Hi Ann! I have been enjoying reading about your journey. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I must comment on your statements about your one star review.
Please know that whatever you put out there on this forum or any other is there for the world to see. Your comments can turn off reviewers. They might think you can't take professional critisism & be afraid to review your book and give an honest review.
I can tell you from expreience I know how it feels to get a low star review. I have gotten 3! One was just a two star with no comment. The other 2 were two stars on Goodreads but translates to three stars on Amazon. Yes, it hurt at first. But, I read and reread the reviews and tried to see the positive in them. For one, neither stated my writing was crap. lol The book just wasn't for them. As a writer I have to accept that not everyone will love my book. Everyone has different tastes and it doesn't make them an idiot or a troll because they didn't like your story. As a writer I feel I can learn something from every review, good or bad.
It just makes me feel uneasy when I see an author bash a reviewer because they didn't agree with their review. I have to agree with Old Hack. The best way to respond to a negative review is with a "thank you for giving my book a try" and move on.
I wish you much luck & success and hope your next review is a positive one.
I agree with Celeste, it’s tough reading negative reviews. My first ever review was a one star review. It took me a while to get over that! I felt that his review was just plain mean and that if he had something constructive to say he could have done it in a nicer way. However, we have to remember that any review is based on one's opinion. Looking back, I do think there were a couple of helpful things in the review.
I've since learned to not react to the review, but I know it can be hard. I recently got a positive review on goodreads for one of my short stories and that did make me feel good! Being a writer, actor, or musician, meansthat we never really know if we are talented or not. You just have to believe in yourself and see what happens.