Negative reviews are something that many creative people live in fear of--which is understandable to some degree since it is the creator's guts that are hanging out while someone else pokes them with a stick.

I, however, encourage reviewers to be brutally honest in their appraisal of my writing, even if it so happens that they HATE it. Don't hold back, don't opt to "be nice" by saying nothing, don't worry about endangering our friendship if you voice your true feelings about my work. (Really, how good of a friend could I be if I forced you to read my novel?)

Now, I know what you're thinking: "This guy is a masochist! He's probably dripping hot wax on his nipples while typing this!"

Well, of course, that's true--but beside the point!

Naturally, I do not DESIRE negative reviews; but there are two primary reasons that I do encourage them:

1) A negative review can trigger a POSITIVE result!

I know this to be true from my personal review-reading experience. When someone knocks a book for being too "FLOWERS-IN-THE-ATTIC-y", I'm immediately interested in said book because I happened to have loved FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC! If a reviewer complains that a novel contains "too much exposition", then that book is for me because I LOVE exposition! And don't even think of lamenting the loads of "sex and violence" in a book unless you want to see that author's sales go through the roof!

There are even some folks who can get me to read a book by something as simple as saying that they "hated it". Those are the cases where I know that if THEY hated it, then I will certainly LOVE it....

and

2) The greatest redeeming quality that a negative review has is the almost near-certainty that it contains the one element that an author can never really be sure of in one that is positive. And that element is HONESTY.

Who LOVES a book, but then writes a NEGATIVE review of it? No one, that's who.

On the other hand, many well-intentioned reviewers seek to spare an author's feelings by giving what I call "pity-praise". The thing about it is that we can't always be sure.... Maybe Mom really DOES think I'm the greatest writer of our time! Maybe my life-long best friend IS amazed at my authorial skill!

It's great to receive accolades from family, friends, and acquaintances...BUT WE NEED OBJECTIVE, DISINTERESTED, and--above all--HONEST feedback! Despite what an author may say, I refuse to believe that if he has sweated-out a story, that will be seen by other eyes, that he doesn't care what the reader thinks. OF COURSE HE CARES!

But we need to know what you REALLY think. It doesn't mean we'll change a thing--but we'll at least know how we are affecting our audience--or even IF we're affecting them.

On the other hand, I've never read a negative review where I sat back and thought, "Probably the guy's brother" or "How much did he pay THAT guy?"

Certainly there are some MEAN reviewers...but you won't have to doubt their honesty....

So rather than being disheartened by a negative review, I take heart that I have elicited a response from the reviewer--there is, after all, no unkinder cut than apathy. And, who knows? Maybe there is another reader out there who, when he sees why one reviewer DIDN'T like my book, will think to himself, "THAT'S THE DUMBEST REVIEW I'VE EVER READ! MUST...BUY...XIANNE...NOW!"