Those one- and two-star reviews tell you what not to do

Reading reviews of your own books can make you feel euphoric (if they’re good) or send you into the pits of despair (if they’re bad).

Reading reviews of other writers’ books can give you a priceless education about what to do and not do with your books.

Of course, it’s a good idea to check out everything about an online listing for a competing book. How does the cover look? How is the description written and formatted? How are the endorsements and editorial reviews presented?

But you’ll learn the most about what to do and not do with your book when you read the one- and two-star reviews.

Is your book’s content valuable?

A book is a great marketing tool to promote yourself and your business, but it needs some useful content as well as your promotional message.

Here are some one-star reviews from a book on self-publishing:

Just a self promo book for the Author…
So did you know [author name] has a blog/webinars? Well buckle up butter cup because about all you will get from this tiny book is basic info and shameless plug to the authors website and multiple webinars. On like every single page. In every single paragraph to where I wanted to throw the book across the room. And most of the tools she says to use for marketing and formatting are quite expensive for the indie author to try. I tried a few things from the book and ended up wasting money on said products that [author name] recommended. If you are interested in said author then just go to her website save yourself the headache.

Don't Waste $
It’s primarily a book with links to companies want to sell you something. No real useful instructions.

Use a search engine instead
Everything in this book can be found for free in better-written articles online. A search engine and networking with other authors on social media will help you far more than this book. I suggest you DO NOT get this book, even if you’re offered it for free! The author simply wants to entice you to buy into the series of equally disappointing books.

Whatever your book is about, these reviews tell you to limit your self-promotion and be sure your content delivers information the reader can use. Readers who feel like their time and money has been well-spent will be more inclined to respond positively to your marketing message.

Does the quality of the book represent you well?

A couple of two-star reviews from a book on investing:

Good book. Poorly printed.
The information in the book is great. The print quality control is no good. Several pages are illegible because the printing is too light to read.

Something wrong with the printing
Many pages are printed with low ink. Hard to see, hard to read.

Be sure you have the necessary quality control measures in place.

A two-star review for a cookbook that retails at $59.99:

poor content
Was expecting better quality books with pictures and better recipes, seems almost childish in their font and design, crummy recipes.

If you’re going to charge top-dollar (and even if you’re not), you need to deliver top-quality.

Here’s a one-star review for a novel:

I'm sorry but a writer should know the difference between …
I'm sorry but a writer should know the difference between rein and reign. It makes reading the book very difficult when in the third sentence of the first chapter the wrong word is used and then repeatedly used.

And for a different novel:

Who Is Responsible for This Mess?
Not since I read short stories by twelve-year-old authors have I seen so many errors! Who did (or in this case, did not do) the proofreading? Perhaps the proofreader was as drunk as [character name] when he sat in the King Titus chair and did as much damage. Were the time constraints too demanding? The errors get in the way of a potentially beautiful story. This rating is for the proofreader who still has a job to do. Make it right.

Invest in editing and proofreading.

Some one-star reviews are unwarranted

Not every one-star review is justified. Some readers will leave a one-star review because the shipping was delayed or the package was damaged in transit. That’s not fair, but it happens.

Sometimes a book is a target of review bombing, which is when a large number of people leave negative reviews in an effort to damage sales or the author’s reputation. You can usually recognize those types of reviews and dismiss them.