What I Learned from Getting My First 3-Star Review on Amazon (and Why I Deserved It)

I Got a 3 Star Review and Lived to Tell the Tale

Monique had just dropped. I was feeling smug. Reviews were trickling in: 4 stars, 5 stars. I was dancing around like I was about to win a Pulitzer for a book about a North London prostitute. Then it happened. A 3 star review. And yes, I spiralled. Not publicly (until now), but there was definitely wine, some righteous indignation, and a ranty Google search or five. I was also glad to have connected with other Authors Getting Bad Reviews on Amazon.

I’d joined Goodreads like every wide-eyed indie author does, thinking it was a safe place to share stories, connect with readers, and get some feedback. What I didn’t realise was that asking strangers to review your work is like asking a stranger to babysit your cat. They don’t know the vibe, they might be dog people, and suddenly your review page is covered in metaphorical hairballs.

Why the 3 Star Review Hurt

It wasn’t a bad review. It didn’t even have harsh feedback. But in my head, anything less than 4 stars was a declaration of war. And this one felt personal. Not because it was, but because I made the rookie mistake of confusing genre misalignment with actual critique.

Let’s break it down.

• The reviewer wasn’t into gritty stories about sex work

• Monique is exactly that

• So of course she didn’t love it

• But instead of saying, “This just isn’t for me,” she gave it a limp 3 stars and moved on. And I lost my shit

Lesson One: Stop Asking Randoms for Reviews

I handed out review copies like Oprah. You get a PDF. You get a PDF. No consideration for genre preferences, tone, or whether they even liked fiction. Some were romance writers. Some were YA readers. One was a sci-fi fan who didn’t like real people.

I thought Goodreads was a review buffet. Turns out it’s more like Tinder. If you match with the wrong reader, you’re both going to have a bad time. It is a great place to connect with other authors getting bad reviews on Amazon if you want to feel less alone.

Lesson Two: A 3 Star Isn’t a Death Sentence

In hindsight, 3 stars is “I liked it, but wouldn’t recommend it.” That’s not bad. That’s your weird cousin who says, “It was fine” at every family dinner. Not everyone’s going to love your book. Some will feel meh. That’s normal. That’s life.

Also, readers are not literary critics. They’re mood-driven, time-strapped, and half the time they’re reviewing while scrolling Instagram. Don’t take it personally. Unless it’s a 1 star with a detailed takedown, in which case, drink two bottles of Chianti and screenshot it for your memoir.

Lesson Three: Bad Reviews Build Better Authors

It’s easy to bathe in the warm glow of 5 star praise. But that won’t make you better. The bad ones? The brutal ones? Those are little gifts from the universe that say, “Hey, you could tighten up Chapter 3 and stop overwriting sex scenes.”

Or they’re just bitter randos. Either way, take what you need and delete the rest from your brain.

My New Review Philosophy

• 5 stars: Loved it, recommend it

• 4 stars: Liked it a lot

• 3 stars: Wasn’t offended

• 2 stars: Would rather have read the back of a cereal box

• 1 star: This book sucks, I hated it, I want those hours of my life back

I now aim to land somewhere between 4 and 5 stars from people who actually enjoy the genre. That’s it. That’s the sweet spot. Everything else is background noise.

Final Thoughts from the Emotional Wreckage

If you’re an author panicking over your first 3 star review, welcome to the club. You’re officially a real writer now. It means your book is out there and that someone read it. It means you had the guts to publish.

That’s more than most ever do.

Now go pour yourself a drink, plot your next book, and get ready. That 1 star review is coming eventually. When it does, we’ll laugh about it together and you’ll realise there are plenty of authors getting bad reviews on amazon.

Preferably over Chianti.

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