On Reviews

A reprint of a long, classic post of mine….

On Reviews

Yesterday, I got my first low review. It haunted me the whole next day, and what surprised me was that I didn’t expect it to do so.

I had gotten lower reviews and middling reviews before. They are expected, and for the most part, desired. A good product, whether book or vacuum, will have people that don’t find it to their preference or standard. That’s a given. And a well-rounded collection of reviews will allow potential buyers get a better picture and understanding. Desiring all perfect scores is unrealistic—check out The Great Gatsby and Harry Potter. Some even give these modern day classics one star. If that’s so, then why is does this particular review burn?

My other reviews have targeted many different aspects of my book.

-bad topic, but compellingly written

-poorly written, but interesting topic

-immoral and questionable issues (x2)

As you can see, people often disagree with clashing points of view. This is how reviews work. Nobody has the same tastes. I understand this.

Even those attacking the grammar are easy to swallow. You know who I’m talking about: that special breed of grammarian that explodes at every misused or absent comma. But they don’t bother me. If they bother you, I suggest you check out this awesome post. It’ll make you think differently.

The thing I didn’t expect—and maybe nobody does—is when someone makes a personal comment about you, one that attacks you as a person, and not the thing you created. I certainly didn’t. I can see the leap of logic this person made, but I’m still unsure how to react.

In this instance, I can fully understand why some authors and writers flip out. It’s one thing to undermine one’s work, but criticizing one’s life can be rough. But, I guess, that’s what this is all about. If you want to be a person who creates something, this will happen. I just needed a kick in the face to realize it.