A Bad Review - Writing Tip

If you receive a bad review, you are in good company. Plenty of good authors have been knocked by critics.

Someone complained to us this week that they received a bad review and were devastated so much that they questioned their decision to be writer. No one decides to be a writer other than that they are called to do it. Sure folks see all the money made by people like Steven King and think they want to be a writer, but when they get right down to it -- it's harder work than cleaning the oven. You end up standing on your head, up to your elbows in grease, and stiffled by noxious fumes. If writers had no calling, they'd be playing with their kids, going shopping or to the movies, or watching the Play-Offs. They would not be staring at the screen until beads of blood formed on their foreheads.

And after all that effort, we get trashed by reviewers? Yep. So it seems.

Remember, One Person's Opinion is just that. One person's opinion. Whether it's a critic for the NY Times or someone who posts a comment in an on line bookstore, it's only one person. Remember, even a bad review can lead to book sales.

So if you get a bad review, join the ranks of folks like Anton Checkov, Ernest Hemingway, Leo Tolstoy, John Steinbeck, Margaret Mitchell, and Mark Twain.

Then smile and go back to your keyboard.