Bad Amazon Reviews: How To Move Past Them And Keep Writing

Your face is literally burning at the screen as you read those horrible words. You can't believe that they didn't see your vision. The reader just didn't comprehend what you were trying to say. They couldn't have read it because if they did, they would have seen the pure genius of your work and rated it accordingly.

Your first thought? It may be to flag the review. Scour Amazon's guidelines to see if any were broken and try to get them to remove it. You may even ask your friends and family members to flag the review and get it removed. Some authors may even be tempted enough to respond with fury in the comments section.

Don't take the bait. It looks unprofessional and it should never be done in any circumstance. How to get over a bad book review? First, decide if the review has any merit. Some reviews are just personal. The reader may not like you for whatever reason. One of my non-fiction reviews focused on one incident that happened in the book that she didn't agree with and decided to write a three paragraph rant on why I should not have called an ambulance when I injured myself. Even though the paramedics told me I did the right thing, she felt otherwise and slammed my book for that reason. Remember, a reader doesn't really need a good reason to give you a poor review. One reviewer gave a writer one star because the writer's name was larger than the title on the cover.

If you are getting bad reviews based on poor grammar, poor sentence structure, typos, poor picture/illustrations, or formatting, you may want to take notice and make some edits. If the reviews are telling you that there are holes in the plot or there are too many characters, then you may want to remember that on your next novel. I can practically hear you screaming, "But I fixed one plot hole in chapter seven when the bad guy jumps out of the ground and....". If your readers didn't get what you were trying to do the first time, then it may be too complicated or you need to restructure your work. You don't want your readers flipping through the pages trying to figure out your technique. They should be getting caught up in your story, not getting caught up searching through their Kindle.

You are not going to make everyone happy so there is no reason to try. Take the good criticism and make your next novel better. Take the bad criticism and throw it out the window. It only takes three or four minutes to tear down something you spent the better part of a year or more trying to create. My personal saying is, "Those that can, do. Those who can't become critics." Write that statement on a piece of paper above your workspace, then keep writing.  

Do You Want To Write? Then Read!

Sigh....

Everyday, thousands of books are being published, thanks to the eBook format. You can become an author in a matter of minutes; a feat that would have been wonderful twenty years ago when I was making my start in the world of writing.

I do feel blessed to be living in such a time.

However, a lot of people tell me that they've always wanted to write a book and think that they may have a "high concept" idea that people will just love. While I've heard some good and bad ideas over the years, the one thing I would tell a "would be" author is to READ!

You need to read the BEST literature and then you need to read the worst. There are a lot of people out there **cough my fiance cough** that constantly complain that they don't have time to read when they spend an inordinate amount of time catching up on what other people are doing on Facebook and other social media sites. Reading is an investment in yourself and I can't understand why people would rather care about what Rihanna is eating right now over investing in something that will help them in the long run.

If you want to write, read. It increases your vocabulary as well. Readers like stories that flow. They  like words that they have to look up in a dictionary. Words are your tools and should be seen that way. Words are like the different prescription medications that doctors prescribe patients. You should try to perfect your craft all the time. I probably spend more time reading than I do writing.

You should too as a beginner.

GRAMMAR POLICE AND BOOK REVIEWS

Every author goes through the same thing. You have a pile of fingernails that you've bitten off in a nice neat pile on your desk. You try to get inside the head of your reader, hoping that they pay attention to the parts in your story that you believe you placed so much emphasis on.

You hope that they cheer when you want them to and feel what you wanted them to feel at the appropriate time. But it is nearly impossible.

As a writer, once you realize that everyone is reading your book for different reasons, you will see that not everyone will get the same thing out of your book.

I wrote a light comedic novella named Serial Me, where my character is the opposite of what most heroines look like in a book. She is overweight with low self esteem. She is trying to find Mr. Right while holding onto a job that she doesn't feel worthy of.

I hope that women with weight and self esteem issues will see that they too are beautiful. I hope that they stop worrying about self image and learn that once they accept themselves, others shall too. I should know. I'm in a wheelchair and suffer from many chronic illnesses. You think carrying a few extra pounds around is a possible deterrent. Try having 24 inch rims stuck on the side of your ass.

What will others get from the book? A great light and funny read on a Sunday afternoon. Perhaps someone interested in a high concept novel. Maybe someone looking for a few laughs. Or someone that just wants to size you up as a writer. Competition perhaps? Maybe.

I've noticed where a lot of reviewers will immediately make comment about grammar usage and misspellings. While there are so many horrible books out there that don't even grasp the basic concepts of the English language, there are some great books out there with just a few mistakes.

But there are those comments where the reviewer will berate the author over these errors. But what do you do when your book doesn't have errors?

I read one review where this woman was taking the author to task over grammar. But other reviewers chimed in and said that they could find no mistakes. Surely not as many as the first reviewer mentioned. Then it hit me....

What IF the reviewer didn't know what she was talking about? Novel idea, right? Of course! It makes sense. Most people that claim they know perfect grammar DON'T. What are their qualifications? Do they have a degree in English? Are they professional editors? What made this woman so sure that the book wasn't grammatically correct?

I saw two commercials and ten websites that  displayed the word WALLAH! When it's actually written Voila! But you couldn't tell the original authors of these websites that they were wrong. How many people do you think they go on "correcting"?

Don't take it too personal when someone takes you to task over a few mistakes here and there. I've found an error in World War Z but the story was so good, I didn't care. I still don't. The ones that lament the most about how the English language is going straight to hell are the ones that's sending it there with gasoline drawers on.

Unless you're one of those writers that really need to take an English class or two. IF so then stop reading and get there....FAST!

Diary of A Sick Chick Available on iBookstore

My books are available for you iPad users! Please go to the iBookstore and purchase your copy today! My book is on sale for a limited time! Purchase this book if you or someone that you know lives with a chronic illness. It could change your life.

Thank you!

Serial Me- New and Upcoming Book from Best-Selling Author Sonya Dickerson

New book from best-selling author, Sonya Dickerson

What would you do if there was a woman going around killing all the eligible and gorgeous men in your town? What would you do if you and that woman happened to look like twins?
Vanessa Johnson has it all as a Health and Fitness editor for a popular magazine; except a boyfriend and a body to die for.
Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose in the city of Chicago causing mayhem and destruction everywhere she turns.
It isn't long before all fingers begin pointing at her. Vanessa must make a decision; watch her life go down the drain or help the police nab the killer before it's too late and she finds herself behind bars.

What made you decide to write this story?

it was just a silly idea i had. something that i had been pondering for quite some time. when i came up with the concept the story began to write itself.

Did you run into any issues that you'd like to share with your readers?

well it was a very difficult book to do. mixing comedy in with death isn't always easy. death and murder are sensitive subjects with people and i wanted to do it tasteful. my first screenplay was a dark comedy about suicide so i was treading on familiar ground. 

i wanted to make it funny because i enjoy writing comedies. 'stick with what you know' can be helpful advice for some writers but terrible advice for others. a really great writer should be able to write many different different genres without losing authenticity. once you get ahold to a character's voice, you can make them hilariously funny or tragically sad. shakespeare is a great example of his. he wrote many genres and did them in such an authentic voice that people still enjoy him to this day and will continue to do so.

What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

anyone that knows me knows that it's Macbeth.

Are you worried that you didn't portray your character Vanessa correctly? Meaning that because she is overweight, are you worried that people will think her character was too stereotypical? Or not authentic enough? I realize you like that word.

it really depends. and yes i like authenticity. i hope some people can relate to her and empathize. without that, then you really don't care WHAT happens to the character. if that happens then you haven't done your job. time to start over at that point. 

What would you like your readers to know about this book?

i had a lot of fun writing it and i hope you have just as much fun reading it.