A First Time for Everything

Well, it finally happened. I knew it was out there, somewhere, lurking in the weeds, but just didn’t know at which moment it would strike. After eight months of my first novel, Six Bits, being on the open market, I finally received my first bad review. And to say the review was merely bad is being kind. It was one of those punches to the psychy that lingers until you can somehow overcome and reconcile that it’s just one person’s opinion. It’s amazing, though, how that one bad opinion can seem to carry so much more weight in your mind than the fifty great reviews you might have received previous for the same work.

We all remember growing up hearing someone say to us, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” That may be true on most fronts, but I believe everyone has a right to their own opinion. It’s one of the many ideals that separate life in this country from so many others, and a basic, fundamental freedom I whole-heartedly agree with and support.

But I do find the review process in the literary world absolutely fascinating; how the very same piece of work can draw such diametrically opposed opinions. If you happen on Amazon.com in the near future, take a look at the reviews for the blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey. Four-thousand people love it and 3,500 people hate it. That just doesn’t seem logical to me, and I wonder how E.L. James reconciles in her own mind that wide gap of diversity. However, at the end of the day, they are just opinions.

I guess it’s a bit tougher for writers because of the amount of time and effort it takes to produce such work. People tell me all the time how they cannot fathom how it’s possible to sit down and string that many words together, or come up with such creative ideas to spin into a story. But they are the very same people who will blister that work and not think twice about it. Ah, you gotta love human nature.

I’ve also heard writers comment that people so willing to write such bad reviews have not the skill or creative flair to write anything of their own, nor the courage to venture into the realm of the literary world and the review carnage that awaits. To that, I say, get over it. If you can’t take the criticism, then find something else to do.

After absorbing this first bad review, and making it through the five stages of grief, I came to the following conclusions. First, I sincerely feel bad that the person spent their hard-earned money on my product and did not like it. I would not want that for anyone. Second, I respect this person’s right to voice their opinion, and will use their criticism to improve as a writer. Third, opinions – both favorable and unfavorable – don’t necessarily provide an accurate account of any work. And, finally, I will continue to write no matter what. There is not an unfavorable opinion on this planet that can squash the passion I have inside to tell stories, and I thank those who have the courage to criticize for adding fuel to my fire.