Every writer wants to receive positive reviews for their writing. Positive reviews reinforce what we want to believe: our writing is AMAZING. But negative reviews are helpful, too. A little constructive criticism can go a long way.

When you create something, and put your heart into it, your expectation is that everyone who sees it will feel the same way you do. Other people will read your book, short story, poem or memoir and enjoy it, as you do. So, when someone doesn’t like your writing, what does that mean? You’re a terrible writer? You should stop writing all together? Certainly not!

Here’s the reality: everyone doesn’t like everything. Some readers may not enjoy your paranormal romance, or your poetry about the importance of protecting the environment, and that’s perfectly fine. You simply can’t please everyone. You will encounter readers who enjoy your work, but there will be a few who just aren’t into it.

If you receive a negative review, where a reader flatly states “I thought the book sucked”, and nothing more, it’s probably best to ignore that review and move on. A real review should offer some detail. Why did the book suck? Was it the characters? The pacing of the story? The setting? A negative review can be negative, but it should also offer constructive criticism. It’s not enough to just say you didn’t like something; explain why you didn’t like it.

Don’t let your self esteem as a writer get defeated by negative reviews. Keep track of what your readers didn’t like, and try to learn from it. If someone says they thought the pacing of the story was too slow, maybe in the future you can work on moving the story along a bit faster. If someone says they struggled to read your work because of too many typos, pay closer attention to your editing in the future.

You have to be able to accept the bad along with the good. Negative reviews help us learn what readers like and don’t like, and they make us appreciate positive reviews even more.