In a lot of the forums I frequent to stay updated on the publishing world, I see writers worrying about customer reviews.  Typically, these are inexperienced folks who take every word written about their book personally.

It sort of makes me laugh.

Not because I’m totally evil and like to laugh at other people’s insecurities, but because honestly – if you are worried because Bob in Des Moines gave your book a one star review and said some mean things, you probably shouldn’t be writing books.

Now, I’m not saying some reviews aren’t unfair.  I took some old goat to task on here several months ago because he blatantly made up crap about my book that irritated me.  He made his review personal.  It wasn’t about the book – it was about me.

But, the fact is, I expect people to not like my books.  That’s their right.  I don’t like every book I read.  No one does.  That would be…odd.   You don’t get to ask people to review your book and then expect the MOST STELLAR REVIEWS EVER.  Be glad that people take a few moments to review your work at all.  Be glad that they read your book.

A sampling of things said on Amazon about THREAD OF HOPE:

“Other implausable relationships “blossom” in a page or two, and the story drags on in this fashion to the point I abandoned it.”

“…he really was quite the jerk…”  (She means Joe Tyler, not me.  I think.)

“So, really only one flaw in the book, unfortunately the flaw is ‘all characters.'”

Well, that was FUN, wasn’t it?

No, not really.  It’s never fun to read something negative about your work.  But that’s part of the deal.  You put your work out there.  People pay you for it.  They get to say whatever they want about it.  You get to spend their money on anything you’d like.

So stop worrying over Bob in Des Moines, okay?  Let it go.  Have a little chuckle and stick a few pins in your voodoo doll if you think it’s necessary.

But are you really gonna whine about some guy you don’t know voicing an opinion that they have every right to voice, even if that person is as dumb as an armadillo?  THAT’s what you’re going to whine about rather than write another book?

Stop whining and write.