When Bad Reviews Are Good:
By Thio Isobel Moss
A couple of weeks ago, the moment I’d been dreading since Blind Spot was listed on NetGalley finally arrived—I received my first two-star review. More recently, I received a one-star review. That didn’t feel great, especially since both reviews said essentially the same thing: Blind Spot was too dense, there were too many characters, and it was confusing.
Fortunately, this happened after I had already received two five-star ratings (one rating-only and one review) and two four-star reviews.
Taken together, that told me two things. First, I have an audience. Second, my book isn’t for everyone. Ratings like these serve an important role: they signal to prospective readers who a book is for—and who it isn’t.
It’s an unfortunate fact that some browsers will see a low rating and dismiss a book without looking any further. Others, however, scan the reviews for cues. My two-star review, in particular, sends very clear signals. It’s written in a catalogue style, using emojis instead of bullet points. Readers familiar with that format will recognize it and respond accordingly.
Am I thrilled that this will cost me some readers? No. But am I glad it’s filtering out readers who would dislike my style, feel their time was wasted, and potentially leave more negative reviews? Absolutely. That two-star review is doing real work on my behalf.
Not every bad review is created equal, of course. I was fortunate in this case. Neither review was abusive, dishonest, or focused on typos or errors. The feedback was genuine and well-intended, even if the conclusion wasn’t flattering.
It was also helpful that another author I follow on YouTube, Mandi Lynn, was on NetGalley at the same time and used the same co-op—Victory Editing. She recently posted a video about her experience, which allowed me to compare my numbers to those of an established author in a different genre.
Roughly 21% of her reviewers left feedback, compared to about 18% of mine. Her NetGalley score was around 3.7, while mine was 3.3. On Goodreads, her book currently sits at 3.84 stars, while mine is at 4. On Amazon, we both have 4.5 stars. The similarity in our overall patterns suggests that my numbers, reviewer engagement, and reader targeting are all reasonably healthy.
NetGalley reviewers have a reputation for being highly critical—particularly of typos and usage errors—even when ARCs are clearly marked Uncorrected. I knew this going in and braced for impact. I didn’t receive a single complaint in that regard. The only consistent issue was reader mismatch.
I know I was fortunate. With one exception, every approved reviewer downloaded Blind Spot. That level of engagement is remarkable. When it’s Bump’s turn, the results may look different. We’ll see.
What I do know for certain is that every one of my books will receive a negative review somewhere, at some point. It may or may not accurately reflect the book—but if it’s made in good faith, it adds credibility and helps course-correct mismatched readers.
Sometimes, a bad review really is a good thing.
