I saw a link to this fantastic post from author Cynthia Leitich Smith on Twitter today and wanted to share it and share my thoughts.
Cynthia's post is an open love note to first time authors dealing with a bad review. Go ahead - head over here and read it - then come back!
Here's what that post had me thinking:
Dear First Time Author,
You did it! Not only did you write a book, but you are published! You deserve huge congratulations for your dedication and perseverance. Becoming an author is not an easy road, but you did it anyway. Pat yourself on the back, celebrate and then get back to work on the next book! :)
Bad reviews will happen because not every reader is right for your book. Each reviewer brings their own likes and dislikes, life experiences and expectations into reading a book. I happen to think that's the beauty of book bloggers - there are so many of us that readers are able to find someone who "fits" their reading personality and know the reviews there will be helpful to them.
The same works for authors - some reviewers will just "fit" with your writing style better than others. It's ok not to be loved by everyone. In fact, there are some HUGE name authors that I personally don't enjoy their writing style or voice. Even the big girls can get bad reviews!
I want to say thank you to all first time authors for working hard and producing a book to help feed my reading addiction. No matter if it's my favorite book or my least favorite, I salute your attempt and urge you to keep at it! Always remember that you accomplished something not everyone can. We readers are grateful to each and every author for their attempt to entertain us!
I raise my coffee cup to all first time authors and say "Cheers & Keep at it!"
What a fantastic idea and letter! You're right, I may not enjoy or like every debut novel out there, even those I review can contain critical notes or observations/feelings from my side but in the end it is quite a feat to be published and that too needs to be celebrated.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really good piece of advice-I'm not exactly a debut author, but I still wince at some of my reviews-but now I just remember there are readers who 'get me' and my books and I start to feel better :) You should never let it stop you writing the book the way you want to write it :)
ReplyDeleteGreat advice for if and when I ever do it. Still working on surviving the rejections at the moment, and celebrating them with chocolate since so many places don't even reply.
ReplyDelete"I raise my coffee cup to all first time authors and say "Cheers & Keep at it!" *holding up my Starbucks Latte*
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful letter and so true! As Leontine said it is quite a feat to be published! You can not please everyone in life and the same goes for books, but there will always be readers who do love the stories in spite of how many bad reviews a writer gets!
ReplyDeleteSo I raise my my cup of tea (sorry I hate coffee) to all first time authors and say "Cheers & Keep at it!