Sheryl, I feel your pain. As a self-published author, I have had my share of typos and grammatical errors as well as negative reviews. A reviewer, who never read my story, gave me  a one star because my price was to high. I also received a two star and a mean spirited review because my dialogue was in italics. Then someone was upset because I had a typo in the beginning of  one of my books. For me it was a learning experience. I decided to go back to see where I went wrong. It was a rude awakening but I feel that I am a better writer. I may not make The New York Times Best Sellers List, but that's okay. Nevertheless, don't beat yourself up. I have read books by some top selling authors and have found typos and grammatical errors, but no one comes down on them they way they come down on indie authors. Keep writing and continued success in your endeavors.

Love the analogy--it's so true! I agree; I've stopped writing negative reviews. I might make a "critical" observation in an overall positive review. But if I really hate a book, I just won't review it (probably won't finish it, either). Falls under the category of "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all".

I agree, you can always find negative reviews for even the most fabulous books (or books that are hyped as being supposedly fabulous). You know, I often find it helpful to scour both the negative and positive reviews  when I am reading a new book. I am surprised how often I agree with both viewpoints! But it is definitely helpful to remind ourselves that even Pulitzer Prize winners get trashed by the haters among us.

That is a very positive attitude. I don't write negative reviews because I think opinions are like A**holes, everyone has one and no one thinks that theirs stinks. (sorry for being crude) I've read books that I thought were absolutely amazing but they've received negative reviews. So I remind myself that it's impossible to please everyone.  I try to keep an open mind but some people are nasty just to be nasty. 

My third novel, The Floater, got trashed with a nasty, one-star review. It almost felt like a personal attack, especially since the reviewer claimed my book had lots of typos and grammatical errors, and it didn't. It was the first time that had happened, so I told myself, "You have to be somebody in order to attract haters. It's just part of the game."

If there's a kernel of positive construction in a negative review, take it to heart and keep it for next time. Otherwise, dust yourself off, be glad for the attention, and move on. Best of luck!

Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.

I saw this.  Terrible!  The good news is that Amazon supposedly deletes reviews without verified purchase.  I doubt this person is supporting us.  The bad news is that it takes a while for this to happen.  What an angry individual. 

The latest review is posted on Shara Azod's Valentine's Theory - http://www.amazon.com/Valentines-Theory-ebook/dp/B00BKF20NY/ref=cm_cr-mr-title Click the report as abuse button. It has been removed from some books but not all.

HI Theresa,

I've yet to get a DNF, but I have gotten some brutal one stars that had me huddled in a corner in the fetal position. One person hated my hero and another person complained that my novella (found in the short stories category) was too short (pfft!). Negative Reviews can be a shock to the system but we all move pass them, for our own sanity. On another note I've actually read your debut novel (Abandoned but Not Alone) and LOOOOOVED it! Keep your head up and keep writing, I want that sequel! :)

How do we do about having Amazon delete this?