18 October 2010 – dreaded reviews
So…there’s one thing about writing you have to be aware of once you get published: the dreaded reviews! Once your work is in print and available to buy in book form or as an ebook you are opening yourself up to a heap of opinion and criticism, from all sides – professional reviewers; anonymous bloggers and the Amazonians.
I personally don’t have a problem with negative criticism because I figure that not everyone is going to like my stories and why should they? As long as I do the best story that I can and my Editor likes it – then I’m happy. I don’t know why I have a thick skin regarding bad reviews – perhaps it was because my mother was a journalist so I used to see her going through the rigours of having her work constantly picked over and cut and edited. Or perhaps it’s from years of working in the film industry where a thick skin becomes a necessary armour when dealing with many egos? Whatever reason – I’m glad of it because I know some people really take bad reviews to heart and you just can’t…because they’re entirely one person’s viewpoint and perhaps your book just pushed their buttons on that particular day.
Good reviews should definitely be highlighted and celebrated loudly – writing is a tough and lonely job! But maybe there’s no harm in celebrating the bad reviews either…I’m writing this because I came across a particularly robust review (that’s me being very diplomatic) this morning from a certain blogger – beck. I thought it would be illuminating to let you see it so that you can read a terrible review in all its glory! Aspiring writers out there – do not fear these kind of reviews, embrace them. Because as you will see, even though this blogger clearly hated the book – she also deemed it worth writing a very long (albeit scathing) review.
It’s like they say, all publicity is good publicity, so I would like to thank this Beck, whoever she is, for taking the time out to comment so colourfully on my Bride in a Gilded Cage. In the interests of protecting those of a delicate disposition the following review which is linked here does contain many profanities (and also inaccuracies – don’t know why Brazil comes into the review as no – one is Brazilian and it’s set in Argentina & Paris), so proceed at your own risk!
xx Abby