Just yesterday I received my first 3-star review for Bloated Goat from The IEMommy Blog. That initially saddened me, until I started thinking more about the words and intent in the review. I won't post the whole thing here as you can read it on the Bloated Goat product page, but here is a partial:
"Hmmmm? Yep, that's pretty much how I am going to sum up this book....because I am not really sure where to go with this review. I have to remind myself that this is a book for tweens and therefore I might be missing some of the humor because I am too well, old! Simply put and matter of fact. While I have read many tween, kids and YA titles this one was quite a bit different. If you enjoy comedy such as Police Academy, Monty Python and the Simpsons...you just may enjoy this book."
So, a day later, I am feeling better. And I realized that the quote "If you enjoy comedy such as Police Academy, Monty Python and the Simpsons...you just may enjoy this book." is a very positive endorsement. Apparently, the reviewer doesn't think those three shows are funny, but obviously millions of other people do.
So, I learned or reaffirmed these thoughts: This reviewer didn't get my humor. That's okay. This reviewer didn't give me a stellar rating. That's okay. This reviewer is entitled to her opinion. That's okay (duh).
My skin just got a little thicker. I'm going to continue to write what I want to read.
Manley, we must all prepare for bad reviews. I look at it this way, as long as they don't complain about the grammar or writing skill, it's really just that they aren't too keen on this or that humor or genre. Lots of people like polka dots, but how many people like paisley? And, how can you know who likes what? I actually think that 3-star review was pretty good. Right there it compares you to 3 very good comedy franchises.
ReplyDeleteRight, that's exactly what I took away from it. The reviewer didn't understand the humor. That doesn't mean the book is awful. I have many more reviews saying great things. Different folks, different strokes.
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