Why Reviews are Awesome (and Why They Also Suck)

As a writer, reviews are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they tell you how people feel about your writing and (hopefully) encourage people to read your books. On the other hand, when they’re not positive, they make you question your already tenuous confidence and belief in your ability to write and tell a story.

As a reader, I always look for books rated at least four stars. If they’re any less, I mostly pass them by without a second glance. Also as a reader, I never leave a review less than four stars on a book. Ever. Even if I don’t finish a book (which is extremely rare for me—I’ve read almost 200 books already this year and have finished every single one of them), I won’t leave less than a four-star review.

If it’s a book I don’t love, I just don’t rate it.

The thing about both writing and reading is that stories are subjective. I recognize what it takes to write a book—the months of work, of pouring yourself into something you feel so passionate about and then holding your breath as you release it into the world. I know that feeling well.

So, when positive reviews come in, you let out a sigh of relief and start work on the next project, reassured that what you’re doing doesn’t suck and that you’re not deluding yourself into thinking you’re actually halfway decent at this storytelling thing.

But when negative reviews come in? They can be soul-crushing. Which is why I don’t leave them for people, even if I don’t enjoy their story. Whether I like what someone has crafted doesn’t really have any bearing on whether you’ll like it, or whether they’re happy with what they wrote. And I recognize that just because I didn’t care for a plot or a character doesn’t mean other people won’t, so I don’t bother airing my opinion.

Just as we all have feelings and opinions about stories, I’m sure we also all have opinions about how we like to review and rate what we read. As a writer, reviews can make my whole day (or week!) or they can ruin my day or week and make me question everything. As a reader, they can help guide what I read next, even if it’s not always fair.

So, how do you feel about reviews? Do you review the stories you read or not? And do you leave both positive and negative reviews, only negative reviews or only positive reviews? Leave me a comment and let me know!