I don’t have gator skin. Yet.
But I’m working in it!
One thing any writer has to endure is harsh criticism. No matter how awesome you think you are as a writer, or how awesome some of your readers might say you are, there will always be some who think you submitted the work of a fourth grader and put your name on it. Go ahead and check out the reviews for any of J.K. Rowling’s work or even The Hobbit or A Tale of Two Cities. There are haters everywhere.
My first bad review was devastating. The tenth, just slightly less so. I’m to the point now where I avoid certain places that are known for having harsher reviews, letting my husband/business manager filter them for me. Negativity makes it hard for me to do anything, especially write more drivel, so I have to avoid it wherever possible when I’m in the middle of crafting a novel.
People tell me I have to build up a thick skin and ignore the haters, and I am working on that. I laugh as I write my current novel, Apocalypsis: Book 2, because there are gators as characters in the book. I wish I had skin like them sometimes.
Luckily, my good reviews and supportive comments from readers far outweigh the bad ones, so I keep plodding away, writing books. And I have a few callouses now, making the 1-star reviews easier to manage. Maybe someday I’ll be able to just accept them for what they are: the price you pay for putting your heart on display for the world.
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Angie
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Jul 11, 2012 10:00AM
Good for you! I know its hard to hear haters comments but get up and keep writing! Because I, among others, LOVE your drivel. :) In fact because of you, Samantha, and Quinn I have become a very picky reader and can't finish books that don't flow like yours do. It drives me into craziness and boredom and I lose interest. So you are never allowed to stop writing because then I won't have much to read and reading consumes at least 40% of my time!
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Angie, you are so sweet!! Thank you very much. It warms my heart, truly, to get comments like this. I don't ever plan to stop writing and I do a lot of it, so hopefully I can keep you happy. :)
I'd also take into consideration WHAT they are hating. If they are hating your writing (bad editing or something), then it's a bitter pill that has to be swallowed... one of those "ok, I can remember this and make it better!". But if they're hating a character's language or activities (some reviewers for Wrecked come to mind), those you have to kind of push out of your head. Those are things a reader will either love or hate and no one will change their minds. Reminds me a little of parents who think their children are angels while their friends' parents are like "If you ONLY knew how your kid acts when you aren't around!". I happen to think you are an exceptional writer who writes very true to the times and gives her characters so much depth and realistic behaviors and language that the readers get attached to them all! I know I don't want you to stop writing ANY time soon!!
You are totally right. And I really do appreciate readers pointing out things that need work. I've used those comments to improve my writing a lot. Those kinds of review comments are a whole other animal than the ones that just call me out for being immoral because one of my characters cusses. Regardless, I'm okay with any review, since everyone is entitled to an opinion. It's just that some of them sting a bit. lol.
Some people hate for the sake of hating. You can't win everyone over. I didn't like the way the War of the Fae series ended, but I enjoyed the characters and the story telling. This is why I'm looking forward to the follow up you mentioned. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but anything less than constructive criticism serves only the person it comes from and their self interest. Anyone who bothers to criticize constructively likes what you're doing and is trying to help it be better (whether valid or not, I think that's where it comes from...I could be wrong ^_- ) Keep doing what you do :)
Thank you Robert. I totally agree with you. Well, except for the WOTF ending part. LOL. Seriously, I do seem to have a problem with the cliffhanger endings. But I promise, all will be resolved and explained in the Clash of the Otherworlds. I'm looking forward to getting back in with those characters. I miss them!
Well so far you keep me pretty entertained :) oh & I miss the wotf characters too!
I love your books and your writing style...your characters and stories have me totally involved and I get a "book hang over---the inability to start a new book because I'm still living in the last book's world." LOL I can't wait for Clash of the Otherworlds because I miss Jayne and can't wait to see the rest of my favorite WOTF people. Even if I don't care for a book, I would have a hard time being as mean as I have seen on this site because you can give constructive criticism and not be hurtful. The people that are really cruel usually have an elevated opinion of themselves. If a person's only writing outlet is a review then they really should try and write a story, book or novel and put it out there for the world to see and critique.
Tracey, I'm so pleased you feel this way about my work. It's readers like you that inspire me to keep going, no matter what. Regarding reviews, I think some people don't realize that writers are humans with feelings, and that their work is like their babies almost. I'm not saying reader reviews should be candy-coated to spare feelings; but I agree with you in that they don't need to be hurtful to be well done and valuable for other readers. Regardless, I do appreciate readers taking the time to share their thoughts about my work with others. We only have so much time in the day to read, and who wants to waste it on a book they won't like? :)
Here are a few things that I consider when writing reviews:1) If the book wasn't good, I already wasted time reading it, why waste time writing a bad review? If the book was okay, and I had some constructive criticism, I would make sure to include that in the review.
2) When reading, I don't care if there is a missed comma or something like that. I am reading to escape my world, and to join the world provided for me in the book. It's about the story people, and what/how it makes you feel! (I loved War of the Fae. When I read it, I was completely engrossed and can't remember laughing so hard at a book ever!)
3) Regardless of what I think of the book, others will think differently. The authors are trying to make a living with their books. I would feel terrible if I personally didn't like a book; but someone else would have loved it, and they didn't buy it because of my bad review.
Therefore, I never post bad reviews! I would rather spend my time reading a good book :)
I'm the same. I know there's value to sharing when a book is truly poorly done, but I personally can't do it. Now that I've walked a mile in "writer shoes", I just can't slam someone else's work. But I'm more than happy to share when I've found something I like, because I love finding out about great books, personally. My problem is I forget to post them on Goodreads most of the time. :)
In defense of people who write a bad review, because I have done it, sometimes a book is so bad, you want to spare someone else the pain. LOL! I read a book recently where the main character's name started out one thing, got changed mid way thru, then was changed back. Another book just stopped. Not a cliff hanger, not a "stay tuned!" kind of thing, it was mid paragraph and it just.... stopped!! But the worst was reading a story that kept changing. Seriously, details would get changed left and right! You'd learn something about someone and a few pages later, they'd say the opposite to make it work with the "then and now". But those are rare for me. I, too, would rather spend my time reading a good book than writing a bunch of bad reviews.
I haven't had the misfortune of getting something that bad on my Kindle yet. (Fingers crossed)! But I could see how you'd want to warn the world away, and rightly so. lol
This blog post honestly sums up how I've been feeling all week. Sometimes, as a new writer, it's so hard to look past the reviews and the sales rankings and the stars and get back to work. I've just spent the last hour crying over a review, and this post was what helped me get over it. Thank you so much!
