Yeah, this was supposed to post Monday. I’m a delinquent. I just can’t keep up right now. Ever been there?
The funny thing is I almost went to bed without posting this one, too… and All I’ve done tonight is blog posts for guest appearances. Funny–I forgot my own.
Back to the Road to Publication …. I just received another email from someone who’s read an Arc (Advance Reader Copy) of Make Believe. They said that “Last Winter Red” was their favorite story “by far” and they wanted to do an interview with me. Can I hear a squee?
Now, I am not vain enough to think that the other authors are not getting similar email responses to their own stories…. But this is the third response like this I’ve received, and it feels good. So so so good.
But creeping in the back of my brain is knowledge that the day will eventually come where someone will pick up the Make Believe Anthology and love every story EXCEPT mine.
It’s inevitable, isn’t it? Not every story will resonate with everyone. I listen to other authors complain about reviews… and I’m trying to tell myself that I won’t read any reviews at all.
Ugh. Maybe you guys can screen them for me and just tell me about the good ones?
I don’t know. I’m pretty thick skinned, and I do not expect EVERYONE to like my story. I really don’t. I just hope when that dreaded day comes that they have a little mercy and chock it up to “this is not my cup of tea” rather than “this chic stinks beyond reason”.
How do you think you will react to your reviews?
For those of you who have gone through this already, how do you handle the good and the bad?
Jennifer M Eaton 
My friends and family reading my short story as I’m writing it have given comments that leave me afraid that I’ll respond to bad reviews with “couldn’t you be more creative?”. The comment I’m having the hardest time recovering from is “each draft is less cringe worthy”. Going from tech writing to novels is harder than I and my co-author had expected… Plus anyone who tells me “really good” gets removed from my crit readers right now as I know I have a ways to go before that is “publication true”.
It’s definitely a road of discovery. It’s not long ago that I was cringe-worthy (sometimes I still am) The trick is meeting up with people that can help you find your errors, and then find people (maybe the same ones) who can explain how to fix them. A good beta is worth its weight in gold.
Yeah, I’m lucky that I have a couple people who can explain how to fix my problems and when I get further along we will be finding an editor that specializes in my genre and who is willing to mentor/coach me. I keep reminding myself it took a while to become a fantastic tech writer so it is the same with this. At least I love red ink on my manuscripts.
My first book got 2 negative reviews. One said it was too gory (did she even read the description?) and the other was a nasty attack on my skills as a writer. The gory one didn’t bother me but of course, the other one did. A lot. I even considered not writing another one because of it. It’s good that you have a thick skin. 🙂
I’m glad you didn’t give in. I know I will always be growing as a writer, so there will always be someone out there who feels the need to do something like that.
This person was just nasty. Even if I hated a book, I would never leave a review like that. I just wouldn’t leave one at all.
Awe… sad face… that’s why I don’t review books I don’t like. I did once, and I read it, and I thought… how would I feel if I read this… and I filed it away.
Some books have a certain kind of audience… and some people don’t want to be up all night checking their doors three times to make sure there locked… double checking the windows… looking under the beds… 🙂
I haven’t experienced this yet, but I know it will be sooooo hard for me! At least with writing, I’m developing a thicker skin. (Could that please extend to the rest of my life?) But I know a bad review would easily wash away the glow of twenty positives. That, of course, is assuming anyone even reads the books when they’re published. 😉
Like you, I hope the “bad” would be of the “not my cup of tea” variety and not the “this is the worst thing I’ve ever read” type.
Absolutely.
I’m also anticipating those reviews come January, but I was told not to worry about the bad ones . . . it just means that my story wasn’t meant for them.
Yes and that’s totally true. Probably hard to live up to though when it happens.
For all our talk, we’re such fragile wee things, we writers.
On the subject of negative reviews we’re at our fragile-est. Truth is, nothing works to alleviate our immediate reaction. (we are indeed terrible writers and we should retire to the country and grow poodles!) Reactions are like that.
It’s what we do next that’s the crucial bit. When we decide how we will respond. That’s when our training and good sense comes into play.
So, when we’re ready we’ll wring out our hankies, repair the hole on the wall, (cancel the just-add-water-one-size-fits-all-grow-your-own-Poodles-in-21-days-or-get-your-money-back kit) and get on with it.
Ha! I’m telling myself I’ll be okay, but I know I’ll be crushed for at least a little bit.
Like Mary said: Gobble up the sweet stuff and leave the sour goop on the plate. Sounds like you’re off to a good start.
Thanks Joan!
The good reviews are like ice cream covered in fudge, and the bad reviews are like what’s left in the bowl after sitting out all night without being rinsed out. One of my author groups suggests not reading them, or just shrug them off. I know we have to read them, and I’m as afraid as you. I had a two star review on a previously published book out of mainly four and five stars, but the two still haunts me all these years later. We’re going to get them, there is no doubt about that. It hurts, and you’ll swear you’ll never write again, but before long it calls you right back. It’s never easy to get a bad review. The good ones are the ones that get us through the bad. The right attitude is knowing we can’t please everyone. (Remind me of this when I cry over my first one with my new book.)
Congratulations and best of luck!
Awe! Spreading the “no bad review” fairy dust in your direction! I love the ice cream idea. 🙂
I’ve relished the good; I’m still waiting for the bad. I only hope I’ll have thick skin should it occur.
Congrats on the positive feedback. It won’t be long now!
I know. Coming up TOO quick all of the sudden.
Congrats! I haven’t had such accolades with my ditty. And you said you couldn’t do this all those months back. *wink*.
Ha! I never envisioned myself writing decent shorts 🙂