They are important as you can get a temperature check of your book. Sure not everyone is going to love it- but even the bad reviews can have some nuggets of wisdom that can help you fix issues before you publish. Once it's out there- it's out there. Thanks for your comment!

That is one of the problems I see in self-publishing. People either don't know or don't think it is important to get a good edit. Their mom says the book is perfect and off they go. I think it is an education process- and some people get it and some don't. Editing can be expensive, but what is more expensive are the number of people who will pass a book up, or write a review mentioning the grammar issues. Some people say they don't care about the lost revenue, but they also don't understand why they only sold 20 books.

Thanks Don- I am glad my post wasn't too boring (wink). Thanks so much for sharing it!

Ha! Me too. 🙂

Love what Betty said.

LOL. We will always want to tell them - FIVE IS THE BEST. I think this part of the business is so hard.

When I was still teaching classes, I worked with an instructor (named Betty) who would close her class with this gem: "If you enjoyed the class, my name is Betty, and you are welcome to write that at the top of your evaluation. A score of '10' is the best. Otherwise, you can write 'Martha' at the top of that form."

I'm glad it was timely! Funny- on Friday after this article arrived, I received a 2- star review for my book. I had to eat my own advice! It was an unfair review- but I had to swallow it, and move on. NOT EASY!

Thanks Gwen.