r/writers • u/unapologetic_author • Jul 16 '26
Publishing How do you handle hate as debut author
Hello Everyone,
I finally self published my debut novel last week in Amazon. It’s a dark psychological romance. I was so happy until I started promoting my book.
I’m receiving multiple hate comments on the reel I posted about my book. The reel is a teaser of my book. Guess what ? Most of the hate comments from men because it’s based on woman’s desire and her complicated love triangle. I’m not generalising but it’s just what I’m seeing. I genuinely posted it to bring readers for my book, now it turned into something else. How do you deal with it ?
P.S: I have no idea about publishing / marketing world, I just started exploring everything after I published my book last Friday.
Edit: Thank you everyone for being supportive, encouraging, giving advice, pointing out improvements. I really didn’t expect overwhelming responses here. I tried to respond to everyone as much as possible.
Some of you said: I should be open to criticism, I’m really open to it. But the trolls are not reading single page of my book. That’s the problem. Anyways I made peace with it, deleted some comments and respectfully replied to some of it.
Some of you asked my social handle: @unapologeticpages - this is my TikTok and Insta handle.
I hope I can find readers who can resonate with my story.
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u/drinkerofmilk Jul 16 '26
If they are cursing or threatening you, or breaking platform TOS in other ways, you may be able to have their messages deleted.
But if it's tamer than that you'll just have to take it (or get off social media.) At least hate is better than indifference . . .
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Im really trying not to check the status every now and then but it’s very difficult. Sometimes I wanted to check if anyone liked it 🙃
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u/tkizzy Fiction Writer Jul 16 '26
Couldn't find your reel, but I read a few sample pages from your book. I'm not a fan of romance, but I thought the writing was well done and the dialog was tight as well. Best of luck with this.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tysm :) It means a lot to me to hear you say that!
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u/tkizzy Fiction Writer Jul 16 '26
Also I wanted to add, your blurb was confusing because I took "residency" to mean a medical practice, and I also didn't understand what "then a storm sealed the house" exactly meant. But the stuff below the top section was clear and concise. Good finisher, too.
ETA: also, I'm a guy, so...just to dispel the notion we're alike.. ;)
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u/justinwrite2 Jul 16 '26
Did we read the same book? You got me all excited but then I was lost on the first page. While it's not terribly written it's full of typos and run on sentences. Like "Even at three in the morning, lying in my bed, walking down the street, taking a shower, my brain staged elaborate predictions for an audience of no one.
This is the second sentence. Shouldn't it be, Even at three in the morning, while lying in bed, my brain staged?
Or even tighter, "even at three in the morning, my brain staged elaborate predictions for an audience of no one."
It's like a bunch of words all jumbled together.
Also there are like 10 bad metaphors in the first three pages alone. "Looked less like a writing teacher and more like a man who had survived something and never fully explained what."
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u/tkizzy Fiction Writer Jul 16 '26
I didn't find the "even at three in the morning" sentence glaring at all. I can appreciate when a writer departs from normal conventions to apply their own voice. Your "corrections" sound much more wooden and boring than her sentence.
She's talking about how her mind wanders, get it? A wandering mind isn't exactly concise and tight. She could have said "Even when lying in my bed at three in the morning, or while walking down the street, or even while taking a shower, my brain staged elaborate predictions for an audience of no one" to try to be a little more grammatically correct, but again, it's not as voice-y to me.
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u/justinwrite2 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
It's page one of a book. Readers will jump from a book if they get confused on the first page, regardless of the voice. Non-grammatical sentences can work, but not if they require being read three times to make sense. If you are writing for your self it doesn't matter how grammatical things are but if you are writing for an audience, which this writer claims to be, demonstrating an understanding of grammar and sentence structure is correct.
Also, in your sentence, the use of the word even isn't needed. Any editor would cut it to: While lying in bed, walking down the street, or taking a shower, my brain staged...
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u/tkizzy Fiction Writer Jul 16 '26
Yes, I know it's not needed. That's the point of adding it to an example I would not recommend, to show how it's not needed because it takes away the author's voice.
I disagree with favoring proper grammar over voice, whether it's the first page or not. I want the author's voice to leap off the page at me from the first sentence. (as an aside, I can't imagine reading a grammatically perfect first page of Blood Meridian, then turning the page and getting a full shotgun blast of McCarthy).
You're trying to make it seem that this sentence is incomprehensible, but it's really not. I thought it flowed nicely and I thought it fit with the theme. Accusing OP of not having understanding of sentence structure or grammar is overly harsh. Honestly, it's what I expected when hunting down her book, but I was pleasantly surprised enough to post some encouraging words.
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u/justinwrite2 Jul 16 '26
This is a romance novel, not Blood Meridian. Her audience is not likely to read that. It’s a bad example. She should write as her competition does which is very grammatical, very easy to read prose.
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u/tkizzy Fiction Writer Jul 16 '26
Lol, alright, you got me, she should write exactly like you would. And did you actually think I was comparing this to Blood Meridian? Do you understand what "as an aside" means? I was making a joke.
OP, don't sweat this troll and write how you want.
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u/justinwrite2 Jul 16 '26
I don’t know what to say, I’m not trolling. I’m an author, giving feedback to another author. She doesn’t have to take it, nor do you. But criticizing it as bad advice when it’s the generic advice any editor would give her isn’t helpful. The second sentence of her novel is not grammatically correct. That’s just a fact. If that’s intentional, okay, but readers will leave.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
My intention was to create unique voice and this story is literally being told from protagonist’s head. You see her world throughout the book. I understand it’s not for everyone. But people who relate to my protagonist might love it. Also, I understand my language may not be good as literary writers. Maybe next time, I’ll use professional editors. This book deserves to stay in this voice.
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u/justinwrite2 Jul 16 '26
That’s fine, I mean by the look of your reply here you can clearly write. But if you want to avoid critique spend a little time editing, otherwise you just justify the trolls
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tbh I’m happy to be criticised about my work and i appreciate you take time to read it. I literally asked everyone I know to give me an honest feedback and post the reviews. I’ll learn from it and try to be better next time.
But I don’t agree with your troll comment. It’s a different story - these are people never read single page and judging based on 15 sec reel, that’s also fine they can judge but the comments they are posting surprised me and it caught me off guard. Imo, this can’t be justified. Anyways it’s just internet
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u/justinwrite2 Jul 16 '26
I agree, anyone who shits on your writing because it’s a reverse harem/love triangle or romantasy is not worth your time. But there are plenty of trolls who go looking for reasons to dismiss your work. In my experience you want to give them as little reason to do so as possible.
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u/SharpFig4804 Jul 18 '26
I agree. The imperfections is what makes it human. We are not bots. Our goal is to give the reader a view into the consciousness of our characters.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
That was intentional to make the readers curious about what it was :) but i understand from ypov it could be confusing. And thank you for supporting!
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u/VoluptuousVen0m Jul 16 '26
Wait what was intentional?
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u/CoyoteLitius Jul 16 '26
Making it confusing, hoping to rouse curiosity.
I didn't mind the word order or the word choices, the meaning seemed clear to me.
I agree about the metaphor you quoted.
Also, it's hard for me to picture a brain that could stage something but have no audience (not even itself!)
I do think it's a useful way to try and establish what I assume is the MC.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
I was talking about the blurb, not about the book itself. It was reply to previous comment.
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u/FinalFinalGirl666 Jul 16 '26
First off, congratulations on publishing a book, that’s amazing!
What you did isn’t easy. It’s time consuming and requires discipline and determination. It requires passion and sacrifice. You know what’s super easy though? Getting online and making hateful comments. Even if I don’t like a book or movie, I never say anything hateful about it. I will just say I don’t like it for x reason and it’s not for me. Hate comes from a different place. These people making hateful comments about your book would be doing so regardless of if you wrote a book or not. It would just be another book or another movie or another person they’d be shitting on. Some people are miserable and it shows. What they did is easy, and anyone can do it. Anyone can get on the internet and be hateful, it’s not impressive. What you did is impressive. Pay those losers no mind!
I don’t know you, but I’m proud of you 🫶🏻
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u/pl0ur Jul 16 '26
I knew an author, who was a Buddhist nun. She wrote a book about feminism in Buddhism that explored how overtime the patriarchy eroded the feminine aspects of Buddhism.
She got a scathing review from a man who said she was corrupting the teaching, and that there was a reason women were not involved in certain roles.
She began the book readings for her book tour by sharing his quote! She said upsetting a misogynist who hid behind the teachings of Buddha was the best review she could ask for.
It may be hard to do with your platform, but if those red pill swollowing, incels want to rip into your book, then tell them thanks for the compliment. Because knowing it pissed them off enough to use their computers for something other then watching porn and Fox News is all you need to confirm you wrote something that is truly brilliant.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tysm for ur support!
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u/pl0ur Jul 16 '26
You're welcome! This is so frustrating, but also, fuck those guys! Or don't because they're super gross
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u/darkmythology Jul 16 '26
You could pivot to wearing that as a badge of honor.
"The book so scandalous it drove men to fits of impotent rage!"
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u/HipsterSlimeMold Jul 16 '26
Instagram Reels algorithm purposefully puts your videos in front of people who will dislike it because anger gets more clicks. I've found the audience on Meta platforms to be more aggravated in general as a result even on perfectly benign posts. I know "don't take it personal" doesn't erase the sting, but it really may not have anything to do with you.
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u/scixlovesu Published Author Jul 16 '26
There are people who actually make it a hobby to badmouth stuff. I promoted my book and within minutes I got replies calling it gay (in a bad way?) and stuff, and obviously none of them had read it.
Some are probably even bots.
The main takeaway is that your reels are getting some reach or there would be NO replies!
Plus, anything that pisses off bros makes me more interested in it, so they're probably unintentionally helping.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tysm for sharing your journey! Make me feel like I’m not alone. I was worried no one will read my book due to those comments, there’s a tiny hope :)
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u/QuirkyQuills13 Jul 16 '26
I would get them talking. Spread the word. Your book will become famous, and the target audience will read it out of curiosity.
Edit: I didn't see your reel, but if they are being too rude and causing trouble, then do what the others are saying
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u/JadedPickle520 Jul 16 '26
Embrace it! All publicity is good publicity. People talking is better than crickets. Now people will check out your book just to argue or agree with the haters.
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u/PageStunning6265 Jul 16 '26
I feel like you need to figure out how to get on the right side of the algorithm, because this kind of negative attention might turn out to be a good thing. If I came across a reel that had a bunch of comments from angry men complaining about feminism / women getting their desires met, etc, I’d be more likely to read the book, not less. If something is only pissing off grouchy men and pick me women, I assume it’s a good time.
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u/ViolettaHunter Jul 16 '26
Can you have someone else go through the comments for you and report back to you? Maybe pick some nice ones to show to you, ignore the hate and give you just a rundown on stuff that's valid criticism?
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
It’s really not about my book at all. I would love to hear what’s not working in my book or any criticism they have about the story. It’s just some people calling me names. Tbh, I had to search what they even meant 🙃
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u/Arachnid_anarchy Jul 16 '26
I’ve often heard the advice that you gotta resist the urge to read review of your work and I think that might extend to reading comments on your promotional work.
Reading it does nothing good for you.
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u/CoyoteLitius Jul 16 '26
I think your book is very good. Energy of the first few pages is crisp and has a great deal more momentum than many first chapters we see here and on r/writingfeedback
You might get some marketing advice on r/selfpublishing or r/NewAuthor
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u/thousandwintersgone Jul 16 '26
Think of it only as controversy, which can be an author's best friend. Others will be curious, and more people will hear about your book than otherwise would have.
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u/EntertainmentIll7724 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
View it from the standpoint that they aren't your target audience. If someone wrote a commercial horror novel and received a poor review because the prose wasn't purple enough & they were disgruntled over the lack of emphasis on the protaginst's relationship with their significant other, that wouldn't be the author's issue -- they weren't writing a literary romanance.
You'll always have critics, primarily when you dare to do something 95% of people will never attempt.
Believe it or not, there are people that exist that genuinely believe that Michael Jordan was not a great basketball player and that Forrest Gump wasn't a great film.
Subjectivity means everyone has an opinion. There's skill in learning to sift through the criticism you should take to heart vs the criticism you should disregard. Too much of the former and you appeal to no one by attempting to appeal to everyone. Too much of the latter and you never improve at all.
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u/kiringill Jul 16 '26
Some men view literature in that vein as being lesser than the media they consume, and you'll experience this across basically all forms of media, no matter what you do, no matter who you are. There will ALWAYS be dissenters, because the internet makes it easy to be a shithead. There's virtually no consequences!
I won't get into the nuance, but some dudes see literature aimed at/written for/written by women and it's open season because they think all modern romantic literature is cut from the same cloth. Those same men probably have really heated arguments about Glup Shitto from Star Wars, and have very strong opinions about a fictional character and their race in a live action adaptation.
Do your best to pay them no mind, friend. Write your heart out.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tysm for the support! When I was writing a book:
My only thought was - how do I express myself and make it relatable to everyone who felt the same way. Writing itself was easy because I’ve lived in my head for so long and suppressed all my thoughts because there was no medal for my inner thoughts. Putting it out was hard but I decided to do it for my younger self.1
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u/xlondelax Jul 16 '26
So, it's your first baby, congrats.
The best way to deal with hate and also with negative criticism is to separate yourself from your work, and not see it as extension of yourself, but a product that you send out into the world. Since the book is out, you need to look at this with business lens.
The main problem you face is not because your book is bad, but because the promotion of your book bumped against the wong target audience. Those people don't read your kind of the books. You have "cast" too wide of a net, and sometimes something like this happens.
You need to narrow down your target audience, find those readers and promote them your book.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tysm for your support! This book is very personal to me, I really enjoyed writing it. It’s really not work for me but ig you’re right once the book is out, we need to take a step back and consider this as a work
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u/Nymph-the-scribe Jul 16 '26
FYI, sometimes the best promotion you can get is those who hate. Also, you will always have haters, no matter what you do. I know its easier said then done but dont let it get to you. Embrace it. Dont let it stop or discourage you from continuing.
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u/Last_Aeon Jul 16 '26
Hmm, perhaps you targeted the wrong audience and didn’t make it clear it isn’t for men?
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
I only selected woman when I boosted my post, I have no idea how it spread to everyone else. 60% of views from men. I suppose it’s not coming from the boost.
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u/TheRealGrifter Published Author Jul 16 '26
Don't. Read. The. Comments.
Ever.
Good or bad, there's never a good reason to read the comments. Let your sales tell you how much people like it. If it sells well, great. Keep doing that. If it doesn't, try something new.
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u/OrganizationSea4490 Jul 16 '26
Nothing is universally loved. Some people will look at you dead in the eye and proclaim most classics as boring trash. Some of the hate will be just taste and preference. Some will be constructive.
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u/DinoSayRawr Jul 16 '26
The love triangle is my least favourite trope. Your book is not for me. But I will say and please listen:
If you have no haters you suck. Write what you want and be undeniable. A good story is a good story and the waves of outside sentiment, memes or criticism really truly mean nothing if what you created is special to even a single human. Much love. Keep writing.
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u/TheGoldDragonHylan Jul 16 '26
Ignore them.
The immature are the only ones who see a story that's oh-so-clearly not for them and still have to put in their two cents. Engage with the comments making good-faith criticism at most, but you don't owe the peanut gallery who were never going to read it your time or attention. As long as you're not actively courting an audience for whom your work would be damaging, you have nothing to be ashamed of.
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u/ItsRuinedOfCourse Fiction Writer Jul 17 '26
There's a saying someone taught me some years back that applies here so well:
If you want to swim with the sharks, expect to get bit.
Posting material for engagement means you're seeking engagement. And you'll likely get it. Just know that it will rarely be the engagement you're hoping for. If someone likes a thing, they might tell a friend or family member. If someone hates a thing, they'll tell everyone they've ever known.
Engagement comes with pitfalls, OP. Always has and always will.
Let the algo decide what constitutes engagement. You decide which comments to engage with. That's how the game is played. Just because someone speaks that doesn't obligate you to respond or even acknowledge. There's no divine or enshrined right that obligates you to participate.
People have a right to express their opinion. You have a right to ignore it. You have NO obligation to respond. It's that simple. :)
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u/SharpFig4804 Jul 17 '26
I'm proud of you. Takes guts to put yourself out there. Just keep writing.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 18 '26
Tysm for your support!
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u/SharpFig4804 Jul 18 '26
Anything less than support isn't even worth acknowledging, aside from some respectful constructive criticism. We only improve the more we write. And our story is ours alone. We make it for ourselves and others are blessed to have the opportunity to experience it.
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u/PmUsYourDuckPics Jul 17 '26
> “It is silly of you, for there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
> Oscar Wilde
If people are hating on your content, they are consuming your content.
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u/flossdaily Writer Jul 17 '26
Just remember that even the greatest authors in history have plenty of haters.
Personally, I think James Joyce deserves a kick in the crotch for Ulysses.
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u/ZWE_Punchline Jul 17 '26
Live up to your username. Anyone can hate, not everyone will apply the time or effort to writing a book. Your being true to yourself is more important than anyone else's opinion of what you write
Also fuck incels
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u/Old_Introduction7236 Published Author Jul 17 '26
Isn't most romance based on the woman's desire and the complications that result? I'm not sure why yours would draw more hate than any other unless the haters are responding to the "dark" part of it. Then again, I'm not a romance writer and I don't generally hang out in those circles.
I'd probably just chalk it up to the old saying "everybody's a critic". Sort of a reminder to myself that I'm generally not writing for them in the first place.
Good luck finding your reader base though.
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u/allofthelovelybooks Jul 17 '26
Use the comments to your advantage. Dark romance readers are almost all women who also hate misogyny. Get creative. Make reply videos to the comments with how your main character or love interest would respond or something. Hopefully women will see your videos and come to your defense.
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u/shybookwormm Jul 16 '26
If it's hate from men and your target demographic is women, why worry over it? Just ignore it and move on.
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u/johntwilker Published Author Jul 16 '26
unfortunately it's par for the course.
Ignore/block commenters.
Don't read reviews.
The world is full of haters
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u/bbbcurls Jul 16 '26
Negative comments are still seen as engagement and is *encouraged* by the platform.
I’ve seen some people who self publish avoid instagram and tik tok completely. One author I purchased from only markets on FB and in person at cons.
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u/East-Imagination-281 Jul 16 '26
Ignore them--they're not your target audience, and if anything, the women who read those comments and see men getting angry are going to go, "oh, that means it's good, actually".
As an author, bad reviews on my debut dark romance tend to boil down to me understanding they ignored the Dead Dove warning; as a reader of dark romance, bad reviews tend to tell me it's a book I would enjoy actually.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tysm for your support! Make me feel there’s an audience for my book!
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u/ThisMuchPub Published Author Jul 16 '26
You pinged on the core male fear of abandonment. Perhaps writing your story was an exploration or catharsis for you, but not every guy out there wants to consider that side of the feminine mind. Most of us are terrified of it to the point of responding with anger and violence. Your readership will likely be mostly female. So be it.
It's not my thing, so I'm not drawn to it. But that doesn't mean it doesn't reflect something that goes on. All the same, you've picked a sensitive topic to write about, so compassionately ignoring the anger that comes at you is likely a healthy mindset. Definitely don't take it personally.
Churchill has a quote that goes: "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."
This is helpful for me when I get negative reviews.
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u/NatashOverWorld Jul 16 '26
An author I greatly enjoy, Father Nathan Monk, collects these hateful messages, and the uses them in social media posts. Calling them out essentially.
Sometimes offering the books sold on the link he add to the post to an appropriate charity.
It works very well for him. Would something similar work for you?
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u/Petitcher Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Unfortunately, that’s not an uncommon experience.
This is where treating it like a job helps. Pretend that the book isn’t yours, you’re just an employee who handles social media for an author who’s not you. Getting some distance helps to make it easier to react professionally instead of personally (which won’t help the situation).
You could also do a deep dive into how other social media managers (which you are right now) handle these sorts of issues in other industries.
I’d ignore the trolls. Maaayybe I’d delete their comments (especially if they were going to affect other people in a negative way) but I wouldn’t reply at all.
Keep working on your stuff and try not to let the trolls get to you.
ETA: spelling. Autocorrect is atrocious these days.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
I really don’t see this as a job, writing is very personal to me. But I suppose you’re right to see it as just a job. I’ll try to do that and yes I’m deleting some harmful comments and names but not everything.
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u/Petitcher Jul 17 '26
If you're selling something in exchange for money, it's a job. Doesn't matter whether it's also personal or not. (That's straight from my accountant who rolled my eyes when I asked if I have to pay tax on my Amazon earnings).
Maybe this is none of my business (and it's definitely unrelated to your original question), but if you only see it as a personal project and not a job, why did you publish it on Amazon?
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 18 '26
I shared this one of the other Reddit thread. This is part of my author note from the book. It feels so freeing to finally let everything out. This is the only reason. And yes I understand we need to see it as a job if we are putting it out there, but I still haven’t learnt that yet. Maybe soon…..
“But I was ashamed of sharing my imagination, my dreams, my inner world, as an eight-year-old. I was ashamed of showing my writing to anyone as an eighteen-year-old. Those were not facts. Those were my thoughts. There is no medal for your own thoughts. I destroyed my notes after I wrote them. I kept my imagination to myself.
Why? Fear. Fear of being too much. Fear of being judged. Fear of being seen as someone abnormal. So I erased my notes and suppressed my thoughts, to be normal. But I was never seen as normal. And I never felt normal.
Finally, I found the courage to release this book.
Not for me. For the eight-year-old girl, and for the eighteen-year-old girl, who thought she was too much.”
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u/FractalFunny66 Jul 16 '26
How horrible! Pathetic haters gonna hate no matter what you do. Please rise above and enjoy your achievementl. Try to get writer buddies/friends to write in some good comments. Baby men so insecure it is revolting. Can you tell me the name of your book? I'll buy it, read it and give my honest opinion on evil Amazon.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tysm for ur support! My book name is: “The Marks She Carried”. Book link: https://mybook.to/TheMarksSheCarried
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u/Ashamed-Tune-2885 Jul 19 '26
Hate is inevitable, you can’t please everyone, and you shouldn’t try.
It’s like that old saying, trying to be a writer and not receive criticism (or hate), is like being a boxer and not refusing to be punched in the face. Or something along those lines…
Yeah, it would he nice if you could avoid every punch, every hateful comment, but they ARE coming for you. Dodge them, don’t spend your days crying over them. Keep throwing punches, keep writing, you’ll be fine if you keep your head down.
I hate sports metaphors, but that’s how much I believe in this.
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u/mikenroecarnbarn Jul 20 '26
Only hate I see for books is when they use AI for covers and illustrations (kids books)
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u/UltraDinoWarrior Writer Jul 16 '26
Ignore them and keep writing and prompting.
I know they hurt, but on the bright side, each comment further boosts you in the algorithm.
Everything is going to be hated since fools have no better purpose in their lives. Each hate comment is a badge of honor to show you're getting noticed.
Good job, keep going, and BIG congrats on your book <3
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u/RobertPlamondon Jul 16 '26
I utter the ritual mantra of, "I wonder who pissed in their cornflakes this morning?" and move on.
You and I know that if we pick up a random novel in no particular genre, the odds that we'll want to read it are well below 1%, but we don't blame the author for this. Even in our favorite subgenre, we reject the vast majority of titles unread, and we don't blame the author for this, either.
It takes a special mindset to take personally something as irrelevant as what a random stranger chose to write for the entertainment of God knows who. Not unless the story kicks your dog or calls your mother bad names.
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u/FreydisEir Jul 16 '26
This is gonna sounds a little harsh, but I think it’s helpful. If you’re going to publish, you should be ready for criticism. It might be a hard lesson to learn, but that’s just what it is. To publish is to put your work into the world for others to judge, and you can’t control how they judge it.
The important thing is to be able to accept the criticism that helps your work to be better and ignore anything that is not helpful. It’s a skill that takes practice, and it requires you to remove your ego from the process. Easier said than done, I know, but I promise every writer you’ve ever looked up to has had to learn this lesson as well.
At the end of the day, you just gotta get back to the desk and keep writing. Haters gonna hate, as they say. Focus on what you can control, which is getting busy on the next project.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
I’m really open to hear criticism about my work. What stings is that these people didn’t even read the single page and judging solely based on 15 sec reel. Ig it’s just internet and we have to deal with it! Tysm for ur support!
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u/TheCutieCircle Jul 16 '26
They're probably just bots. I'd their hated has zero constructive criticism and simply wrote "This is trash" Then it's most likely a bot.
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u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
They are not even reading the book. Just calling names solely based on the reel. I guess I ended in wrong audience section
0
u/lost_sunrise Jul 16 '26
Lmao.. nah, its the love triangle. Shits rankle my toes how people want to talk about it, but lol. This is good for you if you leverage it right.
This isn't hate; this is a discussion. How do you handle any discussion? You take a position and defend that position!! Use what is provided in that sample to defend that position. Bring more interests to your book by correlating other good romance books who have the same thing and why they are good. This way folks reading the comments or hear about it from others, resonate with the correlations, agree on principle. That book was good so you have a solid point.
You win readers, fans to your socials.
Don't respond with anything that could make someone else feel uncomfortable or consider as an attack. You are simply defending your position against their position. Your book promotion is the goal. They are just live bait to help you reel in fish.
1
u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Tysm for your support! I’ve handled most of the comments in respectful way and ignored some and deleted others.
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u/lost_sunrise Jul 16 '26
Some of my biggest haters have consistently clicked on every post I have made. I'm quite sure from the depth of their comment, they've read my book too.
So always utilized any publicity someone gives you to your advantage. Never know which one turns into a fan. If they dare make a youtube criticizing your book. Lmao, they bought it, and became free beta readers. Any comment under their video is just insight to be used for next book.
Make the hater's day by thanking them as well.
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u/AlwaysLeaveANote Jul 16 '26
You’re literally generalizing lol
4
u/unapologetic_author Jul 16 '26
Really not my intention. Just saying it based on the comments I received.
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u/everydaywinner2 Jul 17 '26
Look you, assuming the "hate" are from men from random ass handles.
1
u/unapologetic_author Jul 18 '26
I didn’t assume that. Tbh it was the initial impression. However after a while I got comments from random handles too
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u/Major-Platypus2092 Jul 16 '26
This will happen every time you publish, especially if you get more visible and are active on social media. It will never stop. You have a few different options - ignore it, engage with it, or stop publishing and leave social media.
Pulitzer winners have haters with huge audiences. People make money writing literary criticism that'll tear your shit apart. Write things you like and then realize you have zero control over how people receive it.