Recently a fellow author I know got very upset by a bad review. It really bothered her to the point where she started to question her talent. She shouldn't, she's very talented. I told her not to let it get to her, to brush it off and carry on. We as writers have to drive past bad reviews as they bark at our cars. We all have a reason we write, but we never write to get bad reviews.
I'm driven on by my fans. All those great reviews really push me on. But, the bad reviews are also good fuel for the fire. Not so much in the sense that I want to prove them wrong or please everyone, but in the sense that they may, hidden in the meanings, offer good advice. Even the seemingly useless bad reviews can lead us to some profound thought or at lease a moment of zen.
Face it, there's no way possible to have everyone love your work. Some people are going to hate it, some are just not going to get it. But that's what it means to be an artist of any kind. Whether you're making music or ticking a canvas with colors, someone is going to hate what you're doing. They have their reasons. They have a personal preference. And that's just a matter of life.
Some people are just going to be haters too, and the more success you have the more haters that will come out of the woodwork. Even the great authors with the big names and Hollywood success have haters. A few years ago before I was a published author, I had another fellow unpublished author, tell me that he used to leave bad reviews to authors to "knock them down a peg"...among other things. I was really amazed because this person was generally intelligent and well-balanced. I couldn't understand why they'd bother to waste their time and energy. I said, why bother, and in general told them it was silly. He didn't really like my attitude over it. Needless to say we don't really have contact with each other anymore. He has since self-published a couple books and has received some very poor reviews. I don't know how he feels about it now.
The point is you're going to get bad reviews. Some will be legitimate critiques, some will be just the garden variety haters, and some will be people who just didn't connect with the story or the characters. But there's no reason to let those things get you down. A real writer will push on in spite of all adversity because they believe they have to keep writing.
I told my friend who was upset about her bad review to look at the whole picture. She had 23 total reviews, and the vast majority are 5 and 4 stars. Just because 2 or 3 people didn't like it doesn't mean a thing. In fact, any author would love to have that ratio. I told her to read the reviews of all her favorite authors, the ones she aspired to be when she started and see how they're doing with reviews. After some perspective she realized I was right, even the great authors have bad reviews. It's just a matter of fact.
So no matter what, keep writing. Never let a bad review define you or your work. I'm personally happy as long as my good reviews outnumber my bad reviews. So far they have and I think most authors feel the same way.
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