The rule of thirds: No matter what you do, someone will hate you. Get over it and Write On!

No matter what you do in life, a third of the people will love you, a third will hate you, and the rest will be indifferent. Get over it and Write On, whether it be books, music, or movie scripts... Or, anything you do in life.

Yes, I'm talking to myself. If you're listening, GREAT! It's good advice!

Is it easy advice? Heck No!

For some reason, even though that percentage is rather low on my books--the percentage of people who hate my books runs about 4.6%--it still hurts. 

Note: I only averaged the 'firsts' in my books. Because if I go to the second, third, and fourth books in my series, those numbers drop drastically. Obviously, if readers don't like my first book, they don't go on to the rest of my books in a series, so those books receive little to zero one-star reviews.

So...if the number of one-star reviews we receive is less than five percent--Thank God ALL of the 33 1/3% of the haters don't write reviews--why do we get so depressed when we receive a one-star review?

Why do we readily believe what less than five percent of readers tell us, instead of embracing the 95%? 

I'm certain I'm not alone in this, right? When I receive a three-, four-, or five-star review, I'm always happy. But I don't run around and cheer. I smile, release a breath that it was a good review, and then carry on with my life.

BUT...when I get a one-star review... My head drops, my stomach plunges, my heart rate increases, I almost always stop what I'm doing and sulk a bit. Sometimes I run to the pantry for some dark chocolate, read the review to my hubby who says, "I'm sorry, babe," which often makes me feel a little better. 

And then if I'm really put off, I'll do something drastic like write a blog post. Umm...like today.

Why do I do this to myself? Why do I care? Heck, she didn't even attack my writing. All she did was say it wasn't very exciting. So what? Didn't 95% of the people say they couldn't put it down? Yes, they did, actually.

There, I feel so much better now, and I hope you do too. If you don't, let me tell you about an exercise I used to do. I don't have to do this exercise anymore because, even though I just sulked the last few minutes as I wrote this blog, I really have learned to take a one-star review with a grain of salt. We need one-star reviews. If we never received one-star reviews, other readers would wonder. Because even if you've never heard about the Rule of Thirds that I mentioned above, almost everyone knows that you can't please everyone. If everyone loves you, someone is lying.

Oh...the exercise... Sorry, I get distracted easily.

Look up your favorite book of all time, preferably a bestseller that's been loved by millions worldwide. Check out the one-star reviews, read a few. I guarantee they have more one-star reviews than you do. :)

Until next time, happy writing, my friends. 

And for all of you lovely readers/listeners/watchers out there, it's okay to give a one-star review. Just remember there's a person behind the book, movie, or music that you're reviewing. So please remember to keep it constructive. <3

Warmest regards,

Carmen


Thank you for stopping by my place and reading my musings. Remember, these are just my opinions and shouldn't be taken too seriously. If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section, and I promise you I will answer. I love talking about all things books, so if you want more posts on writing, marketing, new releases, and giveaways, please leave your email address here. I only send out a post once or twice a week at the most. :)

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