Turning A Bad Book Review To Your Advantage

I'm talking a really bad book review.

Like one star out of five.

Like they would have given zero stars if that option were possible.

Like they've said a child could have written better.

Like they’ve used words like ‘terrible’, ‘awful’, ‘don’t bother.

Like even though they got the book for free, they still thought it a waste of money!

As you might have gathered by now, some of my books have been on the receiving end of such  reviews.

My first reaction when I read such reviews can't be reprinted here.

To put it politely, I wanted to find the reviewer's email address and message them a carefully worded explanation of the story they so despised and so 'didn't get'.

After that rage subsides, and it soon does, thoughts turn to damage limitation.

The fewer reviews your novels have, the potentially more damaging a stinker can have. In one fell swoop, you can find your book’s average rating halved or worse.

Bad, but not the end of the world bad.

Because if you hold on and take a breath, there could be ways you can make a terrible review work for you.

People are often almost as intrigued to read something that’s rated 1-star as they are works that attract top marks.

Some will be thinking, can it really be that bad?

And if you’ve got another higher rating for the same book, so much the better. You have the case where someone really loved the book, and someone else really hated it.

It's the mediocre 2 or 3 star reviews that do the damage.

When your reviews are at the upper and lower ends of the rating scales, it’s evidence that people either loved it or hated it.

That’s something to cling onto. That's an angle you can use to promote your book.

“You'll either love it or hate it.”(There’s a product in the UK called Marmite that bases its entire marketing strategy on this.)

Maybe there's a way you can make a bad review work for you.

Either way, us writers know we've got a few more stinkers heading our way, however great we think our writing is.

Just don't let them put you off writing and promoting...