So, I’ve had several people ask me how I deal with negative reviews, comments, haters, trolls. The answer to that depends on which one we’re talking about.
Reviews: I don’t tend to read reviews–they’re for readers, not for me–so I try to avoid them, even though I VERY MUCH appreciate good reviews and am grateful for them.
Because–and this is the truth for most authors–a bad review can make ten great ones pale. NOT because they affect sales so much, but sometimes, it’s like somebody slapping you in the face. But the truth is, not everybody’s going to like your work. Not everybody will like you. It’s a fact of life and we just have to live with it.
If the review contains a bunch of spoilers, I try to get it removed because that’s not fair to other readers. But really? If it’s bad, I just try to ignore them, and the truly ridiculous ones, I make a joke out of. I mean, hey, according to one review, I’m a Mary Sue pornographer! To which I say–WOOHOO–I wouldn’t want to write a sex scene that didn’t make me grin or …well…get hot. If I feel queasy when I write a sex scene, it will come through and my readers will feel that same squick.
Negative Comments: Anywhere I can, if the comment is just whiny, I ignore it. If the commenter gets mean, I don’t bother engaging–why feed them the energy it takes to respond? Just block and delete. My assistants have this caveat, too, so in the Facebook group, for example, you don’t play by the rules? You get bent out of shape? Go find another place to hang out because it’s not going to be in my group.
Haters: Well, you can generally tell the ones–they are actively jealous of your work, or they, for some reason, have taken a strong dislike and they make it known, AT THE TOP OF THEIR VOICES. Block/ban/delete, and add their name to a Watchlist in case of any future trouble.
Stalkers–well, I’ve had them before and that’s a whole different subject, because they’re more dangerous. than the other three categories.
Anyway, my policy is, if you don’t like my books? That’s fine–I know they aren’t for everyone. Go find another author you do like–life’s too short to hate on books/shows/anything. If you persist in being vocally nasty, well…
So long, farewell…
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