Last night I attended the local writer's group and a few of us got around to discussing reviews and whether as an author we listen to them or as a reader we listen to them.
This was quite an interesting look at myself and I'll explain why.
When I first published my book five years ago, almost six. I was immensely proud of the huge achievement I had accomplished, I loved my book I had put so much into it and I wanted other people to love it as much as I loved it, I had grown attached to the characters and to me they were like an extension of my family. After all I had lived with them every day for a whole year as I wrote and I had been through all of their ups and downs.
So when the critics came out and critiqued on everything but the storyline or the characters, I was left devastated, one critic hated the ending, one said there was too many swear words, one said that the boss Steve was so far from reality it was not funny. The boss in the book is actually toned down from some of the bosses that I have had in real life and yes I drew the character from reality.
I was waiting for at least one good compliment, one that said they loved the book despite the mistakes ( a long story cut short ~ my computer crashed just before it went to the typesetter for printing losing all of the work my editor had done. I had to cancel the print run and the book launch and the media or run with it and hope for the best. I hoped, of course in hindsight I should have cancelled and taken my time. Lesson learnt.) It wasn't to be. The people who loved my book weren't queuing at my door trying to bust it down to tell me how much they loved my book the characters and the storyline.
Ego, self esteem and confidence go hand in hand and some have a chest full of brass and any negative criticism is rebounded by a barrier, however I am not that kind although I have been told many a time that I appear that way and I know that I have written about this before because I still battle with my own self confidence and the older I get the more I know that I know so little.
So we talked about that self confidence as I caught the tale end of the story of Enid Blyton a much loved children's author, I know she was one of mine and it astounded me that she had confidence issues.
Are we writers so egotistical that we require that constant supply of good criticism. My jury is out on that. I have put this out on the world of facebook asking other authors how they feel about it and so many have said that they simply don't listen to the negative feedback. And this is where I was taught that if there is a negative comment or constructive criticism take it on board and learn from it.
However, when it comes to one's opinion who's to say what is right and what is wrong, orange as a colour for one person is abhorrent whilst another may love the colour.
So the other day I received a review and a comment from a reader saying how much they loved my book and how much they loved the characters. Of course my chest filled with pride and after five years almost six, the people who love my book are starting to knock on my door to let me know.
The point I want to make here is that whilst one person hated the ending of my book stating that it ruined the whole book, another loved the ending stating that it was the best part and eagerly wanted to know what was happening in the next book.
Oh yes one person's junk is another man's treasure, opinions differ. If you love a book and love an author. Tell them. I guarantee they will love you for it. :)
Til next time
Happy Reading
Valissa
