5 Considerations When Receiving One-Star Reviews

ACFWAuthors and writing, Book Reviews, Reviews, writing Leave a Comment

By Lisa Jordan

After one of my first books had released, I made the mistake of reading Amazon reviews. I was caught off guard by a single one-start review.

As I read the reviewer’s words, my breath caught and heat scalded my cheeks. How could she write such things? Didn’t she realize the struggle and tears that went into meeting that deadline as I typed next to my mom’s hospital bed after her second heart attack? No, she didn’t because readers aren’t aware of life’s challenges we’re juggling while writing novels.

With her words echoing inside my head, I emailed my writing support team—agent, editor, and two mentors—asking if her words were true. After being assured I hadn’t failed as a writer—and advised again not to read reviews—I reread her review again. This time, though, I gleaned some wisdom from her words.

Honestly, her review was well thought out with examples from my work to prove her points. Once I had time to process the review, I appreciated her feedback despite the one star. Then I turned it into a teachable moment to become a better writer.

When we do get those tough reviews, we can ask ourselves several questions to help process difficult words:

  • Consider the source. Reviews are subjective—one person’s opinion. However, is the reviewer someone who reads a lot of books, reads a variety of genres, and expresses her opinion clearly?
  • Consider the genre. Readers who like a book but give it a lesser star based on genre frustrate me, particularly if they claim they didn’t realize it was Christian fiction. Reading the back-cover copy should give the reader a general idea if the novel is Christian or secular.
  • Consider teachable moments. After reading the review, ask yourself if there’s some teachable moment threaded in the reviewer’s words. Is more than one reader saying something similar? Talk these concerns over with your agent and editor. Is this a weak area in your writing? Should you strive to change that particular component?
  • Consider the process. The publishing process requires many eyes to read our work. Manuscripts are seen by craft partners, beta readers, agents, editors, line editors, content editors, and back to authors to review final revisions before the stories hit the presses. Of course, mistakes still happen. After all, no one is perfect. However, agents and editors have a feel for what works and what doesn’t work in a particular publishing house. If your story doesn’t resonate with a reader, that’s not to say it’s a terrible story—it’s been vetted through the whole publishing process. It just means that reader doesn’t have a connection with your novel.
  • Consider your abilities. As writers, we need to believe in ourselves and the talents God has given us. We can’t allow every review to shake our confidence. Otherwise, we will be too paralyzed to write anything new. When our novels are released, we need to remember we did our very best. Our editors loved the story and offered a contract.

We authors risk feedback once our books are available to the public. Sure, we want our readers to love every story, but we won’t be able to please everyone. We need to write to the best of our abilities and submit our best work. As we learn more, we will write even better stories…and learn not to read our reviews.

Represented by Cynthia Ruchti of Books & Such Literary Management, Lisa Jordan is an award-winning author for Harlequin’s Love Inspired line, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope & happily ever after. Her latest book, His Road to Redemption, released in January 2022. Learn more about her at lisajordanbooks.com.

 

 

 

 

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