Being an author requires thick skin. For many authors, it can feel like a personal attack, but in most cases it is not. Even classic authors like Jane Austen or modern best-selling authors like Stephen King get bad reviews. There are three types of bad reviews. The first is a true personal attack calling out the author for personal things that are not in the book or threatening the author. Reviews like this are not allowed on any platform and should be immediately reported. Focus only on the parts of the review that personally attack or threaten you when you report it. In addition to reporting it to the platform, you may also want to make a police report. This sets up a paper trail in case you need it later on to stop the person from harassing you. 

The second type of bad review is the kind that feels the most unfair. This is a review by someone who just did not like your book. “It wasn’t my type of book.” “I don’t normally read books like this.” “I hated the main character.” Although these may seem the most unfair, these are the ones you have to ignore because they are not a reflection on your writing at all but rather a reflection on the reader's personal taste. For example, I love Samuel Beckett’s “Act Without Words.” The entire play consists of no dialogue and, in part, a guy repeatedly trying to climb a ladder. It’s a classic. However, when I read this play to my husband, he was less than thrilled about it and could not see its genius or deeper meaning. 

If anything, when you get a review like this, you might want to reconsider your marketing strategy to make sure you are targeting the correct audience for your book. For example, if you write gore horror and you are trying to sell your books at a Christian book convention, you are probably going to get poor reviews of this nature. If people complain in a bad review that your book contains sex or swearing, this is a hint that you might want to adjust your book description to warn people about potentially offensive content. 

The third type of bad review is most helpful for authors. These are constructive criticism reviews. I have also discovered that these reviews are the ones where authors who have not yet reached a certain level of professionalism usually try to respond and argue with the reviewer. However hard it may be to hear that your book contained typos, your characters were one-dimensional, or you used “telling” instead of “showing," these reviews can help you. These reviews may not seem “constructive,” but even people who complain without tact should be heard. 

I have, unfortunately, seen many authors argue that their book did not contain typos—that it was a style choice or that they came from the UK and the reviewer was judging them based on American standards (or vice versa). All these people that I have come across were in denial. Many times, they not only switched between British and American standards throughout the book, but they also left off commas with "and" separating two independent clauses (which is never a style choice) or they use commas where none were necessary, completely changing the meaning of what they wanted to say or destroying clarity. You never have to take anyone's advice on fixing your typos—especially if they are truly wrong. If that is the case and you are not simply failing to fact-check them, then brush it off as a review of the second type—they just didn't like your book and were looking for a reason to justify their personal feelings.

I recently got a 3-star review on one of my books because I had misused “to” twice in my novel. I went back and checked every instance, and discovered I had actually misused it eight times—the remaining six were split infinitives as opposed to leaving off the last “o” in “too.” My novel is now better edited because this person called me out. Take advantage of negative reviews to write better. Even if you cannot fix problems with the reviewed book, learn from them so your next book will shine!