The Ups and Downs of Book Reviews
I haven't met an author who wasn't nervous about reviews of their book/books. Everyone wants to be liked. It's an innate need to feel accepted. We grow up wanting to please people; first our parents, then our friends, and eventually everybody. From our boss and coworkers to our neighbors to complete strangers, we all want affirmation, positive recognition, and approval.
For authors, this need to be liked is personal. We create characters, settings, and plots from our imagination. Our imagination is an extension of ourselves. If someone doesn't like our book we often take it personally, even if we try really hard not to let that happen.
Every person out there is different. Everyone has different likes and dislikes for various personal reasons. We enjoy different types of music, have various hobbies, are attracted to certain people, and prefer certain flavors of food and drink. A person will try a food and either savor it with an ecstatic "Mmmm!" or make a face and spit it in a napkin. A song will either "speak" to the person or he/she will flip the channel. It's the same with a book. And that's okay.
What is not okay is when a person reads a book and then proceeds to destroy the author with ill-bred comments either publicly on Amazon or Goodreads, or in private in an email. I say ill-bred because apparently these people never learned the saying "If you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all." Now, I'm not insinuating that authors shouldn't be critiqued. I'm saying there is a "professional" way of using words.
And no, I'm not talking about myself in this post. I have received critiques that I've been less than happy to hear, but then again, everyone is different and entitled to their opinion. I have witnessed other authors get their work shredded to the point that they question continuing being an author anymore. Their dreams are instantly crushed with a few inconsiderate words.
Why do these people (readers, reviewers) want to be so mean? Well, I think they are either jealous, think they "know it all", get a "pick me up" from putting others down, or are just simply mean, ugly-hearted bullies.
So, what should be done with these people? I'm not entirely sure. Confrontation? Ignoring them? Bashing their work? Buying one of their books, lighting a warm cozy fire and throwing the piece of crap in the flames while posting pictures on Twitter and Facebook?
One thing is for certain. Authors need to continue with their passions and never give up. Keep writing and publishing. There are people out there that you've already made very happy with your books. Continue for them and for your soul that desires to create. Your book is someones Mona Lisa. Someones Beethoven. Keep writing for them! Write for the reason that started you writing in the first place.
(Any grammatical errors in this are mine. It's directly due to me holding a puppy and cooing intermittently. And maybe a few pets and kisses.)
Heart All,
Kristi
