In response to yesterday’s masterful dissection of a Goodreads Goblin came this reply (presumably from a fellow scribe):
Hats off to you sir. i wish I could not care about negative reviews but it’s really hard 😭
Any tips?
First, some tough ‘lovin:
If you paid attention to the whole email, you’d have found the answer. It wasn’t groundbreaking or anything revolutionary, but it had teeth.
However, as I’m in a giving mood this Friday, I’ll paste the part I’m referring to:
I’ve long detached myself from reviews — yes, even the good ones — as books are no different to food in that it boils down to taste and preference.
What’s a fun, riveting ride for one person is a steaming hot turd to another.
I couldn’t have said it better if I tried.
Wait… I did.
Anyway, assuming you pen fiction like your Overlord & Saviour, it’s crucial to remember that fiction is a game of TASTE and nothing else.
Read that again.
The reason this is important to burn into your psyche is that it doesn’t matter how good your prose is, or how riveting your story might be, there will always be a subset of people who think it sucks.
Like Mr Goodreads Goblin yesterday.
A caveat, however:
If everyone who comes into contact with your book thinks it’s rubbish, then there might be a case that it needs some reworking.
But if you truly believe your story is worth reading?
And you can string together coherent sentences?
IGNORE THE NAYSAYERS
They are not your tribe of readers, so do not let their words haunt you in the middle of the night.
It’s not worth it.
Marry yourself to the book WHILE you’re writing it, then divorce yourself from it once you PUBLISH it.
Your mind, body, and spirit will thank you.
And should you wish to marry yourself to fictional tales that can be read in 30 seconds or less, I have 140 such tales in Tiny Epics: Vol 1.
It’s available in e-book and audiobook here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/Tiny-Epics-Vol-1
DJJW