Few things can be more maddening for an author than a bad review, particularly one that appears to have been posted out of spite. And if you haven't had someone post a malicious review for one of your books just wait, it will happen.

Gone are the days when you got your reviews from professionals who would post them in the newspaper or other mainstream publication. Nowadays websites, such as Amazon, encourage their customers, you know, average folks like you and me, to write reviews of the books we read. Most of the time this works well. However there are drawbacks.

One controversy that seems to be getting a lot of attention lately is the "sock puppet" review. This is when friends, relatives, perhaps even the author him or herself, using a different ID, will go and write glowing five-star reviews on Amazon.  And while this may be tempting, Amazon readers are more sophisticated than not, and a book with too many five-star reviews, or only five-star reviews, will actually be a red flag.

Then there is the other drawback--the malicious review. Sometimes this can be a friend with whom you've had a falling out, or perhaps a jilted lover or even and ex spouse. They'll "get even" by going on Amazon and panning your book, often in a very mean spirited way.  Again, let's give Amazon readers some credit. If they can spot sock puppets they can can also figure out that it's your vindictive ex friend. Amazon, as you know, also allows readers to review the reviews by asking if the review was helpful. Now, is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that negative reviews will get mostly "no" responses?

Not too long ago I had the privilege of sitting on a panel at a writer's conference, and the subject of reviews came up. One of the other authors said something profound--bad reviews are a good thing. He went on to describe the aforementioned sock puppets, and then he said that by having an occasional bad review, your book will appear more believable to the public.  He even went so far as to suggest that if your book has had only five star reviews to ask someone to please write you a three-star review. He said that ideally, your book should have a ratio of 20-80, meaning that one out of five reviews should be negative. That, he said will make your book's reviews real, with readers more inclined to buy.

None of us want to get a bad review. After all, our books are our babies. However, as my first publisher once told me, not everyone is going to like your book, and that occasional one or two star review can actually be a gift, not a curse.

My thought for the day.

GM

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