The Cost of a Bad Review

This is a different type of post than I usually write, but I find that it’s necessary.

For those who aren’t aware, the JAFF authors community is pretty small. Most of us know one another’s names (especially the ones who have blazed the trail and have put out dozens, if not hundreds, of incredible stories). And a few authors even know one another in person.

When I decided to begin writing about two years ago (my first book “A Look Behind the Mask” was published in late 2022), I was amazed by how kind the JAFF authors were. Instead of viewing me as competition, they saw me as a friend and welcomed me in. They gave advice, invited me to collaborate, and provided feedback that I desperately needed.

These were women and men whose works I had been reading for almost two decades – and they saw me as an equal.

One of those authors is P.O. Dixon, whose Amazon authors page currently boasts 64 titles. I have always really enjoyed her unique plotlines, and as a person, she has always been kind and encouraging to new JAFF authors.

Now, before I get into this story, I want to share a few things with those of you who aren’t in my newsletter (which you can sign up for below). I have Crohn’s disease. I homeschool my four kids, ages 1-11. Three months ago, we uprooted our family and moved halfway across the United States (nowhere near family), causing my neurodiverse children all kinds of havoc. And a few weeks ago, I had a pretty painful surgery.

As you can imagine, this year has been pretty chaotic.

I’ve barely had a spare moment to myself, and when I do, it’s used up by writing. I can’t remember the last time I sat down and read. But the night before last, I sat down to read – it was the holiday, after all (Thanksgiving here in the US).

The book that was next on my TBR happened to be “Once He Made a Beginning” by P.O. Dixon.

But I’ll be honest – I didn’t even look at the title or author. I just went in order by the “oldest” in my Kindle Unlimited and clicked it.

The story started out great. It was a ton of fun, a unique plot, and I found myself really getting into it.

Then all of a sudden, it jumped. I was abruptly thrown into “Jane Bingley” acting as mistress of Netherfield, with Elizabeth living there.

Did I skip a chapter? I went back and re-read the last several chapters probably four time, trying to figure out where I’d missed the wedding, or at least a note saying “Six months later…” or something.

But there was nothing.

Then when the letter arrived that Lydia had eloped, Mr. Bingley laments that he wished he’d done more for his sister, Lydia. I took this to mean that he was, in fact, married to Jane and Lydia was his sister-in-law.

But two chapters later, the story switched to a scene at Longbourn where Jane is lamenting her loss of Bingley due to Lydia’s actions, saying that he will never return to marry her now.

But wait, aren’t they already married?

I kept going, thinking that perhaps it had been a dream sequence or flashback – but no. Elizabeth wrote a letter Mrs. Gardiner asking about Darcy’s involvement in arranging the marriage….

And then the book ended.

I was shocked. And honestly, I was kind of frustrated.

As an author, I know I make mistakes. Editing errors get lost, I forget to go back and change a date in all the right places, and for some reason I cannot get Meryton and Lambton straight sometimes.

But this was really, really weird.

And I had just spent my one free evening in weeks, if not months, attempting to follow a timeline that made no sense at all. Instead of finishing the book fulfilled and satisfied, I was left feeling annoyed.

And my device asked me if I’d like to leave a review on Amazon.

To be honest, by this point I truly thought that it was a book written mostly by AI and hadn’t been edited. I don’t know if y’all have seen those pop up, but maybe once a month I see one or two come onto Amazon.

It’s so frustrating as an author to do hours of research and dozens of hours of writing, then pay thousands of dollars between editing and audiobooks (and I plan on doing a post about that another time), only to have someone slap something up there and get 3.5-3.9 stars, while I get 4.1 stars.

That sounds petty as I type it, but in the moment, I was frustrated and disheartened.

So I left a two-star review saying that the timeline was confusing and the ending abrupt, I explained why (marking them as spoilers just in case), and ended with my opinion that the book could do with a good edit and review of the timeline.

Well, fast-forward to this morning, I received an email from P.O. In it, she asked me why I had left a negative review of her book. I was surprised because I didn’t think that I had read any of her books recently! The only thing is that awful AI book, I thought to myself.

She said she had looked through the manuscript and said she couldn’t find “Jane Bingley” anywhere, and the unanswered questions I’d had were addressed in the epilogue.

Nope, she was talking about MY review!

I was absolutely shocked. Maybe she uploaded a really old copy on accident?

I immediately “checked out” the book again on Kindle Unlimited. I was going to send her a few screenshots of what I’d found so that she could make the changes she needed.

And I couldn’t find them.

Nope.

Nothing I read the other night that was weird was there. The entire couple of scenes/chapters about Jane Bingley were missing (and I remember them in depth!). There were several more chapters after the point it had stopped for me, as well as an epilogue.

I. Felt. Terrible.

I knew what I had read, but she didn’t know that. So she was hurt and confused (at first she thought my review was from some moron who only skimmed the book and wanted to be cruel). And I was completely confused as well.

I still am.

I don’t know if Amazon glitched when I downloaded it the first time (which, to be honest, HAS happened to me before). I don’t know if there was an old copy that merged with another, or what.

But I am SO GLAD she could reach out to me and tell me how she felt. She didn’t trash me behind my back to other JAFF authors or fans that we both know. Instead, she sent an email because she knew me and wanted to resolve things.

You know, as authors, we do have to develop thick skins. The number of times that I’ve been told by reviewers to “kill off my characters and then kill myself” because of my “horrible, atrocious, [insert insult here]” is actually pretty high. Not to mention the multiple daily emails of reviews left on my stories FFN filled with profanity and hate.

It’s enough to make anyone want to quit and never write again. So you learn to ignore it, to let it roll off your back, to shake it off (as Taylor would say), and to let it go (as Elsa would say).

But when it comes from another author, especially one in your niche, that can sting SO bad.

I immediately emailed back and explained everything that I told y’all here. I apologized for not verifying that the author wasn’t some AI newbie (there have been a few). I also deleted the review (it only would let me change the body, not the subject of it when I tried to edit).

To be clear, my review was not nearly as awful as most of the ones I get by putting things for free out into space. I like(d) FFN because it was open to everyone. So I made that choice.

My review simply stated the conflicts I’d noticed and my disappointment. I didn’t attack her in any way or say she should stop writing (again, I get told that probably on a daily basis via my Amazon reviews and FFN).

But again, it still stings when it’s from someone who knows better.

I’m not really sure what the purpose of this post is for y’all. There are several different lessons that can be taken from it on both sides:

• The author is a person with feelings.
• It’s important to not let our feelings control our actions.
• Open communication is key when working with others.
• Humility and kindness are important, as are boundaries.

And whatever else may come to you.

So thank you P.O. Dixon for reaching out, for supporting JAFF authors, and for writing wonderful stories for us all to enjoy.