It’s inevitable when you have a new release, reviews are going to come in–the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s hard as an author. You’ve nurtured your novel. It’s your baby. You’ve cried, bled, and eaten gobs of ice cream in the making of it. You’ve drunk enough caffeine to flood all of London while banging your head against your desk.
So here are five things I’m reminding myself of at the moment:
- All creative endeavours are subjective. Not everyone will love the same thing. Excepting that will help keep your blood pressure down.
- Bad reviews will happen. Don’t comment. Don’t. They have a right to their opinion, and you gain nothing by responding.
- Seriously. Don’t respond to bad reviews. Ever.
- Enjoy the good reviews. Say thank you if you feel the urge.
- Write your novel for yourself, not others. So at the end of the day, all of your enjoyment won’t be wound up in whether or not others appreciate it as much as you will.
Bonus:
Keep lots of ice cream, alcohol and chocolate on hand. It might help keep you sane.
How do you handle reviews?
Author Dahlia Donovan 
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