A Wordslinger 10-Shot!
Bad reviews are inevitable. The real question is what you do after you get one.
In this Wordslinger 10-Shot, I’m talking about the mistake authors make when a negative review gets under their skin—and why responding, arguing, or trying to “correct the record” usually makes things worse.
I recently looked at my own book reviews for the first time in more than a year and found a 2-star review calling one of my books boring. That sent me down a rabbit hole about reviews, trolls, negative comments, and how much attention writers should really give any of them.
We’ll talk about why you should almost never respond to a bad review, when reporting a review might actually make sense, why I once deliberately upvoted some of my worst reviews, and why one of the healthiest things you can do as a creator may be to stop reading reviews altogether.
And there’s an important flip side: reviews still matter. They provide social proof and credibility for your books, which means authors should absolutely be asking readers to leave them—even if you decide not to read them yourself.
If you’re a writer, author, creator, or creative entrepreneur trying to build a career without letting criticism derail you, this one’s for you.
What do you think? Do you read your reviews? Have you ever responded to a bad one? Tell me in the comments.
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00:00 — The reality of negative reviews
01:05 — I found a 2-star review of my book
02:24 — Why I stopped leaving negative reviews
03:14 — Never respond to a bad book review
04:02 — When you should report a review
04:47 — Why I used to upvote bad reviews
05:33 — How 1-star reviews can actually help you
06:46 — Why some successful creators never read reviews
07:32 — Reviews vs. YouTube comments
08:54 — Why book reviews still matter
10:00 — How to get more reviews for your books
10:40 — The simplest review strategy for authors
11:26 — How should writers handle trolls and criticism?
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