Wednesday, November 5, 2014

IWSG: Reading Reviews

The first Wednesday of the month is ...
 
http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/

Reading a review of your published book is a lot different than reading comments from a critique partner or beta reader during the writing, revising, and polishing of your unpublished manuscript. Why? Because once it's published, it's done. There's no considering the comments for possibility of improving that story. However, the comments can serve a purpose to better future stories.

I know some authors never read their reviews, because it can be quite nerve racking. I do read the reviews of WHO R U REALLY?. I love sitting in my pajamas reading reviews online. It's like a book club for introverts. ;) And I especially love the passionate reviews, because these tell me I struck a chord inside the reader and made a connection.

Maggie Stiefvater recently wrote a passionate post on Facebook about how important reviews are to her, and I agree with her post. You can read it here: Maggie's post regarding reviews

Do you read reviews of your published work? Why or why not?

10 comments:

  1. You are brave! I think you need to know yourself and whether you can handle it. Sounds like you can. And great that you can learn from what you read.

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  2. I do read my reviews if I come across them, but I don't actively search them our--or try not to.

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  3. I read Maggie's post and get why she reads her reviews. For me, I don't. I used to, but stopped because it just put me on an emotional roller coaster. It wasn't just bad reviews either, the good ones did too. I found it too hard to focus on writing my next story. Maybe I'll make hubby read them and then tell me if anyone had things that would help me become a better writer.

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  4. I said I wouldn't read my reviews when 30 Seconds came out in September, but I did. I think only a week went by before I caved. It's impossible not to read your reviews. I don't know how those authors who never read their reviews do it. But I have limited how often I check as that drew me away from valuable writing time.

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  5. I haven't had a ton of reviews but I've read the ones that I've gotten. It's nerve-wracking and thrilling at the same time, and I appreciate that people take the time to read and comment on my work. :)

    Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption

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  6. Hah, exactly what I wrote about today! I don't believe when author's say they don't read theirs or they don't care. How can you not. And I agree with you. Hopefully they will help you for your next one.

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  7. I read my reviews and then let them go. Today I received feedback from a book contest and was quite pleased to see what the judge had to say. We can learn from good and bad reviews and comments. We only need to take a breath and allow the message to come through our filters.

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  8. I think it's good to read them though I do hope one day I'll have so many reviews I won't be able to keep track of them... until then... I read them all. :-)

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  9. I always read mine. Even the ones that aren't great. If they were written with thought and depth, I can learn from them and make the next book better.

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  10. I don't have anything out at this time, so I have no reviews. Sometimes I read online reviews for other authors' books, but even so I usually do this after I've read the book. I find that most reviews, good or bad, don't influence my reading choices.

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