S37E5 - You Should Publicly Respond to Criticism of Your Books

Responding to critics, especially in a public forum, is one of the fastest ways to get people to remember you in all the wrong ways. While this piece of advice isn't one people often say, it is one shown in their actions. Time and time again, authors and other artists get pulled into the trap of trying to defend their work to critics. One author even infamously called reviewers names after leaving 4-star reviews. Instead of garnering support, it turned a lot of people away from reading her book and leaving reviews for fear of being subjected to the same individual call-outs.

Another way people often respond to negative criticism is by trying to fix everything that was pointed out. This, however, is a fine line to walk. Many criticisms authors receive is subjective to the readers. Some people enjoy a fluffy romance, others like it spicy, and some don't like romance in their books at all. If you try to appease each of these people, you'll be locked into writing nothing.

That's the real danger of responding to criticism. You stop writing. You stop writing for yourself. Listen to this episode for more advice on how to correctly treat criticism to you works so you can keep writing selfishly.

First aired November 17, 2022.