When we put ourselves out there as writers, it is inevitable that we will get some negative feedback along with the positive. Some of our critics will not find our material to their tastes. Knowing that we can’t be all things to all people, let me ask…
I don’t want any of those!
But I voted for my least offensive – I would never want to be thought boring!
LikeLike
I’m with Deborah…where’s “None of the Above?” I’d prefer negative reviews that indicate the book just wasn’t someone’s cup of tea. They can’t all work for every reader. But man. All three of those are tough. I definitely don’t want to bore anyone, even if I fail to connect on other issues, so I’m not choosing that. And I never try to be intellectual, since I’m just aiming for entertaining, so skip that. I guess I could live with action packed, but without substance, since again, I’m in it for sheer entertainment value, with the slight underlying lesson that love is the greatest power of all. So I’ll choose that one. (Under protest). Make it hard, why doncha, Jason? 😀
LikeLike
BTW, fun post, Jason! Thanks. I’ve got to learn how to do the poll thing. (Might help if I simply tried it!) We should have a weekly one, just for fun.
LikeLike
I’m glad to hear that this was fun! I was worried that this could be potentially depressing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If getting a negative review (now and then) depresses anyone, then they might want to rethink their career choice. 🙂 There’s not a writer alive who hasn’t received them, as I’m sure we all know. Of course, some are more constructive than others, to be sure, but we have no control over that. What worries me more than a few folks not liking my work is when I don’t have any negative comments at all. (This usually just happens early on.) Then, I’m afraid people will think I’ve paid off a bunch of folks to give me lots of stars. So, once I get that first person who didn’t enjoy the book, I breathe a bit easier. As long as they remain in the minority, you understand. 😀
I do think this was fun…but I still wish there had been a “None of the Above” slot. Haha.
LikeLike
Funny that you should mention negative reviews today. I couldn’t bring myself to pick any of them. I got a negative review just yesterday, and I’m not happy that the reader said she’ll never read another of my novels. She gave me a one star even though she enjoyed the story and could relate to the characters. I’ve been a little depressed ever since, because I’ve lost a reader forever. The good part is that in her review she told me exactly what she didn’t like about it, and it was an easy problem to fix. So,while I can’t do anything about readers who purchased my novel in the past, at least I won’t be getting negative reviews about the same thing in the future.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, Evelyn, I’m sorry someone left such a bad review for you. I’m glad, though, that you at least know why. It’s really frustrating when they tell you they didn’t like your book, but don’t give any reasons at all. Then you don’t know if your writing is bad, or your characters lack depth, or your story line didn’t hang together for them, or what.
It IS discouraging to lose a reader forever, but…sometimes forever really ISN’T. I’ve sworn off of a writer or two (not in the same public way), and then decided to give them another chance when they released something new that sounded good and was getting solid reviews. She may come back into the fold one day. But for now, if you can see her point and can fix it, she has given you a chance to grow and make your book better. I think that’s the only way to look at it. And I hope you shake off the blues soon, and know that there are plenty of readers out there who enjoy your books, and will continue to do so. Keep smiling, and keep writing!
LikeLike
Thanks for your positive feedback on my negative review, Marcia. I’m in the process of fixing the problem right now. So, I’m feeling better already.
BTW, I’m in the middle of reading Finding Hunter, and I’m really enjoying it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you are feeling better. Nothing like being able to take positive action to make a problem seem more manageable. The worst thing is when it’s in someone else’s hands and you can’t do anything. I hate that!
I’m also glad you’re enjoying Finding Hunter, and I hope the version you’re reading doesn’t have too many formatting errors. I had to go back in and fix a couple of things to make it look better. (It looked FINE on the preview thingie on the Kindle site, but not as good on my own device.) I resized the snippets at the beginning of each chapter, so they stayed together in poem format, rather than splitting up lines, for one thing. Anyway, I hope it your version looks decent on your device and I’m happy you’re enjoying it. Hunter Painter is a favorite of mine…second only to Rabbit. 😀
LikeLike
Good poll, but couldn’t bring myself to vote, lol, too painful. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really IS a painful thought. I don’t like any of those options, but since my writing is for sheer entertainment value, #1 seems less awful, somehow. Not by much, though. 😀
I’m going to learn to do the polls, too. I have some things I think would be fun. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I look forward to them! 🙂
LikeLike