Bear in mind that reviews from people you know are likely to be slightly inflated. Those posted by people you don’t know from Adam will give you a better idea of how your story is received. To improve your writing, always try to identify what they liked or didn’t like. Sometimes a bad review teaches you far more than a glowing one!
It’s hard not to respond when you get a bad review, especially when the person is either a troll or obviously didn’t “get” what you were trying to convey. Console yourself with this satisfying thought: A writer can kill you off with a few keystrokes. Don’t make us mad…
However, if the review is bad due to something such as typos, editing, grammar, or formatting, pay attention. Not liking the story is totally subjective, which most people recognize, but reviews that address sloppy writing can turn off potential readers faster than the speed of thought. It’s time to go back to the drawing board or hire an editor.
The fact you can’t please all the people all the time is intuitively obvious to authors. Some people may love your book while others hate it. Nothing is more demoralizing than a bad review. To renew your confidence, check the reviews on some of the classics. Somehow it does your heart good to see Ernest Hemingway get 2 stars.
Writing styles change over the years. What was considered a good story 50 or 100 years ago may not be well-received in today’s market. Sometimes originality works and others it doesn’t. Being in-tune with current trends can help assure your book’s success. Who would have guessed twenty years ago how popular vampires and zombies would become?
Apparently some people don’t read the description before buying a book. This became apparent to me when I got some bad reviews based on complaints related to matters that were clearly explained in the book blurb. That shows the importance of your book cover, which also needs to be an accurate representation of what’s inside.
This is the downside of being a writer, the opposite of the euphoria you feel with a good review. Be prepared for both.
Make sure your book’s description fits its content. If a reader is disappointed it’s likely to result in a poor review, not necessarily because your book is bad, but because it didn’t meet expectations.
I’ve had this happen to me with both fiction and nonfiction. In one case, the blurb was probably misleading while in the other, the reader obviously didn’t even read the book description, which was particularly annoying.
Marcha's Two-Cents Worth 