Reviews are not just for potential readers. They are a gold mine for the writer.

Now that my novel OF ICE AND STEEL has been out for a number of months, the reviews are starting to come in.

Being my first novel, I grit my teeth as I begin reading what others think of my work. 

Everyone in my inner circle loved my book of course, but what about when the labor of twenty some years sailed out beyond the protected waters. I wondered how I would handle a bad review. I decided to take each review and review the review. I look at where the review would appear. Is it in an area where action adventure, or techo-thillers are the main subject?  Does the reviewer have a background in my subject matter? If so then any negative feedback are lessons for me in the following novels.

One reviewer noted how he loved the book but lost count of the times I wrote, "Oh my God."

If my readers are counting the times I use a word of phrase, then I'm not doing my jobof entertaining. I'm now going back through the manuscript of my next novel EPITAPH and looking harder than I would have if not noted by the reviwer.

In a nutshell, the reviews you get are advise, to you the writer. Listen to what they tell you. It's not easy and not a lot of fun, but it will make you a better writer.