. Plenty of other people will resonate. That's who you're writing for.
4. Opinions are like, well, you know... There are books other people love, love, love that I cannot stand, stand, stand. Remember that someone else's opinion doesn't form your identity. Usually, it says more about them than it does you.
5. Sometimes the bad review has nothing to do with the writing at all. You can be a great writer, but someone doesn't like the off-color joke you made. (1 star) They don't like your view on a social issue. (1 star) They don't like that you used the color blue in your cover. (1 star) One of my colleagues shared with me how angry he got at a 1-star review that complained the book arrived with a torn cover. That had literally nothing to do with his skill!
Another colleague shared a great exercise with me:
Go to Goodreads and look up your favorite book of all time. Click on the 1-star reviews. Have a good laugh. (Definitely a strategy I'm stealing next time a client tells me they're afraid of bad reviews.)
How have you handled a negative review or harsh (even unfair) feedback?
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I haven't thought of 1 and 3, Jonathan Jordan. I tell myself "You can't make everyone happy" when I'm outlining, writing, rewriting, pitching, and getting feedback on a script. I also look for something useful in a negative review or harsh feedback.
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Hi, Jonathan,
Let me tell you the story of Albert-László Barabási—a now world-renowned physicist and network scientist—to illustrate just how much (or how little) criticism is really worth.
Barabási, a Hungarian-born visual artist, physicist, and network scientist—who is truly a global citizen in every cell of his being—achieved his first major breakthrough by exploring the nature of success. For ten years, as a professor at Northeastern University, he and his research team studied one "simple" process: how someone becomes successful.
Working with a dozen university researchers, after analyzing thousands of case studies and drawing just as many network graphs, Professor Barabási formulated a scientifically grounded equation for success. He wanted to publish the findings in an academic journal, as a proper scientific research summary. As you may know, in academia, a researcher's credibility and impact are often measured by how many times their work is cited. (In fact, this principle is the basis of one of the world's most famous and widely used digital tools: Google. Larry Page, co-creator of the search engine, is currently the 8th richest person in the world. His co-founder, Sergey Brin, isn’t far behind.)
But back to Barabási’s story: you might not believe this, but not a single academic journal saw the potential in publishing the results of his ten years of work. They simply couldn't get it accepted.
So, Barabási sat down and wrote a book called The Formula (2018). Not in the language of science, but in a way that anyone could understand—woven with personal stories and experiences related to his research on success. Including the very story I’m sharing with you now.
The book became a global success. It's been translated into over forty languages. He teaches courses at universities around the world and lectures across nearly every continent. And it’s not just about the science of success. His scientific insights on networks are now cited and taught worldwide. He even wrote a university textbook called Network Science, which is now used globally by students learning about the nature of connected systems.
There’s a section in The Formula where he analyzes the probabilities of getting on The New York Times Best Seller list. (He also writes about what makes a movie successful.) I took notes on his observations and developed a system to maximize my chances of getting one of my books on that list someday. Being a foreigner puts me at a particular disadvantage, but the process is underway, and I'm following exactly the kind of logic Barabási recommends in his book. After all, here I am among you, right? :) And you're here, too! I might write a blog post about this system someday—others might be interested. The thing is: it works. It really works!
So Jonathan, I honestly think the best thing you can do for yourself is not waste a single word on that one-star review. Instead, start planning the marketing for your next book—even if you haven’t written a single line of it yet. You’ve got the literary skills; the manuscript will come when it’s ready. But you have to believe in yourself and trust in your abilities. These are the most important elements of your personal brand: faith in yourself and confidence in your capabilities. Along with the literary knowledge that is already part of you.
I really liked how you analyzed that "one star" from different angles. It all depends on perspective. It’s like a kaleidoscope.
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I agree with all the points, Jonathan Jordan
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Matt Dinneman, author of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and a really cool guy, uses them on his covers with blurbs from the haters. He is a mad genius.
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People get offended by ANYTHING. They have been TAUGHT to be offended.
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That's a cool story Anna Kiss! Hadn't heard that one before.
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Anthony Cloutier that's amazing. Love it when people flip the script like that.
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None of my books are published yet so I sadly don't have any negative review stories. I got a lot of bullshit feedback when I was a teenager, though, and probably the most common one I got was how weird it was that none of my characters were Iranian like me (my favourite being my taekwondo master saying "you writing a Japanese story is like me writing a Russian story."). It didn't stop me then, sure as hell won't stop me now or ever
Though in college the closest I got to a one-star review was during a workshop in creative writing class and one of my classmates said that my characters having "weird names" killed her interest in my story entirely. Suffice it to say, I learned to ignore her pretty quickly since all her feedback was cheap shots like that.
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Jonathan Jordan I'm glad you found it interesting too. Albert-László Barabási told me some incredible stories about how many times his attempts were rejected. Most of the time, the objection was why he wanted to get in through the window or the chimney when everyone else was trying the door.
"Because anyone can walk in through the door, but getting in through the chimney takes creativity," he would reply.
I got him talking a lot about this when I interviewed him for my new book. The book, titled BRAND SECRET, showcases personal brand success stories. He’s featured in it as well. I adore him. He’s such a typically eccentric scientist.
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Danny Range How right you are!
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Negative reviews were hard at first. One that really bothered me was when I had a negative review on a newly published book saying that the story wasn't historically accurate. I think the reader gave the book a two star. I strive for historical accuracy, and I couldn't imagine what the reader was talking about. I worried that the review, when I only had two other good ones, would impact my sales.
Then she/he returned the next day and downgraded the review to a one star, listing the three things that weren't accurate. She was WRONG on all three! I felt SO much better. And the sales were just fine.
There was another early review on my fantasy series from someone who loved my historicals and didn't like the other genre. I remember crying, although 14 years later, I don't recall quite why.
What I've learned is that I have predominately good and great reviews and they pile on top of the bad ones. I've learned to shrug off the bad ones and appreciate the good ones. I've also learned some things from the good reviews about what my readers love and I try to keep delivering those things.
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Don't feed the trolls. Since the critics can't be held to account, they enjoy their perceived power over you. "Oh, the sanctimony of midwits'. Congrats on your success!
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I have a script I went you to look at title price for a salvation
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It's so frustrating when people complain about historical inaccuracy and are wrong, Debra Holland! Shouldn't they first check what they will write before doing it? It happens quite often, sadly
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Excellent post!