So What Now?

Not everyone will like your book; move on.

You move on, it will always happen. Go on Goodreads, look at books from authors like Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett.. they all have not just one 1* review.

Btw, elaborate reviews, meaningful ones, are something you can learn from and then try and improve your next book

Have to agree. Let it bum you out for a hot second (it would anyone), but then shrug it off. You're bound to get one eventually; it's impossible to appease everyone.

Shirokirie said:

A lot of the things she remarked about I did on purpose. A) because I didn't want to march into the 100k+ territory on the first try, and B) I wanted to spread things over the series, such as worldbuilding, etc.

At the end of my day, I appreciate her candid assessment. While on the other hand, I know of several others who enjoyed the book as it came along and got as polished up as I could get it.

Perhaps that's the point of critics.

I'm shaken by it. I really, really am (I'm presently dealing with bouts of crippling self-doubt where I perceive myself as a worse-than-shit writer, so, perfect timing! ). But at the end of my day, I'm determined to iron these things out with the second and subsequent works. That was the point - I didn't want to bog it down with mass descriptions of places, plants, things, and get into the deep of a complex pocket universe right at the start.

Otherwise, I'm sure there'd be the opposite to be said, and still 2-stars to deal with.

Bleh.

Though, maybe, too, she just wasn't up my alley.

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I love certain authors, and sometimes they produce books that I don't like. Even though it's well written, even though it's a good story, I just did not like it.
At least the review wasn't mean, it wasn't a 'don't bother with this book' or anything of that sort. It was detailed, a lot of information about why they didn't like the book and what was missing according to them.

Someone else might have given it a low rating if you would have included too much information. You did your best. You were confident this book is good. You seem confident that you made the right choices. I think that's good.

Take whatever you can from the review, improve. And otherwise carry on. Other people will love what you wrote

Shirokirie said:

Actually it was vague...

It was really vague. In fact, you can find it here.

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No. That's not vague. That review contains specific information about why it did not work for that reader. Now, you can leave it alone or pick at it until the wound gets infected. The first isn't easy to do, but it has a much better outcome.

if you can't leave it alone just yet, it might be worth asking yourself what outcome would make things better for you -- bearing in mind that the review is someone else's opinion.

To me, that review is nowhere near vague. And encouraging if you read it carefully, but whether you feel any of it warrants closer consideration is up to you.

Good luck.

Shirokirie said:

So I go my first two-star review. Can't do crap about that.

So what do I do now?

I can't exactly cry about it.

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Ignore it. The best writers in the world still get bad reviews from time to time.

ETA: Now that I've read it, I see the reviewer at least did you the favor of pointing out specific things that bothered her. So you can still ignore it, of course, but maybe some bits of it might prove useful to keep in mind when writing your next novel.

Reviews are to help people make smart buying decisions; not exactly to help the writer.

To me, the reviewer didn't seem vague, but more general as there was a lot they wanted to cover without either expanding their typical review-length constraint or going into too much detail.

Shirokirie said:

Everything she mentioned I've already taken care of - including redoing the book blurb, and that was loooooong before she posted that.

All her complaints are book-specific. The sequel doesn't follow the narrative style of the first. With the exception of the POV switches.

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Oh boy, that will most likely be a problem. Can't say without reading them, but I know as a lover of reading series; some single pov and some multi, that I don't like when the narrative style is drastically different between books in a series. Consitency is part of keeping the reader interested and keeping them from being confused. One book or even one POV in first when every other chapter or book is in say third would really throw me off and possibly out of the book/series.

Lillith1991 said:

Oh boy, that will most likely be a problem. Can't say without reading them, but I know as a lover of reading series; some single pov and some multi, that I don't like when the narrative style is drastically different between books in a series. Consitency is part of keeping the reader interested and keeping them from being confused. One book or even one POV in first when every other chapter or book is in say third would really throw me off and possibly out of the book/series.

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I have to agree with this. I was going to change my style for book two, but realized that I don't like a series where book one is style A and book B is another style completely, so I am sticking to my original format.
The other thing is, when it comes to the OP's comment about tweaking what the reviewer said to make them like the book...I wouldn't do it.
There is no way to please everyone. I have no illusions that everyone will like my book, so I let it alone and move on. If reviews give someone ulcers, then... don't read the damn things.
Focus on writing book two, and boogie on down the road. Attempting to please every reader is a fools errand. (No insult intended.)

It's not that bad. Hopefully you're already over it.

I got a few one star reviews. Mean ones. Ones that said, "If I could give it minus 5 stars, I would." type of one star reviews.

I was crushed of course, but only for a day or so. I never responded to any of it. And it's really the best thing you can do, is walk away. That I know I'm in control of. Besides, if you comment then she comments, then it's a dispute. Which you totally do NOT need.

Pat yourself on the back that you've published a book. That's a huge accomplishment in itself. You'll always get criticized for it. That's what reviews are for.

A bad review is better than no review at all.

Undercover said:

Besides, if you comment then she comments, then it's a dispute. Which you totally do NOT need.

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I tell myself, "What does a bad review deserve from me - obscurity or notoriety? I can make it obscure by ignoring it." Easy choice.

Queen of Swords said:

I tell myself, "What does a bad review deserve from me - obscurity or notoriety? I can make it obscure by ignoring it." Easy choice.

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The best choice IMO.

What helps for me is that I have other work out there. I think it's much harder when it's your first, your baby. But once you have a bunch of babies, it's easier to let go of trying to have things perfect all the time.

So moving on with your writing is the best route to go.

Oh, and I wouldn't be changing everything for everybody either. Just like Ben said, you can't please everyone.

Seriously--stop reading reviews. A bad review will ruin your day far more than a good review will make you happy. It just ain't worth it.

I wanted to add, the review doesn't sound needlessly harsh by any stretch to me. A lot of fantasy readers prefer more worldbuilding details than you provided, or more accurately what she felt you provided. She mentioned the apendix at the back and how she wished information from it had been used more in the first half of the book. That is a valid complaint about any type of book set somewhere or sometime else, especially if it's something like SFF where worldbuilding is key to an enjoyable story. Where you want the reader to ask some questions but not be overwhelemed by them.

It stings now, but I thought I would mention it. Since you did mention that you did choose to not do as much worldbuilding directly in the book so it wouldn't be overly bloated feeling. *offers cookie*

ETA: I would like to add that I don't think that means you should change things to please people. All I mean is that it is a common and completely valid complaint for someone who is an SFF reader to have. Sometimes we feel the writer isn't giving us enough to work with as a reader and sometimes they give us too too much. She felt it was too little, someone else would probably feel it was too much, but there's plenty of people it would be just right for as well.

Shirokirie said:

Ah. My apologies. I was under the impression there'd be a tad more information revealed in the review. Like, I'd love to know just what exactly her questions were, that way I can go back and address them. Or what style she's used to, so I know what to adhere to POV wise in the next run, etc.

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Not to be rude, but what you expect and what you want to know are irrelevant. The review isn't for you. The reviewer is not your critique partner. The reviewer is under no obligation to you in any way. That's hard to get used to, but you have to.

On the other hand, neither are you obliged to change anything about your future work in response. Because what makes a reviewer dislike a book isn't always something that needs to be or can be fixed.

Shirokirie said:

So I guess I'll just leave it be.

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That's the best choice.

I often see advice to ignore or to not read reviews.

Trade published novels have been 'through the gatekeepers' so to speak, but (and please correct me if I am wrong or being naive) surely a review of any self-published novel is worth considering, especially if it is requested and/or the reviewer has a credible record.

Do you have beta readers / critique partners / pro editors?

You can't always get much that's useful from reviews -- they're not written for you, and you also don't know the person writing them. Maybe they never would've liked your book. It's also pointless to try to change your work to respond to every reviewer -- if you do that, you'll end up with a disjointed pile of words that isn't even your own, and the people who would have liked your style won't even be with you.

I don't read my reviews. What I do read and work hard on are the excellent critiques of my crit partner, betas, and editor, all of whose talent and opinion and honesty I trust. I know my style jives with them and that they're not out to make my books something they're not. If they all give me a thumbs-up, I know I'm good to go.

You asked what you should do now -- I would say, if you're struggling with self-doubt, get thee some (or some more) kickass betas for the next book and (if you haven't) hire an editor. Those are the things you can do to support yourself and be confident you're putting out your best quality work (IMHO ). And then stop reading reviews.

And if you're already doing all that, lean on the thumbs-up you got from those people to bolster your confidence through any outside criticism. I do that sometimes -- when I wonder if my book was really good enough to put out there, I remember that my betas said it was, and I remember how much I respect my betas, and that if I doubt them I'm basically trashing their opinion and I would never want to do that. And that reassures me.

Also, here, have some chocolate cookies. Those always help.