When someone critiques or reviews your work
Don’t take it personal,
Even if it is one of those rare instances,
When it is personal,
You just can’t roil around in misery over it,
Otherwise you are in the wrong game…
Understand that there are differences…
When someone says there are editing issues,
They are probably trying to help you,
In the case when the attack is on your style, then that is just a preference,
I remember when I wrote my first book,
I simply wrote it, no one saw it but me…
People read it and loved it…
My first review was a three…
And a very fair three…
There were grammatical errors galore,
I learned from that…
Cause it was a blessing…
I thought,
Now when someone read it and said,
They had problems with my style,
Because it was too literary or narrative,
I knew that was simply a personal opinion,
Yesterday I could feel someone’s pain when the wrote
About a book club member telling her, her book wasn’t edited properly…
That was viewed as a personal attack and maybe it was…
But check this out,
When you open yourself up to folks in any arena,
You had better go in with your thick skin on,
Because people who shell out money,
Feel they have a right to tell you how they feel about your work,
And frankly if you go into their arena,
You are giving them that right,
So as hard as it might be,
Take every review,
Critique,
Opinion,
With a grain of salt,
Learn from what is constructive and honest,
And like so much salt,
Throw the rest,
Over your shoulder,
Love and Blessings,
angelia
4 comments:
Angelia, I said this same thought to someone, if you put yourself out there, that is a chance you will take as an author.
I was at that book club event and it was not as it was displayed. I am so sorry but she did it very tastefully, even though it was in front of everyone. Plus she was told if her storyline wasn't so good she would have put it down due to the errors. But it keep her wanting to know more.
Some people just don't like criticism.
They had better get out of the game then, I had a booksigning that was full of teachers and one of them took me to school, I wasnt even mad, just appreciative and ironically when I prepared to sell my next book she was the first in line with her money...as quiet as it is kept, readers who just want to read don't get twisted about minor errors...
Love
mama deep
This is definitely not the business for folks with thin skin. Great post, Angelia! I'm learning to take criticism a little better. It is hard. But it's a must.
Gwyneth
Learn from what is constructive and honest,
And like so much salt,
Throw the rest,
Over your shoulder,
EXCELLENT ADVICE and thanks for the subscriber button...hmmm going to find it...hehe.
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