Finding Solace on Goodreads

Being both an author and a reviewer, I find writing not-so-rave reviews difficult, because I know first-hand how devastating they can be.  If I’m feeling particularly down over a bad review (and that can be either one I got or one I wrote  – regardless of how diplomatic I try to be, and how well I’ve managed to find some positive things to say, I still don’t like writing them) – I go to Goodreads, and the reviews posted on the sites of authors I believe write in a way I wish I could, those I read every chance I can, whose new works I actually buy (in hardback, even)….like Guy Gavriel Kay, or Neil Gaiman.  Why?  Because even these guys get poor reviews. I do it to remind myself that I as a writer will never be to everyone’s taste, and as a reviewer, I may dislike something others love, or love something others dislike.  It works.

How do you find solace after a poor review?  I’d love to know!

 

 

2 thoughts on “Finding Solace on Goodreads

  1. Once I bought another blogger’s e-book, with the intention of leaving a review on Amazon, and made the mistake of letting them know. Big mistake! I didn’t like the book, AT ALL. I couldn’t even finish it. Fortunately they haven’t asked me for feedback, and I hope they haven’t noticed the absence of a review on Amazon.
    I am in complete agreement with you — reading negative reviews on books I loved helps me get over a negative critique on my own talent. But I think the bigger impact comes from when I don’t like a book others do. Especially if it was made into a movie — Someone liked it enough to make a movie out of it?
    Makes me think there’s an audience out there for all of us! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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