Stop the Epidemic!

Lately I have been talking to a lot of authors – wait – let me expand on that.

Lately, I have been talking to a lot of depressed authors, authors who have had their souls crushed and their imagination shattered into a million pieces.

I am not saying that I am not one of them, because I am, but that’s a post for another time.
What I want to talk about is the epidemic, a virus, that has infected dozens, if not hundreds, of amazing, talented, authors. A debilitating illness that has crushed souls and stopped stories from flowing.
A virus that is spread, grown, and flourished by four little words…

“I read this review…”

STOP. RIGHT. THERE.

Hold on, let me put on my disease preventing mask.

Okay… all better.

Now, I am not going to drag on this tirade too long… but here is the thing.
I, my friend, was once just like you. I read reviews, I basked in the five stars and cringed at the four stars and kept swimming in my pool of blissful ignorance until that first one star came along (which was actually on Eyes of Ember, surprisingly enough) and with that one little star – my world shattered.
But I couldn’t look away.

It was like I was cursed.
My eyes stuck open as I stared wide eyed at the text. At each review that came in, my fingers clicking and clacking as I sought out the one stars, trying to understand what I could work on… what I could improve on…

It wasn’t until I was huddled into a corner, shaking and sobbing, that I realized something – these reviews aren’t meant to help me, they aren’t meant to constructively criticize – and in many ways they were written with the sole intent to tear me down – to turn me into the puddle of goo that I had become.

Reviews are not for me.

Reviews are readers – they are for the people who are looking to buy your book your product to decide if they want it or not.

That is all.

Lets use an example – Say you want a new lamp for your office. It need to be tall, it needs to be bright, and you would like it to be able to tilt at the head.
So you head over to Amazon and you start to look, you start to search. And you have narrowed it down to five that seem like they would work.
Well, how do you narrow it down from there?
You read reviews.
This one has a few one stars that say that the head doesn’t bend for easily and tends to slip after its placed – so that one is out.
This one has a few one stars that’s ay that even though the picture and the measurements say it one height, it is actually quite a bit shorter.
This one has a few one stars that says even with high wattage bulbs its just not the bright.

We have widdled down our choices… by looking at one star reviews.

You see – reviews are NOT for the author, for the manufacturer, for the company – they are for readers.
And what is more…

Not every product, every book, is for every person.

This is so important – let me repeat it.

NOT EVERY BOOK IS FOR EVERY PERSON.

Got it?

It’s just like the lamp. I wanted something bright, tall, and flexible and by looking at reviews I found that.
Just like if I am looking for a book – but I HATE Vampires, cliché plotlines and mediocre writing – by looking at reviews, specifically those overly critical one stars – I can find out if a book is for me.
And if its not – I pass.

You can’t please everyone.

And trying to please everyone is only going to lead to ulcers.
Besides, those pesky one stars – they will help people who LOVE your genre to find your book too.

I know it’s hard… but its time to stop the epidemic. It’s time to stop reading your own reviews. Bad reviews are a fact of life, they have been around as long as books have– but it doesn’t mean a book is bad – just that it is not for that one person.

Don’t measure your self worth by stars.

Edited to add: If you are need of critique for your work or are looking for a way to improve, step away from the reviews. Find a beta group, a writer’s circle, or a structural editor. Find a group of peers that will build you up and help you become a better writer.