#198. Book Reviews: Navigating the Emotional Rollercoaster of Reader Feedback (With Emily Golden & Rachel May)

Fiction Writing Made Easy

Savannah Gilbo

Education, Fiction, Writing Tips, Arts, Bestseller, Writing, How To, Author, Writing Community, Books, Novel, How To Write Fiction, Writing Fiction, Writer, How To Write A Book

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Learn how to handle book reviews without letting them crush your confidence or derail your writing dreams. Receiving your first book review can be both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. Whether it's a glowing five-star love letter or a brutal one-star takedown, reader reviews can send even the most confident authors into an emotional tailspin. I recently sat down with book coaches Emily Golden and Rachel May of Golden May Editing to discuss the challenge of negative reviews. Between ...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Have you ever wondered why some writing advice leaves you more confused than when you started?
0:04.8	Or maybe you've been stuck trying to figure out exactly what steps to take next in your writing
0:09.6	journey? Either way, I've got something fun and super insightful for you. I created a free quiz that
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0:21.9	a few quick questions and then bam. You'll get a personalized roadmap tailored specifically to
0:27.0	where you are in your writing journey right now. Plus, I'll send you a customized 10-episode
0:32.2	podcast playlist, as well as additional resources specifically chosen for where you're at to help you start making
0:38.4	lots of progress and get to that next big milestone, whether that's finishing your first draft,
0:43.4	revising your novel, or publishing your book. So if you're curious, head over to savannahgilbo.com
0:49.1	forward slash quiz to take the quiz now. One more time, that's savannah gilbo.com forward slash quiz to take the quiz
0:56.1	and get a personalized roadmap tailored to where you're at in your writing, editing, or publishing
1:00.6	journey. For reviews, it's not honestly about you. The reviews are for other readers. They're not
1:06.9	for you. And so when somebody is writing a review about your book, it actually isn't personal.
1:12.0	It has nothing to do with you. It's them sharing their opinion with other readers so that those
1:16.3	readers can make an educated decision about whether or not they want to pick up your book.
1:20.2	And I think that oftentimes it feels personal because it is personal to us, right? Like we put
1:25.8	our hearts and souls into these projects.
1:44.6	But I think it's really important to remember that those aren't for you and they're not about you because that boundary can really help you set some guidelines and boundaries for yourself around how you take in those reviews and like what purpose it's serving because their purpose is not for you.
1:52.3	Welcome to the fiction writing made easy podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be
1:57.0	overwhelming. So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable,
2:02.0	and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're
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