Your inner creative has done battle with your inner critic and triumphed with a completed manuscript. You’ve done numerous revisions and survived the editorial process. You’ve impressed your publisher or self-published. The cover art is magnificent. Everything is done; your book is on the market and finally you can call yourself a published author.
As a writer you’ve gotten used to setbacks and feedback you didn’t always enjoy receiving, and just when you think you’re home free you’re forced to face what some authors might consider the toughest hurdle; the aptly named writing critics.
You’ve read the five star reviews all those best-selling authors you admire – and secretly envy – have received and you want that level of approval too. Good reviews can make all the difference between average and great sales figures, particularly if they come from well-respected critics. Bad reviews could mean your book sits on the shelf gathering dust, reviled, and ignored.
How Do You as an Author Deal With Critics?
Just bear in mind that even the most revered authors have their critics, and even best selling authors get upset at negative reviews. Writing is an art, and art is a physical manifestation of your private inner world. Not everyone is going to appreciate the way you express yourself and you need to accept that there will be reviewers out there who do not enjoy your book. It’s as inevitable as death and taxes and goes with the territory, so you must prepare yourself.
Some authors claim they don’t read reviews at all, but, if you’re able to remain objective and not take your critics personally, you can gain valuable insight for your future development as a writer.
Sure, bad reviews are going to be painful but try not to be reactive. Put them aside, absorb the hurt and come back to them when you’re feeling calmer and stronger. Try to extract the nuggets of wisdom that can help you improve your work in the future. Don’t torture yourself and don’t let the bad reviews break your confidence.
Some writers find negative reviews can fuel their creative determination in an “I’ll show you” kind of way. Other writers counteract the negative reviews by displaying the positive reviews they’ve received to remind themselves there are reviewers who do appreciate their work and recognize their ability. Others just shrug it off and move along.
In some rare cases, a snarky critic has been caught out at not having read a book in its entirety or at all before sending in a review. If you believe this to be the case do not be afraid to call it to the attention of whoever has published the review.
Keeping Your Sanity
Ultimately you need to find a coping mechanism that works for you and helps keep you buoyed when the critic storm hits.
You cannot control how others are going to receive your work but you do get to decide whether what is being criticized is what you like most about your work or an aspect of your writing you’d like to work on. You get to decide if you’re going to let a negative review hobble you permanently or if you’re going to let go, limp on and eventually out run your critics. After all critics are human too; not one of us is perfect and it is only her/his personal opinion.