You do you

Chapter 6 - Comments, and constructive criticism

After putting your blood, sweat, and tears into your first book, you closed your eyes and pressed the publish button…

Your first instinct is to find the delete option to remove your book before anyone can read it! What if people don’t read it, or like it? What if they comment? What if their comments are negative?

Don’t! Stop right there and take a breath… Don’t spiral into the abyss of self-doubt.

You have spent weeks, months, or even years writing your book, and as mentioned in a previous chapter, your work will never satisfy everyone’s taste. You might never be one-hundred percent happy with it, no matter how many times you edit… Thus, we come to the subject of the day… Comments, constructive criticism, and how to deal with negative comments.

People always think that a review or comment on the e-book industry is either good or bad, but there is a third option. It can also be informative. You are probably thinking why and how? I’m here to tell you.

Let’s start with why…

1. Why

Interacting with readers is something that a conventional author can only do on book tours or with face-to-face interaction, but thanks to the comments section, readers are able to interact with an author as never before. They start to feel as if they are part of your story because you have the opportunity to communicate with them, anytime, anywhere.

Your reader's comments can guide you on the way to a successful book. I’ve always loved comments from readers, even trolls! LOL, It showed me they noticed my book, and as the saying goes… “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” I love it when readers see my characters as real people, which in turn means that my writing must have been pretty good to bring out emotions in readers. They get angry at some, love some, and want to kill me when I kill some.

These same comments can also guide you. In which direction can you take your book? Now, I know, it’s your baby, and you don’t want to change what you want to write. You have your book plan, and it’s scary to even think of changing direction. I’m not telling you to change your book completely.

I can promise you, taking those comments into account when writing your next chapters or slightly editing your plot to include these ideas WILL draw more attention to your book and might even give you ideas on how to better your book. Even though it’s your book and your story, in the end, we would all like our books to be read. That is, after all, the reason we started writing them in the first place.

2. How

Don’t fear your reader's comments, even the negative ones.

Read them carefully… I know that each time I receive a comment, I get so excited, that I sometimes forget to properly read it before I reply. This interaction with your readers is critical to avoid misunderstandings. We live in a world where miscommunication is so easy, as you can’t see the other person’s body language, or you are reading their tone in the message incorrectly.

Sometimes readers will be upset with the direction you are taking the book in, but before you change EVERYTHING, think about how their comments might better your book. Readers will never like it when something goes wrong in a book, but I’m here to burst that bubble. They might not like it, but they will keep reading.

On the flip side of that coin, if you use comments correctly, they might not like the temporary situation in the book, but they will love the book in the end.

Always talk to your readers through your comments. See it as the tool it was meant to be. Should a reader leave a negative comment, don’t throw in the towel immediately, but see where you might be able to better your writing, or simply tell them that you thank them for their support and comment, or that you will look into it. There is never a reason good enough to answer negativity with negativity.

Happy writing

XX