Should you leave a bad review?

This is a subject that has been used in many blog posts that I have read recently.

Most people say that they wouldn’t leave a review under 3 stars and I have always agreed with them.

Is this the right thing to do?

I have come across a lot of badly written e-books since I bought my kindle last year. Most of them were free or very cheap so I wasn’t particularly ripped off but I feel strongly that it is the responsibility of the Author to make sure that what they produce is good enough to justify asking people for money for. Even if it has been given away for free you are still asking people to give up their time to read your work.

Maybe we should leave bad reviews.

I am not suggesting that we should be spiteful or bitchy, but maybe we should let potential readers know that they shouldn’t waste their time or money on a particular book.

I have heard people say that what one person hates another might love and this is true. I have seen 1 star reviews for books that I have loved, sometimes I feel like there are people out there who just get off on leaving nasty reviews. I am sure that if a book is genuinely good the positive reviews will far outweigh the negative.

We all have different tastes and I am not saying that I would leave a bad review on a book because it was not quite my kind of thing, but I think we should leave low star reviews on books that are poorly written or not edited properly.

I know of people who have left bad reviews and have suffered abuse from the Author or their families. This is childish behaviour. I have also seen Authors react positively to bad reviews and take on board the comments. It must be painful receiving bad remarks about something you have put so many hours into, but that is part of the job description.

Authors have to be tough!

Managing your time

I often hear writers saying that they haven’t had the time to write. I refuse to use this excuse for my lack of writing as it would be selfish.

I know of writers who work long hours, raise a family and still find time to write. What these people have is good time management, and the motivation to drive them forward towards their goals.

I have the luxury of not having to go out to work. I have worked since having my daughter, but my hubby was happy for me not to so I could stay at home and concentrate on writing.

It doesn’t actually mean I write more though, if anything I am actually less organised with my time.

When you have to juggle work with housework, children and writing you seem to plan your day better. When you have loads of time on your hands you seem to just waste it.

Maybe that is just me!

I am definitely writing more this year so far though. I am charging through the re-write of my novel and am very happy with how it is going. I have also managed to write a lot of short pieces including children’s stories, poems and flash fiction work.

I think I just need to treat it more like a job and give myself working hours. It only actually takes about 1 hour to write 1000 words on a good run, which isn’t a bad amount to be aiming for daily. I could produce the first draft of a novel in 3-4 months in theory!

 

The best time to write. Are you a morning person?

It never ceases to amaze me how many people are up writing while I am fast asleep.

I am a lazy person who can’t function without at least 7 hours sleep, preferably more! Part of me envies those people who get their writing done early.

I get most of my writing done while my daughter is at school, but I can’t help but wonder what my writing would be like if I shoe horned my butt out of bed early and wrote something before life got in the way.

Just think how much more I could fit into my day. I could read more books, take my dog for longer walks (extra thinking time) and go out to lunch more.

I cannot convince myself to actually do it though.

In my defence it is cold at the moment and the heating is not left on over night, but there is no excuse in summer.

It isn’t as if I need perfect conditions to write in. Some people need their own room, no noise, a view of the garden etc, but I am not one of those people. I can write standing at the worktop while watching the dinner cooking, I can write while my daughter is playing in the same room and I even used to write while listening to my ex neighbour shouting, screaming and swearing.

I just need to free up some more hours in my day. I will have to work at it.

When it is warmer!