Feedback and Reviews

As a writer with no background in writing (I've never even taken a creative writing course), I am unsure of my ability to tell a story well. I believe wholeheartedly in my stories, but what about my writing of them? Do I do them justice?

I've tried so hard to get feedback. I'd only gotten it from friends and family or three people who I paid to review (this will come up again later). All feedback was positive. I've offered my stories for free through posts on IG (since taken down), and no one bites. Luckily, I found two beta readers through a horror group on Facebook. Finally, honest feedback. It was tough to hear but wonderful at the same time. I basically got ripped to shreds in a very nice way. Their insight was exactly what I needed. I knew I had issues (writing couldn't be that easy!) and two completely different people gave the exact same feedback.

I've worked hard to correct those issues. Some were easy, some not even close to simple. I've still got a lot to learn, but those two wonderful people helped me so much more than I can say. I tell you this if you're a writer, SEEK FEEDBACK. Don't get discouraged by negative feedback. Though what my beta readers said was negative, it was intended to help me. And it did.

Not all feedback is applicable. Everyone has different tastes in the style of writing they like, story, characters, and description (to name a few), so you have to filter out what is their personal preference vs. what is a take-away. Be thick-skinned and grateful for anyone who gives you negative information about your work, especially when done constructively like my beta readers did. Their goal is to help, yours is hopefully to get better. And you will!

Now for reviews. I paid for three and wish I hadn't. While all three were good, I believe that only one of them read my story. I actually didn't give a shit about the review; I wanted the feedback. Either way, even with all their "followers," when they posted the review on IG, it did nothing for me. No sales AT ALL. I had struck out again.

I will never pay for a review again. Many of them are scamming. If you look at their profiles, you'll see where the covers of the stories are photoshopped over a generic background. I paid two of them "for the cost of the book" and yet somehow had no sales between our contact about the review all the way through the reviews being written. NONE! In other words, they didn't buy my book. There's no way they did unless they acquired it from somewhere that sells it illegally. Yet on their pages, there was a photoshopped picture of my book "in their possession." The reviews themselves were based off of the synopsis on Amazon that I wrote. One reviewer seemed to buy my book and gave a wonderful review. There was a pic with the book open, so she did get a copy. The review was also of her own making: based on the full story, not a synopsis.

It wasn't much money, and I thought it would be worth it given the number of followers they had. Oh, how I was wrong. Take a look at how many followers they have, then look at the engagement they have on their posts. Their "followers" are probably a lot of bots. DO NOT waste your money on this "service." There are so many wonderful people who will read your stories for free. I'm trying to find those people now.

I share all this to try and help new authors who, like me, are really gung-ho about their stories and want people to read them. If you pay for anything to promote your work, pay for ads through trusted sites that YOU create. You just wrote a damn book, an ad will be doable.

Till next time, write on, my friends! Write on.