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We cannot please everyone with our work, so the 1 star review is inevitable, and yet still we fear it.
In today's post, author and neuroscientist Livia Blackburne puts it all in perspective.
I've noticed a pattern in the blog posts of debut authors. Before the book comes out, there's a flurry of activity about prelaunch preparations. Then there's a celebration on launch day and a big promotional push. And finally, after things have quieted down there's a philosophical post about bad reviews. This is mine.
I released my novella Poison Dance last September and have been obsessively stalking goodreads, googling myself once an hour, attentively monitoring early reader response. A good review is a lovely thing to wake up to, but I’ve also been pleasantly surprised to find that bad reviews — while not exactly enjoyable to read — don't bother me as my as I thought they would. I think this is due to my background as a psychologist and neuroscientist. When you look at stories through a psychologist's point of view, bad reviews no longer seem as scary. Let me explain.
In his book The Language Instinct, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker describes language as a way to shape thoughts in someone else’s brain. As authors, when we package our words into a novel, we're taking a story formed in our heads and transmitting them in a nice package for other people to experience.
Pretty cool huh? Like mental telepathy without the foil hats. But it's imperfect mental telepathy. To understand why, let's take a closer look at the storytelling process.
The Author’s Idea:
A story starts in the author's imagination. It isn’t made of bare facts, but draws on the author's life experience. Whether it's an epic love story or an nail-biting thriller, the story is informed by everything from the writer's worldview to her favorite hobbies.
From the Author’s Brain to the Page:
Once the story is there, the author puts the words to page. Again, the combination and style of the words used depends on the author’s individual understanding of language. Everything from the phrasing employed to the details mentioned are the author's unique signature.
Sentence level decoding:
After the book is written, it enters the hands of the reader. And here, it passes through another set of filters. Just as everybody produces language differently, everybody understands language differently. This means that different readers will find different voices compelling. One reader might pay more attention to short distinct sentences, while another might bask in lush descriptive prose.
Image level meaning:
By now the reader has decoded the sentences, which tells her the bare bones of what happened — a ball bounces on the pavement, a man punches a security guard. But does it matter that the ball bounces, and should we be shocked that the man punched the guard? What if it had been a nun who did the punching? Events and images must again be interpreted, and this relies very much on the reader. For example, take a romance in which a man takes a woman's hand. A reader who is very sensitive to physical touch might interpret this as a strong display of affection, while a more touchy-feely reader might not think this is a big deal at all and be completely surprised when the man declares his undying love a few chapters later.
Interpretation:
After the broad events of the story is conveyed, there remains the larger message. What did the story mean? Was it happy or sad? Just or unjust? Again the story's meaning is colored by a reader's worldview. One reader's Cinderella ending might be another reader's objectification of women.
As you can see, the act of writing and reading a novel isn't a simple straightforward thing. It's more like an elaborate game of telephone involving the writer, the reader, and their various language processing modules. At every single step of the process, the story passes through filters that depend on the person, and this is how 10 different readers can wind up with 10 very different impressions of the story.
This not a bad thing. It's part of the beauty of art.
But it does mean that if you write a book about a glass that’s half full, you might just get:
Reader 1: What a wonderful tale about a half empty glass.
Reader 2: Meh, a mediocre tale about a half full glass.
Reader 3: That's a funny looking flowerpot…
And because no blog post would be complete without graphs, let's include some as a visual aid. As an author, it’s sometimes easy to think of a book's quality as something like this.
The y axis represents a book's quality, and the error bars represent subjective differences in opinion.
But instead, it might be better to think of story enjoyment like this.
Here, the Z axis represents how much someone enjoys a book, and the X and Y axes represent reader characteristics, anything from their favorite genre, their attention span, their worldview, the number of traumatic childhood experiences they've had involving killer pigeons, etc. All come into play when they read a story.
What do you think? How do you feel about bad reviews? Please leave a comment below.
If you'd like a more in depth look at the reading process, my essay From Words to Brain: A Guided Tour Through the Neuroscience of Reading, is currently on sale for 99 cents until February 17, 2014. (Regular price $2.99).
Buy the essay from: Amazon |Nook | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play
Livia Blackburne started writing her debut novel MIDNIGHT THIEF while conducting research on the neuroscience of reading at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, she’s switched to full time writing, which also involves getting into peoples’ heads but without the help of a three tesla MRI scanner. She still blogs about the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and writing at A Brain Scientist's Take on Writing.
A fine perspective to take– that it is about perspective.
As writers we revel in how much people can surprise us, so we ought to be prepared when readers react differently to our work. When I write I keep reminding myself “The story isn’t what I mean it to be, it’s what the reader thinks it is” as a challenge to get my craft right, but that doesn’t change how many different viewpoints readers will bring to it.
–Of course, marketing and branding ARE about matching the right people to a book. But that only goes so far too; even within the “time-traveling Chinese werewolf” subgenre there will be readers who read it all and then post that they’re sick of werewolves, or who object to time-travel not being used for comedy.
Therapists like to say that one hostile word undoes the good that ten kind ones have done. Every author who’s sat up thinking of a bad review knows the truth of that… but that’s only how our primitive brains are wired, to put signs of danger front and center. We just have to remind ourselves that we aren’t in the wilds dodging lions (unlike our characters, maybe), and that a one-star review doesn’t have that kind of power.
After all, every reader can see that every author gets them.
Great points, Ken. It’s good to remember that one star reviews aren’t lions. Though sometimes it can feel like it!
I really appreciate this scientific take on the “bad” reviews. For me, I had so much angst throughout my whole book journey that once the bad reviews came, it was like being pummeled by an elephant when you’ve already been hit hard, laying on the floor after being pummeled by a truck. As writers, we pour our hearts and souls into our work. Some will get it/us and others not so much. I myself have worked on not allowing it to hold me back. Even though I have plenty of great reviews, the one or two negative reviews really affected me.
One thing I’ve found useful with bad reviews, Lisa, is to go read a whole bunch of one star reviews for my favorite books. It’s a good reminder that it’s all just so subjective.
Livia,
Oh, yes! That works out so brilliantly! I’ve done that and it’s such a relief to not feel so alone. Most of my favorite authors have the one star reviews. It is such a great reminder! Thanks for reminding me here again too, much appreciated! xo
I just got my first and posted about it here: http://heatherdaygilbert.com/2014/02/09/my-first-one-star-my-first-book-signing-and-my-first-author-checking-account/. I’d been planning and bracing for it, because I knew it would come (ALMOST every author gets a one star or several at some point in their careers), so I can’t say I was blown out of the water. I just realize my writing style/genre/time period isn’t going to resonate with everyone. Those it doesn’t won’t be my target demographic. Yeah, it stinks, but I feel like as an indie author, I’ve worked so hard for so many years, if I let a few one-stars deter me, what kind of a “true author” would I be? Every great author has received criticism at some point. But I think that mental preparation does help. Then again, I’m not by nature an optimist!
It’s a rare author indeed who doesn’t get any one star reviews. And certainly, once you’ve reached a certain level of success, they’re guarranteed. Think of them as a sign that you’ve arrived 🙂
Love your post here! It seems like common sense, but we authors can take it very personally, which makes it hard at times. It’s great to be gleeful with a 5-star review, but also it’s probably “better” not to be attached to happy reviews or less than happy.
Lynn — Maybe there’s a way to be gleeful about 5 star reviews and distant about bad ones? Hrmm…
Thanks Livia!
I suppose it’s all about taste, ultimately. Not good or bad – just different. I’ve had readers’ reviews that are the polar opposites of one another. Naturally I like to think the five star reviewer is right and the one starrer not so much! But of course they’re BOTH right (I type that with gritted teeth!)
Now where did I put that skin-thickening moisturiser…
Eve,
Nah, it’s the five star reviews that are right. Trust me 🙂
I recently experienced this and it was pretty brutal. Objectively, I know that not everyone is going to like my book and that one star reviews are inevitable, but this critic went on a rant! I guess the joke is on them since all the other reviews are 5 stars. Still though, it does but a damper on the day. Oh well. One bad review shouldn’t stop you from writing, especially when you have people signing up for your newsletter and you’re selling. I guess this is where we should all say, “I laugh all the way to the bank.” 😉
The rants are hard, Alyssa. I tend to skim them myself. Figure there’s no reason to torture myself.
As a huge psych nerd, I have to say, this rocked my world. I hadn’t really loved reader filters to this extent, and this completely resonated with me. Thanks for such a unique perspective!
Glad you liked the article, S.K.!
Is funny because I know all that I used to say that reading is 30& author’s intention and 70% readers interpretation. It still hurts like hell when I get a bad review and I feel bad for days. Last bad review only got me depressed for 3 days. Before that I quit writing for a year over one 2 star review in my award winning novel. So I’m improving :p
Thanks for this article saved in favorites and I’m getting your book too.
Thanks, Ana! And haha, yes, you’re making progress 😛 Hopefully you’ll be able to brush away any future ones in a few minutes.
Thank you for writing this and sharing this book. I’m about ready to self publish my first book and the bad review is not something I look forward to. When it happens, I’ll have to re-read the chapter in my book about overcoming the fear of rejection. 🙂
I find it consoling that many other writers face and deal with this so I’ll not feel alone. I appreciate the good insight shared here and I look forward to reading the book.
It’s only human to be vulnerable with bad reviews, Sharon. But hopefully you’ll be able to take the good ones much more to heart. Good luck w/ your book!
Hi Livia,
Wayne Dyer says as we work to manifest what we want in our lives to not be attached to the outcome. This is especially important with our book reviews.
Good reviews, as much as we crave them, are not always that useful. Yes, they stroke our egos and make us feel that all is right with the world, but they may neglect to point out things we could benefit from knowing about our work.
Bad reviews can be instructive and useful, just as a ruthless, nit-picking editor can help polish our message. I speak of bad reviews that are based on a thoughtful reading of the book, not the mean-spirited ones that seem to have been written by the competition and may have little to do with the book.
Best of all, bad reviews can help confirm that we’ve conveyed our intended message when they point out what the book didn’t have or do. You’re right that with all the levels, interpretations and filters a reader goes through, it’s inevitable that we will get reviews all along the spectrum of good to bad.
One more thing. We are assuming that reviewers understand the review ranking system and can make fine differentiations. A one star review, for example, may come from a Negative Nellie incapable of seeing the good or acknowledging that anything is good. When I see a particularly mean review, I look to see if it’s from a regular reviewer. If so, I go over to see their other reviews of books and products. Yep. They are often like Mikey. They don’t like anything, except maybe screwdriver bits they ordered from the Power Tool Accessories section.
Thanks for this thoughtful post.
I’m off to get your essay and check out your site.
Thanks Flora! And great points about how both good reviews and bad reviews can be less than helpful sometimes. It’s a balancing act to take feedback and decide when to make changes and when to stay true to your vision.
Hi Livia
Great post, thanks.
I thought your description of the stages a book goes through was excellent. It’s so easy for an author to sit in a bubble and write, without being aware of the exact nuance of what they’re saying. Even after an editor and beta readers have gone through it, there can still be places wide open to interpretation, but the author already has that interpretation and may be blind to any other. I think the best books are often like that, just as they allow the reader to put themselves into the situations and empathise with the characters.
When seen that way, the review becomes a commentary on the reader rather than the writer, unless of course you’re only getting one star reviews, at which point it might be worth getting worried 🙂
cheers
Mike
Michael,
I like to think of books as psych experiments sometimes. A literary Rorschach test if you will, that shines light on the reader.
You should tackle Twilight then. You can find every single interpretation and them some of it and the characters. I don’t think I ever saw a book with more interpretations except maybe The Bible. :p
Ah, yes, Twilight. Such a fascinating critique of the role of Reagan’s economic policy on the ending of the cold war… 😉
Finally someone that gets it right! :p
Hi Livia,
I returned to add another aspect of bad reviews that I didn’t mention in my earlier comment.
When we receive a negative review that we believe is off base, unfair, or missing the point, it’s completely acceptable to respond to the negative review. That’s what I noticed when I ran across a book on critical thinking where one out of ten reviews was negative. The author believes that the reviewer misunderstood his points and examples, so he responded to the reviewer, beginning a lively exchange where other readers jumped in as well.
By the way, the negative review was not marked as an Amazon verified purchase. That doesn’t mean for sure that the reviewer didn’t buy the book somewhere else; she could have borrowed it from the library, got it as a free offer, or just based her review on the sample.
Taking my own suggestion, I went over to see how this reviewer had rated other Amazon books and products. She gave 5 stars to a Kindle book, “An Atheist Critique of the Bible: The Old Testament” and also gave 5 stars to a stoneware butter keeper, both of which were Amazon verified purchases. She only gave 2 stars to a Chore Checklist app which she said “need to be a genius to figure this out.”
I began to have entirely too much fun analyzing this reviewer’s purchases and comments, so I’m going to stop here.
Anyone interested in following how the author responded to the reviewer can check it out at http://www.amazon.com/How-Think-Clearly-Critical-Thinking-ebook/dp/B0093KWBAA/ref=pd_typ_k_sp_1_5_p?ie=UTF8&refRID=11T7D4M5YRJ8CQA1EMT3
I must admit that I’m terrified of responding to reviews, Flora. Especially on Goodreads, where there’s been so much drama, and reviewers are quick to jump on authors who say anything. I’vestayed silent, though in one or two cases it’s been hard to bite my tongue because the reviewer had factual misassumptions.
While it may be acceptable to respond to a bad review to clear things up with a non-fiction book, fiction is much trickier. And much more subjective. You really can’t argue someone’s opinion, even if it’s “wrong” or misinformed about fiction, especially if you’re the author of the story, without coming off looking defensive or falling into the realm of Authors Behaving Badly.
Yes, we all hope all negative reviews will be reasoned and fair, but reality says that ain’t so. And yes, there are people out there who find their purpose every morning in baselessly trashing someone whose mere existence offends them irrationally. There is nothing you can do about these people, and engaging them is wasting energy and focus where it’s best directed elsewhere. Write the next book.
The only time I’d even consider responding to a bad review (or any review at all, even) is if it rates some technical issue in the delivery of the story (ie, truncated file, odd characters, wrong price, etc.) and that would be something along the lines of, “I’ve contacted (retailer) about the problem and corrected the technical glitch. Thank you for pointing it out!”
Other than that, I have to be working on the next book, and letting the current book stand on its own merits. It’s not my place to guide the reader through the story the way I want them to experience it. It’s my job to provide it. And the next one. 🙂
When I get a bad review, I give myself permission to say “well, they just didn’t get it.” I even go so far as to sometimes say “what an idiot.” Of course, I don’t say this in front of anyone else. Then I go read a good review (which happily outnumber the bad ones by a comfortable ratio) and forget about it. 🙂
Suz
Good writers attract more reviews, so must get some bad ones. Charlotte Bronte was told by Southey (who’s heard of him?) not to write any more and that “Literature is not the business of women, nor should it be..” Just get a file marked ‘Southey’ and drop them in! I have hardly had any reviews, just up on Goodreads. Ill-prepared for marketing and so getting nowhere fast. Going to try an ad or two.
Best wishes, Trish Watson Eternal Spain:crisis and corruption. Amazon Kindle
Thanks so much, Livia, for the perspective on a 1 or 2-star review. A 2-star rocked me back for days.
I never responded, taking the advice on Goodreads and Amazon. But I did consider the part that perhaps had a valid point, and since I’d already been thinking some attention could be paid to that issue, I updated the novel (my first). Thank goodness one can do that in ebook and POD formats!
Now I work to disallow myself obsessing over how a bad review will affect whether other prospective readers will pay attention to the 2-star review, or the 5-star reviews.
I’m with you Laure. It kills me when I see a comment on a bad review along the lines of, “Thanks. I was going to check that book out but now I won’t bother.” Ouch! But I think one just has to have faith that it’ll all shake out in the end, and that the good reviews will balance out the bad.
I’ve only recently started self-publishing (yay, my first ebook went on Amazon last month). So I can’t necessarily speak about one-star reviews, per say. But I have been involved in various writers’ groups where reader opinion and feedback definitely seemed informed by personal characteristics of the reader. It is interesting how we attribute positive feedback as a reflection of the quality of our writing but negative feedback as a consequence of a reader’s personal history (or dysfunction?). But of course, Livia, your breakdown of the process between writing a novel and reading one reveals the complexity of the transaction regardless of the review…be it a positive or negative. Thanks for sharing this fascinating outlook into the writing and reading process. Joe
I’ve met the opposite type of writer as well, ones who think five star reviews are a fluke and believe every word of the bad reviews. Congrats on your book!
Thanks for the fascinating article, Livia, and the equally interesting comments. Given that the book concerned is a work of fiction do you think there is any mileage in ignoring reviews altogether and concentrating all one’s energy on one’s current work instead of spending time agonising over one stars or polishing one’s ego with the fivers?
I have found I can learn something from every review, even the bad ones. The reviews often say a lot more about the reviewers than the book itself. One-star Amazon reviews can be very funny (though the reviewer may not mean it as a joke). I remember one reader gave my free e-book a one-star review because she couldn’t figure out how to remove it from her new Kindle. One of my favorite bad reviews was a back handed compliment: “This book is well written propaganda.” It was a very long review, mostly half-crazed arguments on how not to get drawn into a cult that misquoted and misconstrued my words in nearly every paragraph of the review. The joy of an Amazon review (good or bad) is that you can see how the reviewers are treating other books. You soon realize that a reviewer who downloads free e-books and then gives them all a one-star “not worth the money” review has her own issues about money and negativity. I love the positive reviews, and am especially touched when someone says my book was helpful or inspirational. I still hate reading a negative review of a book I wrote. But I have learned to put it into context. If the criticism is valid, I’ll take it to heart and use it to improve my writing. But I won’t allow trolls to dictate the value of my work. I’ll do work that I love, that comes from my heart, whether it is well reviewed, poorly reviewed, or not reviewed at all.
Great post Livia.
I once got a 1-Star review titled ‘Horrible’ and the short comment was ‘This is the only book I’ve ever read that I could not finish’. It was obviously from a troll, as there was no reference to the book title or anything to identify that the reviewer had actually read it. Even the reviewer ID was suspicious. I made a bunch of attempts to get Amazon to remove it, but never got any response from them. It sucks, as that 1-Star rating really drags down the average rating.
With your expertise in neuroscience, are you familiar with a book called ‘Wired For Story’ by Lisa Cron? Joanna had Lisa on her show some time ago. I got so much good from it that I went back an reworked a manuscript.
At last!!! VALIDATION. As I’ve been saying for years it’s all about the voice. People have told me I’m crazy, and said execution, and this or that is why they don’t like my book or other book. But I’ve always said it’s about the voice. It’s about what resonates with the reader. Example, everyone says Outlander is a wonderful read. I’ve bought the book three different time, and have yet to get past the first 60pages. It’s not because it’s badly written, the voice just doesn’t resonate with me. Love that there’s science to back me up on this. 🙂 Thank you!!! Validation truly is an awesome thing.