50 SHADES OF REVIEWERS

Out of forty-eight reviews, my latest novel THE BEAUTIFUL EVIL, has 30 five-star reviews. Of the remaining eighteen, six are one star. Okay, fine. No issues there. Here's where I have trouble—some of the comments by the readers about myself or the main character are searing. It's as if they have taken me into their "Red Room Of Pain" (from Fifty Shades Of Grey,) and whipped the hell out of me with a belt.

One one-starer stated that she wasn't sure whether to "slap the character or the author." Really? Another said, "The only good thing about the book was the length, and that it was a free download." The discrepancy between the five star majority ("riveting, well-written" and "stunning psychological thriller," for example) and reviews such as the negative ones I've mentioned, is vast. Which leads me to this. Instead of falling on the floor, pounding my fists and crying, "Why don't they love me?" I've turned the small group of negative (regardless of how barbed the knife) into great advertising.

My tweets: "LOVE IT OR HATE IT The Beautiful Evil is the buzz. REACTIONS ARE STRONG. Check the reviews! http://amzn.to/Jq02vK " has actually brought me more sales. Let's face it—controversy, the dark side and/or heated reactions sell. And just like the protagonist in Fifty Shades Of Gray I refuse to be controlled. I choose to turn lemons into lemonade (excuse the cliché.) Almost all of my one-star reviewers not only finished the book but felt strong enough write a (albeit seething) reviews. That alone says something.

When I read the negative reviews for the incredibly poor writing in the Fifty Shades Trilogy (which I wholeheartedly agree with) and wonder how these books became such massive bestsellers, I realize this—she had 50% one star reviews. And like everyone else, poor writing and all, I couldn't put it down.

9 Comments to 50 SHADES OF REVIEWERS:

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Jack Durish on Monday, July 02, 2012 11:49 AM

I used to be in the PR biz and knew full well the value of controversy. Why do you think "Say what you want about me, just spell my name right" became a platitude?

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Nicholas Forristal on Monday, July 02, 2012 6:30 PM

Fantastic idea of turning those negative reviews into a positive advertising technique! For me, I can get past bad writing as long as its not completely horrible, and the plot keeps my attention. I think that's how most people are. You never hear someone say, "wow that was a good book, I love the way the author used proper grammar and spelling!" you might hear a tidbit about some fun metaphors or interesting details, but word of mouth is always about story.

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Leah St. James on Tuesday, July 03, 2012 4:09 AM

Good for you! I often will look more closely at books that have a mix of reviews.

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Claude Nougat on Thursday, July 05, 2012 2:12 AM

Congrats! particularly on your clever use of bad reviews turning them to your advantage...Will remember that for the future!

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Deborah Hughes on Thursday, July 05, 2012 8:48 AM

Here! Here! I find the wide range of review comments quite fascinating. Though I try not to take the low ratings to heart, they always seem to stab me there! In any case, I agree with you...at least they stuck with the story, read the whole thing and then thought enough of the book to write a review, no matter how scathing that review might be! Every best-seller has one star reviews! It's hard to believe but there it is. I always make myself feel better with this reminder...even Stephen King gets one stars! So does JK Rowling! We are in with the big leagues! (smile) As for the 50 Shades book, I think it is enjoying great success, regardless of the bad writing, because that author believed in her book. I just need to get my own faith worked up a little for my self! Your writing is wonderful, Robbi, no matter what the over-critical readers who are hard-to-please-no-matter-what might say! Some people just like to criticize. All the power to them...and all the power to you to use their criticisms in such a positive way!

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Charles Munn on Sunday, July 08, 2012 10:00 AM

There's always going to be those who don't like our work and an honest, knowledgeable critic can be very helpful. But the rage of some hecklers & trolls could disturb a saint. They exist in many forms & have probably been here since the dawn of time. They seem to hate anyone who can do that which they are too fearful to do & their goal is to make you as angry as they seem to be. When they hook you, realize it's just your silly ego, have a laugh & move on.

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Charmaine Clancy on Monday, July 09, 2012 2:14 PM

I sometimes come across these scathing reviews when looking for books and have to wonder about them. If the review outlines what is lacking or what in particular was not satisfying about the book, fair enough, and I read those to see if we have similar interests. Everyone is different, some like romance, some hate it, some like a fast paced plot, other want something deeper. That's all fine. But when it is name-calling, vague or just cruel, I usually suspect a connection to another writer in the same genre.

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Stuart Aken on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 11:08 AM

Attacking reviewers are often simply other authors who are jealous of your success. You do right to take no notice of them. A review that has nothing constructive to add to comment is worthless and merely shows the reviewer to be self-absorbed, ignorant or simply an unpleasant person. Well done for turning this negative input into a positive feature.

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D.S. Taylor on Saturday, July 14, 2012 7:59 AM

Yeah 'Love me or hate me just be sure you talk about me.' Should really be our philosophy. Personally I don't understand people who give 1 star reviews - they must be very petty/jealous people. If you don't like a book, grand ... why bother writing a nasty/insulting review about it? if you like it cool write a nice review as a thanks to the author for entertaining u.

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