Here's the review:
"Ok I read it. It isn't much of a story, I'm not even sure what happened. Maybe as an outline for a story twice or even 3X as long it wound be good. i don't think you can write a good story this short"
It's a two star review. It's neither the first two star review I've received nor the harshest. The first part is just him saying he didn't care for it. I'm fine with that. What bothers me about this review is the last line. It basically says it didn't matter what words I had written on the page. The reviewer didn't care for the story because there weren't enough of them.
Maybe this guy is a reading connoisseur and has read hundreds of short stories to finally come to this opinion. But I doubt it. I think he would be shocked if someone gave him a list of movies he probably enjoys that are based off of short stories.
But the point of this post is really not to rail on this guy. What I wanted to show is that if you are a short story author the biggest hurdle you're going to have to jump is ignorance. Not just like or don't like. The general public these days does not understand the purpose of a short story.
So while you further yourself as an author, make a point to educate your public as well. Maybe tell them about short stories you've read and why you liked them. Do blog posts on the differences between novels and short stories. That way there is a higher likelihood of someone buying your short story and hating/loving the content, not just obsessing over the length.
