Did Not Finish: Handling Criticism as an Author

Do you ever check reviews when buying a product on Amazon or searching for a hotel or restaurant? Do they sway you one way or the other?

I admit, I’m an avid reader of reviews - they absolutely influence my decisions. And in truth, that’s what reviews are for, right? To share genuine experiences and help other shoppers make informed choices.

But what happens when the review isn’t kind, when it’s aimed at you?

When I saw this one, my reaction surprised me. There was a brief pause, like my brain stalled, before the disappointment settled in. The words “did not finish” hit harder than I expected, especially knowing how close they were to the end.

I realized that maybe I’d been sheltered under the praise of wonderful and encouraging words from readers in our fandom, so the negative feedback hit me with more force than I thought it would.

Anxiety quickly followed, and my thoughts began to snowball. Was my story really so terrible that someone couldn’t get to the end? Was I delusional to think I could be an author outside of my fandom? Oh goodness, my friends and family know I published this book. Is this the first review they’ll see?

Needless to say, I shed a few tears and reached out to my fandom community, who have been nothing but supportive. I am grateful. I am lucky to have all of you.

After some reflection, I knew I needed to be rational. First, I looked at the reviewer’s history. They had also reviewed long after You left Me, in fact, they were the first to do so on release day. Wow, fast reader. 75 books reviewed in January. Really fast reader!

They pointed out issues with punctuation and capitalization. It’s true, some periods were missing and capitalization was inconsistent, but all purposeful. Even the title isn’t fully capitalized, and that theme carries through the chapters and in the texting between the teens.

Still, sentiment is sentiment. Whether credible or not, the 2-star review for my first book and the DNF for the second shows that they didn’t enjoy my work and wanted their opinion to be known.

Since that review, I’ve also received a couple of very positive reviews, for which I’m deeply thankful. Seeing readers enjoy my book, and even recommend it, reminds me why I do this. I hope more people will leave their honest reviews, giving those outside our fandom a chance to discover the story.

I’m giving myself time to decide if continuing to publish is realistic. I’m no longer a “young lady” (although in my head I still might be 😆), and the guilt of taking time from my family to chase this dream hovers over me constantly. Still, I want to give it a fair chance before making any final decision.

Thank you all for being here with me on this crazy journey.

Synergism and long after You left Me are available on Amazon and free to read on Kindle Unlimited. I know the paperback isn’t available everywhere, and some regions only have the e-book, which makes me sad. But I’m exploring a promotional e-book sale! If you don’t see my book on Amazon in your region, please let me know.

Stay tuned.

❤️JJ