Bad reviews, vague queries, and the scent of books

Three links that have made me smile this week:

“How to respond to negative reviews” by Beth Revis:

“If there are people in the world who hate puppies, Harry Potter, chocolate, and/or bacon, then there are people in the world who hate your book. Put in that perspective, things aren’t so bad, huh?”

Evil Editor on vagueness in queries:

“It’s like opening a menu and reading:

Entree 1: Ingredients are combined lovingly and cooked to perfection, then spooned onto a plate and served.

Entree 2: A medley of items from our kitchen prepared stovetop by our chef and brought to your table.

Entree 3: Stuff, cooked.

Some specifics about these powerful people: who they are, what they want, what happens if they get it, how the superheroes plan to stop them, would be helpful.”

The scent of books, bottled: