Publishing A Novel: My First Bad Review

Well, it happened as I knew it would. After getting a bunch of four and five star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, I got a two star review on Goodreads. As I said, I knew that it would happen eventually.

On the one hand, it sucks. No author wants to get a negative review. We work hard on our books and when someone dislikes something into which you put a lot of time, it hurts.

But on the other hand, many more people have been reading BAND GEEK, which is a good thing. And the more opinions that are out there, the more likely that at least a few are going to be negative.

For instance, I just finished reading Ally Condie's MATCHED/CROSSED/REACHED trilogy and really enjoyed it. I thought that it was brilliantly written and would easily give it at least four stars. However, when I looked on Amazon and Goodreads, there were many readers who really disliked the series. Some loved the first book and found the second and third boring; some were unhappy with the ending; some didn't think that there was enough action. Meanwhile, I plowed through all three within two days. Obviously, I'm not alone in enjoying her work because her books are best sellers -- and she has plenty of five-star reviews that gush over her trilogy.

The point is that reading is very subjective and everyone's tastes are going to vary. This is a beautiful thing. I like that people have places where they can share their opinions on literature, even if their opinions differ. It's interesting to see what excites one person and upsets another -- and really, as they say, there's no way to please everyone.

I don't want to see a lot of two star reviews -- believe me, one is fine! I'd rather have mostly positive write-ups of BAND GEEK. But I appreciate and respect that not everyone is going to like my story and am glad that they have a place to share their dislike.

Please read and review REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.