Reviews... Love 'em or Hate 'em?

Reviews… It’s a known fact that most authors worry about how their books will be received. Will readers like them? Did you get across everything you felt inside? Was the book you loved writing loved by someone else? When a book is published, we anxiously await news of reviews. Once they come in, we hover the cursor over the link, asking ourselves: Do I really want to read this? Of course we do, but there’s that little part of us that is filled with dread. What If I wrote a doozy? What if…what if…?

I’ve been following Daisy Dexter-Dobbs’ recent Facebook and blog articles where she discusses how she handles reviews (funny posts!). She used to get upset when she got a “bad” one, but now she’s able to use humour to brush them off—that and the realisation that what she writes isn’t for everyone. We have no control over who reviews our books once they’ve been sent out or bought, and that’s one of the many nervy aspects of being an author. People have the right to express how they feel about a book because, after all, it’s their opinion. We just have to take the hits as they come and move on, aiming to do better next time. I like cream cheese, you don’t. I like slices of apple drenched in salad cream, but many, many people will most definitely not!

Which brings me to what I’ve been doing this week. (No, I didn’t eat apples and salad cream, lol, but now I’ve written about them I want some.) The kids went back to school—college-aged son starts back Monday coming—and I took the time to create a blog I’d been asked to do. It still has a few things I must do, and there will be touches added along the way as and when they’re needed, but for now it’s as ready as it will ever be. It’s a review site, so I was able to point some of my friends out to the reviewer in the hopes she’d review their books (Howdy Regina, Kit and Lily!). She did, and with more of my friends on her list, she’ll have plenty to read. She won’t be reviewing mine—I know her too well for her to remain objective—but she may have guest reviewers starting if she can persuade them to join her, so maybe I’ll get reviewed then.

If you’d like to see what I created, go HERE, and if you’d like the assurance that your book is in safe hands should you send it in, you can rest easy that she won’t be mean. I’ve known her a long, long time. She’s done something a little different to other review sites. If she reads your book, you’re guaranteed a 4/5, 5/5 or a Top Pick. The rub is “if” she reads it. All is explained on her blog.

So, back to reviews:

Q: As a reader, if you were to give a review on a book you hated, would you be totally honest and say it like it is, or would you use more restraint?

Q: As an author, do you have to strongly resist leaving a comment on one of your bad reviews because you don’t want to appear unprofessional?

Also, I'd like to have a little squeal and show you my new cover. I love it, got exactly what I'd asked for and envisioned in my head. And I want to own a bottom like hers. Well, I can dream, can't I? LOL