The world is a dangerous place. Write a book, and it gets even more dangerous. Because if your book gets enough attention, you will eventually get a bad book review. It’s practically guaranteed.
The good news is that a bad review isn’t the end of the world. You just need the right mindset to keep moving forward.
Get More Reviews
One great review can’t make your book a best-seller. A single bad book review won’t kill your sales either. Book selling is a long game! Keep that in mind.
When that one-star review hits you between the eyes, take a step back. Breathe. Remember the books that do best online have the most reviews. So become one of them by getting more reviews.
By doing this, you drown out the negative review. Of course, as you gather more reviews, you’re at risk for landing some more negative ones, but that’s okay. Everyone doesn’t have to love your book. Shake it off and keep working to load up on more reviews.
File a Complaint
Sometimes, a bad book review is malicious. Perhaps the reviewer has a beef with you. Or maybe your book got damaged in shipping, so they take it out on you. Whatever the cause, you get a harsh review that doesn’t seem helpful to buyers.
In these cases, you can file a complaint and claim the review as abusive. When you do this, Amazon will check out the review. If they agree with you, the review will disappear. Otherwise, it’ll stick around.
Tempting as it is to report all negative reviews, don’t. Look at your favorite books, and you’ll notice even the biggest books get negative reviews. When you see those, you realize that no book gets all five-star reviews.
That’s why we encourage our authors to have family and friends leave sincere reviews, even if some aren’t five-star. Those three- and four-star reviews may hurt initially, but they give your book credibility.
P.S. Before reporting a review as abusive, check out Amazon’s product review policies.
Use It in Marketing Efforts
Warning: This tip only works with certain books.
If you’ve written a funny or sarcastic book, a bad review shouldn’t bother you. Same goes if you’ve written a political book or anything that you know people will disagree with.
Instead of getting sad or mad, take that bad review and show it off with pride.
Do this, and you turn a negative into a positive. Instead of hiding in shame, wear the review with pride. Show off the fact that your book rubs certain people the wrong way. Invite people to read your book and give their honest opinions.
Just be warned—taking this book marketing stance can invite more criticism. However, it also opens the potential for more readers to buy and review your book, which is what you’re here to do, right?
Take Bad Book Reviews to Heart
Sometimes, a bad book review is actually a good review. These book reviews teach you something.
If reviewers complain that you confused too, to, and two or includes a terrible cover, holes in the storyline, or other problems, don’t write them off. Take these comments to heart. Then look through your book and see if you agree.
If there are problems you can correct, fix the errors and republish. Or at the least, use that feedback to avoid similar problems in your next book.
Before Good or Bad Book Reviews
Have a book collecting digital dust? If you’re ready to publish but don’t know what to do next, Argyle Fox Publishing would love to lend a hand. With our custom publishing services, we design every aspect of your book to your specifications. By the time we’re through, your book will be ready to go where it belongs: on bookshelves and in readers’ hearts. Get started today by submitting your manuscript for consideration.