Saturday, January 11, 2014

I Think I Peed A Little

Earlier today I made a post concerning negative reviews and the ways I (and likely other authors) not only feel about them, but also the strategies we use to cope. Honestly, it was mostly just a lead-in to Tara Sivec's hilarious post on the same topic, including fun videos from her friends and family.

BUT, it (and several other seriously negative shit storms between authors and other authors AND authors and fans (or more likely non-fans)) got me thinking. What about the flip side. Positive reviews---and behavior, for that matter---deserve the same amount of recognition.

Positive reviews often act as nourishment, encouraging new and well seasoned authors alike to keep writing, believe in themselves, and push to be better and better each and every book.

Sometimes a really glowing review will make me feel so warm and tingly, that I momentarily fear I've peed myself.

Okay, not really. That only happens when I sneeze. But you get me.

I've also found some serious entertainment out of some of them.

Like this one...

How can I not be proud that I contributed to the "neglect" of her children?
"Could not put it down. Gave my kids candy and let them watch awful cartoons just so I could sneak in more reading time."---LS "LS" on Amazon

And I do mean "neglect", not neglect. Seriously, we're more alike than you think. How do you think I entertain my child so I can write these books?

Anyway, I didn't intend for this to be long-winded or some sort of philosophical masterpiece. I only wanted to thank my readers for each and every positive review, kind word, and book purchase.

I read every note (and try to respond) that you leave on my Facebook page or on here. Every time someone tells me they've enjoyed one of my books, it means something to me.

Thank you. Thank you for reading and encouraging me with kindness.

All my love---Laurel :)

Making Lemonade...Out of a Pile of Shit

I frequently remind myself that to be an author you have to make like Hannibal Lecter and put on your thickest, flashiest skin daily. People are going to hate your book. They're going to do it without tact by calling it "a big steaming pile of sh*t" or make some reference to you being a "talentless hack" or a "waste of life". I have personally had people say that my characters are ridiculous and that real people would never act like that, so this blog post by Tara Sivec just made my day.

http://www.tarasivec.com/negative-reviews-no-problem/

Ironically, when a negative review manages to bring me low, I just read negative reviews that people have left some of my favorite authors, on my favorite books. So, Tara, your negative reviews serve yet another purpose...making me feel better. Congratulations. LOL If people think Tara's books are a pile of sh*t, I want to be one too.



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