Give yourself a 1-star review

Crying baby

As authors, we pour our hearts and souls into our writing, laboring over every word to craft stories that captivate and inspire readers. However, no matter how much effort we invest, receiving negative feedback, especially in the form of bad reviews, can be disheartening. Yet, what if I told you that writing bad reviews of your own books could be a valuable tool for growth and improvement?

Let’s explore how embracing critique, even when it comes from within, can lead to significant enhancements in your writing.

This is not easy. It’s not fun. Try to put yourself into the shoes of someone who knows nothing about your story, and read through it. Take note of things like any places you skip over. Are those sections really needed to move the story forward? When a character shows up the first time, does the reader get enough info to understand why they are there? Is your description of places and people consistent?

When we write, we become deeply attached to our work. This emotional investment can cloud our judgment, making it difficult to identify areas that need improvement. By deliberately adopting a critical mindset and writing bad reviews of our own books, we shift from subjective attachment to objective analysis. This allows us to evaluate our work more impartially and identify strengths and weaknesses with greater clarity. If you are just enchanted with the MC, will readers have a reason to identify with them from the very beginning?

Bad reviews often highlight aspects of our writing that fail to resonate with readers. By articulating these criticisms ourselves, we gain valuable insights into areas where our storytelling may be lacking. Whether it’s pacing issues, underdeveloped characters, or inconsistencies in plot, acknowledging these weaknesses is the first step towards addressing them effectively. Good pacing is not easy to accomplish. Can you see where things get boring or monotonous in your narrative? 

Don’t assume the reader knows something you do. Recently I was in a writer’s group where we critiqued each other’s stuff. Someone was shocked we didn’t get that one of her characters was based on a real person. The person was somewhat obscure and nobody would have ever picked that up! She thought everyone would get it. Look at your own work as if it is the first book you have ever read in this genre.

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Writing a bad review of your own book forces you to confront the gap between your vision and the execution of your ideas. It compels you to raise the bar for your writing standards and strive for excellence in every aspect of your storytelling. Rather than settling for mediocrity, you become motivated to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and achieve greater artistic mastery. How often are we told “show, don’t tell”? Are you showing enough? Identify exposition that could be revealed in dialog or action rather than a data-dump. Is a prologue really needed?

Embracing critique, whether self-imposed or from external sources, fosters a growth mindset that is essential for continuous improvement. Now, this is not as easy as it sounds. Having someone rag on something you poured your heart into really sucks. Better to find the flaws now, if possible. Instead of viewing negative feedback as a personal failure, see it as an opportunity for growth and learning. Each bad review becomes a roadmap for refining your craft and evolving as a writer. Thus, writing a bad review can help you foresee what other people might think is not so good (or maybe even too weird, disjointed etc.).

In conclusion, writing bad reviews of your own books may seem counterintuitive, but it can be a powerful catalyst for improvement and growth as a writer. By embracing critique, setting higher standards, and cultivating a growth mindset, you’ll not only become a better storyteller but also a more resilient and self-aware individual. So, don’t shy away from acknowledging your shortcomings; instead, embrace them as stepping stones on the path to literary greatness.