Haters gonna hate, don’t retaliate!

So in 2014 I wrote about how you’re writing for yourself. How you should be writing for yourself and write what YOU want to write about. This post has been in my drafts for quite a while now and I think now is the time to post it. *shrugs*

Honestly, if people don’t like your shit, then so be it.

Some people are more gentle with leaving reviews and try to give constructive criticism, but most of the time they’re jerks who’ve read your story, but they decide to hate it and leave you a nasty review about your story.

There are a couple of things you COULD do about it:

1. Ignore the review and move on.
2. Delete the review and move on.
3. DELETE THE FUCKING REVIEW if it makes you upset.

Things you should NEVER do:

1. Send the author of that review a pm telling them why they’re wrong and you, the writer, are superior. And how dare they leave a nasty review on your story!
2. Whine about the review on social media because who are they to leave you a review like that and it’s mean and it’s unjust and it doesn’t make any sense and wahwah! (I wrote this in jest, but seriously, don’t moan about a bad review on social media. It’s unbecoming!)
3. Allow the bad review to pull you down, it’s bad for creativity. Be the bigger person and move past it.

I admit, I had a big “WTF?!” moment when my favourite reviewer told me something I didn’t want to hear and I whined about it to Meeko and it threw me for a loop for a moment, but I realized this; my favourite reviewer was honest and it was their own opinion. They didn’t like what I had written, and that’s cool. And you know why it’s cool? They weren’t being sheep and I applauded them in the next chapter in an A/N for being like that. It’s awesome.

By sharing your stories online, you do it publicly and for everyone to see, read and enjoy. Sadly, not everyone enjoys the same things or might see a thing differently, but that’s what’s good about it all; people are different. People are diverse and they may not agree with you on things *gasp*.

If you get a negative review, and it’s the only one in a sea of good ones, then you should feel good about yourself. You still have 99 positive reviews out of 100. That’s grand. Seriously. You should then decide if it’s worth it to respond to it. If you feel like you’re going to flip a lid, then don’t. If the review is just ridiculous, don’t. If you want to vent about that negative review, don’t respond to it. Talk to your friends about it but don’t do it on social media. (I mean, imagine becoming a BNF/BNW (Big Name Fan/Big Name Writer) one day and people dig up your shittiness about receiving a negative review?)

Don’t poke the proverbial bear, you’ll only create a shitstorm for yourself.

Yes, it’s upsetting that you got a negative review but take a deep breath and move on. Not everyone is going to like what you write. And if you do decide to respond to the reviewer, do not let your emotions get in the way.

Think of it this way; this person, who disagrees with your vision, your story, took the time to write that down for you and hit ‘post’. You’re posting your story on a huge platform, laugh it off, you can’t please everyone.

As long as the story you’re writing and happen to share with others is pleasing you, all’s good. All’s fair. Don’t engage negativity. Let it roll off your back and move on.

Is that unwanted/unfair bad review still nagging in the back of your head? If it’s not a guest reviewer, send them a PM saying this: “Dear reviewer, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my story and to leave a review on it. You are awesome. Have a wonderful day! xxx” This will psychologically soothe your need to ‘lash out/take revenge’, trust me. It works. A little bit of positivity never hurt!

We fanfic writers have to deal with enough crap as it is. Stay positive. Always.

xx

Buggy

One Comment:

  1. That’s wonderful advise…thank you hon…huggs.

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