New fears

I now have 63 reviews of my book on Amazon!  I am so grateful to all of the reviewers for their time and attention to my book. As I excepted, with the positive reviews came negative reviews. The two people who didn’t like the book were very nice and sent me an email instead of posting on Amazon.   I asked them later to post the review on Amazon anyway, as I want a range of opinions of the book online.  Apparently, if you have all five star reviews, it makes some consumers suspicious, so it’s actually good to have a range.

As I read through one of the negative reviews today, I started thinking about my fears about my being a new author.  The greatest one is that people will think that what I have to say is shallow and oversimplified. I worry that I am taking complex issues and dumbing them down, minimizing their importance and impact. I am concerned too that since the writing isn’t written in an academic style, that somehow it will not be perceived as intelligent or thoughtful.

Many of you have expressed curiosity about my big news.  No, I’m not leaving RISD.  No, I’m not about to be rich. No, I don’t have a solo exhibition in New York City. Keep guessing…