Monday, July 25, 2011

Reviews: Good, Bad, Hurtful?

I read once that most writers are introverts, shy, and withdrawn. That the creative process is such a personal journey for an author each book penned (good, bad, ugly) is an extension of them. Criticize their work and it's like you cut off an arm, a leg, some core piece of them. Think of your favorite doll as a child or toy truck. Think of how you loved and adored it with all your heart. Remember the fantasies you created for it, the world you escape into when you held it or ran it across the carpet. Then think of a person, a stranger, coming in with an axe or hammer and smashing it to pieces in front of you. Can you feel where I'm coming from?

That's why it comes as no surprise that I still cringe when I get the 'hated it!' review.

I've been published since 2008, but I started writing free stories in 2005. One would think that at this point I would have teflon skin. I wish. I've not had a lot of scathing reviews, and I freely admit that some of the unfavorable ones I received over the years shared insight into my stories that I was too close to see. But through it all, my golden rule is to sit back and read reviews in small doses as they trickle in but never engage. Nope, I can cry to my friends, and carry on.