Raine Balkera - Romance Author

Hi, folks! Sorry about opting out last week, but the topic had no appeal, and I also had nothing to contribute to it, either. This week, Week 14, the Topic What I Learned from My Worst Review,  isn't much better, but I want to try and complete as many of these as I can without dropping out. I do have two ePub novels listed on Amazon, but no one is reading them, so I don't have any reviews. Well, I do, but they are from the five friends who said they were interested in reading it, which just means they left complimentary reviews of the high-caliber variety (in order not to hurt my feelings). So, for this post, I thought I could give examples of some really scorching reviews I've encountered when searching for things to read at Amazon, share them with you, and tell you how I would respond if they were directed at me and my work. So, without further ado... found at Amazon This is page one of three total, in the 1-star category, for a Historical Romance...

I'll jump right in on this one because it's been on my mind for a while now and today encountered another 'trigger' instance that pushed me to write about it. I'm talking about Romance Reader / Reviewer reviews again. It's obvious (to me) that there are quite a few Romance readers (perhaps readers of other genres, too) who are very narrow-minded and live in-the-moment so as not to be taken seriously. However, when they under-rate a novel based on that way of thinking/believing, it does the author no justice -- which is why I've decided to speak my mind on the topic. If you follow me (lol) then you're aware of my having read a number of novels in a variety of genres. However, my favorite remains Romance novels, and I write Contemporary. On a daily basis, I browse this category in search of new reading material and will habitually scroll down to the reviews section and read them. I'll admit that most reviewers are honest when they...

We've all read at least one review (possibly about our own novel) that manages to not only upset but also give the impression that said reviewer would write something awful regardless of content or execution. It's a tough call, especially when it isn't the author's job to cast judgment on a reader in the same way a reader can and will do to any and all authors. We've probably read at least one blog post or online magazine article that recommends authors 'ignore' bad reviews, and I know a few authors who never read their book's reviews at all: good OR bad. Yet there are authors who like to brag-post a glowing review -- which probably has more to do with attempting to boost sales than it does a need to feed their ego -- but again, it's hard to tell sometimes. Lately, we read and discuss the issue of 5-Star reviews and their possible draw-backs. There are countless blog post and online magazine articles that offer some form of advice about...

We've discussed this in the past, and tonight I decided to rehash this touchy topic. Because a Facebook 'friend' set me off with her opinion. As trite and childish as it might sound, give me a chance to explain first, and then decide if I am wrong or right -- childish or not. She is an author, with the title Author before her name, and I met her through a game we both play on Facebook. Today, she posted something I could have overlooked, ignored, or just rolled my eyes at and moved on, but I didn't. I didn't because it was too insulting for me to do any of those things, and so I chose to respond. This author posted an article and added her personal opinion about the topic. No, big deal, right? It was what she wrote as opinion above the posted article that got to me, and it read something along these lines: that ANYONE who doesn't believe in these issues  is an idiot and needs their head examined . Harsh words coming from a person you wo...