I got a couple of bad reviews, you can't please everyone, but I got two great ones too. I'll post the two great ones and learn from the others.
Whenever I need a bit of a lift, I go and check some of the reviews for my novels. Always give me a bit of a pick me up, unless there are negatives. Thank goodness those are few and far between.
I've said it many times before, and I can't imagine that I'll ever stop saying this, but what motivates me more than anything else in my writing are reviews from readers.
This one hit home. It's been a while since I got many reviews on Vapor Trail and the one prior to this was good but strangely only rated three stars.
I know there are many who get fed up with these, but the truth is, they’re one of the reasons that I love to keep writing and producing novels. They motivate me like few other things. It’s like a spike of adrenaline to an otherwise staid and steady job.
This first one, where the reviewer says that my writing is “touching and relatable”, is short, quick, and yet still quite inspiring.
I happened to look through my novels (see HERE) and checked my reviews. Made my day. Truth? There are few times that these DON’T make my day. Overall, that’s a good thing. I think it speaks well of my writing, right?
Now these are from all three of my books. I won’t say which is for which book, but it’s fun to see that all of them are getting decent reviews, still. I know I don’t have many, yet, but compared to three years ago, this is an overwhelming number!
I haven't checked in a while, so I ran into two reviews and I was pleasantly surprised, and happy to read them. As I've said before, this is the best part of the job.
Here I am plugging away on my novel, Sunset Perfect . . .which is renamed to "Murder in the Kingdom" a title change I'll explain more later. But sometimes I forget why this is important to me. Sure, I enjoy the aspect of working on a creative project and setting it through . . . I love the character development, and the ability and chance to tell a story, . . .but then there is that feedback and the kudos. This is the part I sometimes forget.
It’s been a while since I posted one of these… And I’ve gotten a few others but this one really hit me. It always makes an author feel good to have a reader not only say great things about their book but want to go out and find more.
This is for my second book and I think I’m getting close to 100 reviews on it. Usually I think you can count on about 10 PM percent of people who read your book actually leaving a review. So it’s nice to know I’m getting this much volume… Not to mention the fact that they’re overwhelmingly good reviews not bad ones
I know I promised last time that I wouldn't do this much more often (see here), but I predict I won't have as much time to go find and post about review in the near future because my classes will begin again soon. Still, I wanted to take this opportunity to share these two new reviews for my book On the Edge (see here).
The other day I was discussing self promotion with someone at work. If we don't promote our wins, no one else might. It's up to us, I told her, to let people know when we've done a bad job, but also when we do good jobs.
So, although I might have said I wouldn't post many more reviews of my work, this one hit me and I thought I would share (see here).
I really like that my book and my writing contributed to her understanding more about adventure racing and the military. That is precisely some of the reasons I wrote the novel. Lisa was every reason I wrote the book. Michael's review is amazing, but Lisa's too is amazing in it's own way.
Now, all of this should be tempered with the fact that two folks found copy editing issues. This STUNS me if only cause I re-read that entire sucker last year and ran the whole book through Grammerly. I'd love to see what they found. Still, for story, character, plot, I'm still batting 1000!
I've sent out twenty-three of my books to folks who have requested them via this little sales drive (see here). I'm still open to sending other copies. Right now I've gotten 54 reviews! I love getting them!
I said I wasn't going to stop posting these. Here's another couple. This one though I want to show how so many different people can see different things in the same book.
The first is from Botkin.
I'm sure many who read this blog regularly get tired of these types of posts (see here and here), but I can't get enough of em, especially this most recent one.
This first one is particularly noteworthy, as any review might be that is titled, "Unbelievably Beautiful."
It might be a bit too much self pride, but I love getting these reviews and posting them here (see here). They have two affects. First, they're fun to read. It's interesting to see how others view and process my writing. I didn't realize that my writing was detailed or that I was at all like Hemingway or Heller (see here). Secondly, it inspires me to write more. I know that this morning I should be getting homework done. I should be reading articles about what chemicals are produced by the amygdala via emotional responses to create more resilient long-term memories. Instead, I wrote about elephants in my eastern-Africa thriller novel.
This first one is from a reader who read my book of short stories, Stories from the Day (see here). I love that chuckled. That's exactly what I was hoping for!
This second review comes from someone who read On the Edge (see here). Like some of the other reviews she mentions characterization positively, which is awesome for a writer to hear, and the fact that she "devoured" the book. Several others have said the same things. One person wrote that they read my novel in just a few hours and that she couldn't put it down.
I love getting these reviews . . . well . . . some of them.
I say, some, because of this first one I got.
Why did you decide to buy, read and review my book if you admit upfront that "you don't like action stories"?
There are many other reviewers who have said the exact opposite of what you said about there not being enough in the beginning to grab the reader's attention. Other reviewers have said "fast paced", "page turner", "wild ride" and "action from the get-go!"
I kinda think this was a revenge post rather than an actual reader, but whatcha gonna do?
This second review is one that I would much rather focus on. Amazing detail! An engaging book! and the perfect length! I'll take all of those reviews happily!
So this is why people write! I should get reviews more often. A few months ago I wrote about a review that I got online for one of my novels (see here) and then before that another one (see here). Those two were nothing compared to the two I just got over the winter holidays. I've updated my author page with all of my novels now, and it's fun to see the reviews coming in (see here).
The first one I got was for On the Edge (see here) from Michael Best:
The aspect that really hit me was two things he wrote. The first was about the ability to add depth and richness to the story.
The author skillfully creates a clash of characters, though adding to the depth and richness of the story, it requires the reader to remain exceptionally engaged without missing a beat. Given the nature of the story, that is not hard to do.
The second quote discusses the allegorical quality applied to the story. Was I trying to do that? Yep. What's funny is that Vapor Trail has a far more sophisticated touch of that than On the Edge.
Dick Hannah’s book has an allegorical quality to it, in that, Joe Malone is symbolic of today’s war vet and emblematic of the struggles to adapt to civilian life. Leaving the cruelty of war, expecting to find peace and acceptance, becomes an illusion upon return to civilian life for the MC, as is the case in the real world.
The second review was for Vapor Trail (see here) and it's just as fun to read, this one from someone named "Romantic:"
I have to say, it feels good to say that character development was so good. Thanks so much!
Mechanically well done, dialogue exceptional, plot believable and tense (in just the right places)...but for me, it was the character development that really shot this one through the roof.
It feels so good to be recognized for your craft. This must be why writers strive to keep producing. I can tell you this much, reviews like these make me want to write more!
Recently I got another wonderful review. A few weeks back I wrote about a review I got from a former policeman. He was not someone who wanted to give me a good review, but he grudgingly did (see here). I think I like these reviews from people who don't like my work.
Thank you KCat. I don't mind at all being compared to Joseph Heller and Earnest Hemingway. I'm happy to hear that. I remember reading lots of Hemingway in high school, in Belgium as a foreign exchange student, and in college. His style never appealed to me either KCat, but Joseph Heller? That's a whole nother issue.
I love Heller. Catch 22 is one of my faves. Sure there is an ebb and flow that can be tedious, but the writing and the plot, the characters and humor all are superb. I'll gladly let you compare me to Heller.
It's a tad nerve wracking these reviews. I'm glad I get so many positive ones, but these reviews from folks who don't really like me, they're the best!
