Join Sharon Cullen on Romance at Random - The other day a few fellow authors and I were talking about reviews—the good, the bad and the ugly. Of course we all gloat about the good reviews. We spread the word and pat ourselves, and each other, on the back. And that’s what we should do. We work hard to put a good book out there. We pour everything we have into the pages of those books and when someone says they like it, it’s a relief in a lot of ways. But what about the bad reviews? I remember the first few “bad” ones I received. It takes a lot out of you when you read a less than glowing review of your book. You get a hollow feeling in your stomach and your throat closes up the tiniest bit. But there is a positive side to bad reviews. A well-written and well thought out review that pin points exactly what the reviewer didn’t like is a golden nugget to me. I’ve grown a thick enough skin and have been around this block long enough that I can put my personal emotions aside (okay, I sulk a little then put my personal emotions aside :) and consider what the reviewer said.sharon cullen And nine times out of ten I end up agreeing with the reviewer. I keep all of my reviews but the bad ones I don’t have to refer back to. The bad ones I remember because they’ve all taught me something and they’ve all allowed me to grow as a writer. I’ve changed my writing, tweaked characters and plots based on what reviewers have said about past books in order to make the characters more real, the plot more interesting. Praise is good. I mean, come on, we all love a little praise now and then, but for me a not so glowing review is better. So what do you think? Have you ever taken constructive criticism and run with it? Or did you let it get you down? www dot romanceatrandom dot com
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 13:36:54 +0000
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