| On the morning of release day for Silencing Breath, I woke up bright and early and full of enthusiasm. I pulled it up on Amazon just to make sure it was there before I started making public proclamations about it. Very quickly, my enthusiasm turned to horror. Low and behold, it already had a negative review. My knees went weak. My stomach clenched. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. |
I realize that all authors are going to get their fair share of less than stellar reviews. As my most loyal fan and friend, Ashley Olien, pointed out, "You can be the sweetest peach on the tree, but not everyone likes peaches." So very true.
Kami Garcia nailed it when she wrote about her experiences with negative feedback: "Writing is scary and lonely, and everyone needs support (and a thick skin)." The problem is, my skin isn't thick. I thought it was, but it isn't.
What to do?
First, I had a temper tantrum and made a public announcement that I was going to quit writing (if you want to read it, you can't. I deleted it when my good sense returned). Then, I reached out for support and told everyone I knew how I felt. Most attempted to reassure me. Criticism is normal. No you don't (totally) suck. Yes, this is part of being a writer.
At this point, I need to move on. I'm going back to revising The Eve Genome, and attempting to turn it from something "very good" to freaking awesome. I am going to watch every single episode of Breaking Bad (Because that dude's life is a disaster). I'm going to blog just because I feel like it. Most importantly, I'm going to stop reading reviews. Stop. It. Now.
Any other advice for me, fellow bloggers? How do you handle criticism?
Kami Garcia nailed it when she wrote about her experiences with negative feedback: "Writing is scary and lonely, and everyone needs support (and a thick skin)." The problem is, my skin isn't thick. I thought it was, but it isn't.
What to do?
First, I had a temper tantrum and made a public announcement that I was going to quit writing (if you want to read it, you can't. I deleted it when my good sense returned). Then, I reached out for support and told everyone I knew how I felt. Most attempted to reassure me. Criticism is normal. No you don't (totally) suck. Yes, this is part of being a writer.
At this point, I need to move on. I'm going back to revising The Eve Genome, and attempting to turn it from something "very good" to freaking awesome. I am going to watch every single episode of Breaking Bad (Because that dude's life is a disaster). I'm going to blog just because I feel like it. Most importantly, I'm going to stop reading reviews. Stop. It. Now.
Any other advice for me, fellow bloggers? How do you handle criticism?
