It happened again. A bad review. At least this guy gave me two stars, and not just one, and it didn’t show up on Amazon. Yet. And my book – REDUCED – does average over four stars.
But is the title of “THIS IS NOT A FIVE-STAR BOOK!” really necessary? And, um, yeah – I said it was over four stars, after all, not five. I skimmed it – and have NOT gone back to read more – but in essence he griped and complained about almost everything. Whatever, dude.
So, instead of reading the review, refuting it, stewing over it, I did the next best thing: I looked up HIS books. He has four, all published on Kindle in the last year. His print versions were done with Random’s SP division and were released from 2010 until 2012. He has ONE review on GR, and TWO on AZ. Three reviews on four books. Wow. He’s on a roll. And most of the things he complained about in REDUCED were present in HIS books too. Wow. Projection much?
His covers make my eyes hurt, and his books aren’t selling.
Guess I just got “lucky,” since I don’t know the guy at all, but it sure sounds like he’s lashing out at authors whose books sell, and I got picked to take the brunt. Or maybe he read the first edition, which, I’ll admit, included some rookie errors, like justifying the right margin. But he didn’t like the story either. Odd, two of HIS books are a similar story. [shrug]
My point is that, while I won’t jump a reviewer publicly, I will do what anyone often does and that’s find something to make me feel better. A professional would NEVER write a review like this in the first place. A pro would either be vague and speak in generalities or simply not leave a review. A pro might message an author in private, if he thought he could help.
Of course it still irritates me – but now that I “know” this author, I see why he did what he did. Good luck to him in his future endeavors…
Robin Writes 
Don’t let it bother you! Sounds like sour grapes to me. BTW, don’t fret about right justification. It’s good enough for books from Kathy Reichs, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly and most of the ” big publishers.” I hope he didn’t criticize that too.
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Of course it bothered me – past tense! Which is why I skimmed it only. And yes, sour grapes, so whatever! lol I think most authors are bothered by bad reviews, but we’re told over and over to let.it.go. So this is my way of letting go – try to find a reason, and move on!
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Don’t let it bother you. I’ve noticed on my book sales sometimes when I get a bad review; my book sales actually climb. It’s like the train wreck where everyoen stops to watch. I’m sure your book is quiet good and don’t be suprised if your sales climb. You are a talented writer 🙂
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Thanks! I sure hope so!
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Sorry about my typos in my previous comment. That’s what I get for multi-tasking 🙂
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No problem!
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I understand and empathize, Robin. I still wonder about people who find it necessary to write bad reviews. When I don’t like a book, I just don’t write anything. It’s hard enough to put a book out there – none of us should have to be subjected to meanies! I’m looking forward to reading all 3 books. Currently finishing up a few on the nightstand. ADD in action here – no less than 4 books going at the same time. Hang tough, my friend – your peeps still love you!!
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