There is a school of thought when it comes to book reviews that only five star
reviews are desirable. In a perfect world everyone would love your
work. I, however, am not a member of a perfect world. That’s okay
with me. Not everyone is going to love your work all the time. It is
the nature of entertainment. Take a famous singer for example. That
person may have 5 number 1 hits on their album, but there are songs on it that
did not go number 1. In fact, many of the other songs probably didn’t even
get played on the radio. That artist worked hard on those songs.
Maybe they were some of their favorites on the album. There might be a bit
of a sting when you put your heart into something like that and people don’t
appreciate it. That doesn’t take away from the fact that the singer was
quite proud of those songs. Steven Tyler from Aerosmith was once
interviewed for a documentary and footage was shown of the band’s record
producer putting down some of the songs for the new album. He was
indignant. In the interview he explained that each song is like your baby
that you have created and someone is criticizing that offspring. It
hurts. I can understand that. Anything that attacks your baby is
upsetting. People may love a song he never thought much of and detest the
one he was most passionate about. None of that matters to the
creator. If it’s your baby and you love it…that’s all that matters.
I have been fortunate to have mostly positive reviews. The negatives that
were pointed out were either simply a difference in taste or perhaps something I
might want to look into for the next book. Criticism can be very helpful
when taken in a constructive way. It makes you better at your craft.
I would never have even been able to compose a book if my father was not so hard
on me about my writing. My writing would have been abysmal if my teachers
in school had not demanded more from me. When I have a review with parts
which are unflattering, I take it with a grain of salt and look at it from a
larger perspective. Is this just not the person’s cup of tea or do they
have valid points. Whichever it may happen to be, I am grateful someone
took the time to review my work in the first place and then take the time to
write a piece on it. The most amazing part of reviews to me is that people
see parts of the book which I never gave much thought and find it the reason to
love the work. Then areas I painstakingly researched and plotted out were
“skimmed”. Everyone sees different things in art. You could be
looking at a book or a painting or listening to a song. As long as it
speaks to you in some way, then my efforts have touched your life. I can
think of no greater gift an artist can bestow. As for the reviews with
criticism, each of those reviewers has expressed a desire to read the next book,
“Sapphire Crucible”, which is currently being edited. They couldn’t have
disliked the first book that much.
reviews are desirable. In a perfect world everyone would love your
work. I, however, am not a member of a perfect world. That’s okay
with me. Not everyone is going to love your work all the time. It is
the nature of entertainment. Take a famous singer for example. That
person may have 5 number 1 hits on their album, but there are songs on it that
did not go number 1. In fact, many of the other songs probably didn’t even
get played on the radio. That artist worked hard on those songs.
Maybe they were some of their favorites on the album. There might be a bit
of a sting when you put your heart into something like that and people don’t
appreciate it. That doesn’t take away from the fact that the singer was
quite proud of those songs. Steven Tyler from Aerosmith was once
interviewed for a documentary and footage was shown of the band’s record
producer putting down some of the songs for the new album. He was
indignant. In the interview he explained that each song is like your baby
that you have created and someone is criticizing that offspring. It
hurts. I can understand that. Anything that attacks your baby is
upsetting. People may love a song he never thought much of and detest the
one he was most passionate about. None of that matters to the
creator. If it’s your baby and you love it…that’s all that matters.
I have been fortunate to have mostly positive reviews. The negatives that
were pointed out were either simply a difference in taste or perhaps something I
might want to look into for the next book. Criticism can be very helpful
when taken in a constructive way. It makes you better at your craft.
I would never have even been able to compose a book if my father was not so hard
on me about my writing. My writing would have been abysmal if my teachers
in school had not demanded more from me. When I have a review with parts
which are unflattering, I take it with a grain of salt and look at it from a
larger perspective. Is this just not the person’s cup of tea or do they
have valid points. Whichever it may happen to be, I am grateful someone
took the time to review my work in the first place and then take the time to
write a piece on it. The most amazing part of reviews to me is that people
see parts of the book which I never gave much thought and find it the reason to
love the work. Then areas I painstakingly researched and plotted out were
“skimmed”. Everyone sees different things in art. You could be
looking at a book or a painting or listening to a song. As long as it
speaks to you in some way, then my efforts have touched your life. I can
think of no greater gift an artist can bestow. As for the reviews with
criticism, each of those reviewers has expressed a desire to read the next book,
“Sapphire Crucible”, which is currently being edited. They couldn’t have
disliked the first book that much.
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