When Bad Reviews aren't Bad

A few weeks ago I talked about the difference between critiques and reviews. The main point was that a critique is trying to help a writer improve a work in progress while a review is simply honest thoughts about what the author has asserted to be a finished work (assumed by the fact it's published, publishing before you're ready is a whole different topic).

The topic came up because I am known to write harsh reviews. I got a lot of interesting feedback on this from my writer peeps. I was surprised by the number of people who won't say anything negative on a review. I'm all for the loving, supportive community writers have created. But I think we might be hurting ourselves in an attempt to not hurt each other.

This was really brought to the spotlight by a recent article from Kim Strickland. In her article, Kim bashes Publishers Weekly for writing negative reviews. Her main complaint is that the authors of the books reviewed won't be able to salvage a single half-line to use for promotional purposes. This absolutely blew my mind.

Despite the review picking holes in most of the major components of these books, Strickland wants to be able to pull out five or six words to stick on a back cover so it appears that PW gave the book a good review. False advertising at its finest.

I just don't get this. Honestly, I really gave it some serious thought. If I bought a toaster oven that broke after three uses, I would write a bad review for the product on the company website. Hopefully this would do two things. First, it would disuade another consumer from paying good money for a product that didn't live up to expectations. Second, I would hope the company, upon seeing this review, would go back to the drawing board in an attempt to make a better toaster oven.

And some authors are doing this. I'll point to Emlyn Chand. I picked up her book Farsighted a few months ago. It was pretty good although not something I'll put on my favorites list. Ms. Chand received several excellent reviews for her novel although some reviewers poked some big holes in it (In case you're curious, I gave her three stars). So Ms. Chand went back to work. Despite getting ready to put out the next book in the series in May, Emlyn took the time to offer a free update to her book. She stated the update was based on feedback she received in reviews. To that I say "Kudos, Ms. Chand".

Getting bad reviews didn't slow her down or make her think the series was doomed. Instead she took the opportunity readers gave her to make the book better. I'll be honest. I originally had no intention of reading the next book in the Farsighted series. But now I have a feeling that this book could be even better than the first. Why? Because Ms. Chand is the kind of writer who strives to be better. In fact, I think you should believe that to. If you haven't checked out Farsighted yet, you can get it here. And be on the lookout for the next book, Open Heart.

Is taking things into her own hands (Writing 101)

The world of writing and publishing books is scary. I understand that and I haven't even submitted my first query. The literary world is chock full of reasons to keep your lights on at night and the covers pulled over your head, but for me the worst is the unknown. Like many aspiring authors I ask myself almost daily, “Is my writing really good enough?”

If I'm being completely honest with myself, I have to answer no.

So what's a gal to do? Cry in her Cheerios? Burn her notebooks? Absolutely not!

Just because I don't think I'm good enough right now in this very moment doesn't mean I can't be. If I really want to get better I have to be willing to put in the effort. It has to be about more than just practicing my craft; I have to actually work at it.

Throwing a basketball at the hoop won't make me a basketball player.  Pumping out words on my keyboard doesn't make me a writer. If I want to be a center forward for the Chicago Bulls (not likely since I'm only 4'10”) I need to know how to play basketball, then practice it. Likewise, if I want to be the next JK Rowling (Brandon Sanderson, fill-in-the-blank) I need to learn how to write and then do the writing.

Now, I don't want to give the wrong impression here. I know how to write. But I know there are things I could do better. Much better. Like what? Well, lots of things. So how are you going to get better? Good question. I'm glad you asked.

While I'd love to attend every web seminar, writer's conference and boot camp that catches my eye, my pocket book has it's limitations. I think most of these are very worthwhile, but there is a better (read: cheaper) option out there for folks like me who don't have the liquid funds available.

So here's the plan. Each week I will select an area of writing that I think I need to work on. I'll do some research through the web, the library and any other free/cheap resources I can. Then, I'll post my personal findings here. We can learn together.

Starting next week look for the first edition of my Writing 101 series. My focus will be the pesky transition. I hope you enjoy it!

Do you have areas of interest that you'd like to see covered in the series? What part of the writing process holds you back from finding publishing success. Let me know and I'll try to include it in the series.