Bruised Egos - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T09:11:03Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:8610?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A9339&feed=yes&xn_auth=noWell, I responded, but very r…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:93432007-03-20T18:09:37.883ZRobert Gregory Brownehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/RobGregoryBrowne
Well, I responded, but very respectfully and I DID NOT defend the book in any way. I thanked him for at least giving the book a try.<br />
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His response was equally respectful and he even encouraged others to read the book and judge for themselves.<br />
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Another reader said she was so impressed by my response that she's going out to buy the book and read it.<br />
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So, hey, it didn't turn out so bad.
Well, I responded, but very respectfully and I DID NOT defend the book in any way. I thanked him for at least giving the book a try.<br />
<br />
His response was equally respectful and he even encouraged others to read the book and judge for themselves.<br />
<br />
Another reader said she was so impressed by my response that she's going out to buy the book and read it.<br />
<br />
So, hey, it didn't turn out so bad. I am a quote collector so my…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:93392007-03-20T17:56:47.771ZBrianLindenmuthhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianL
I am a quote collector so my initial response was to look for relevant quotes. There are a number of authors who are against the idea of responding to a bad review.<br />
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"Some reviews give pain. This is regrettable, but no author has any right to whine. He is not obliged to be an author. He invited the publicity and he must take the publicity that comes along." -- E.M. Forster<br />
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"Having a writer step up and defend his own work is like having your mother come out of the stands and argue with the…
I am a quote collector so my initial response was to look for relevant quotes. There are a number of authors who are against the idea of responding to a bad review. <br />
<br />
"Some reviews give pain. This is regrettable, but no author has any right to whine. He is not obliged to be an author. He invited the publicity and he must take the publicity that comes along." -- E.M. Forster<br />
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"Having a writer step up and defend his own work is like having your mother come out of the stands and argue with the umpire after you are called out at home during Little League. Even if Mom is as right as Archangel Gabriel, it still looks bad." -- John C. Wright<br />
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Over at my site last year a self published author took exception to the bad review that was given to his book and proceeded to make an ass out of himself on the message boards. It can go either way. I think it is probably a slippery slope for an author to respond because for it to succeed it depends equally on both (or all) participants to keep the focus solely on the book and this may not always be the case. <br />
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Me personally I love discussing and debating books so I wouldn't mind hearing from an author whose book that I had reviewed. My only stated intent as an non-professional reviewer (but one who always tries to act professionally) is to not write an Amazon type review. <br />
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I should say thanks to Sandra because regardless of the outcome of any review I just want the author and the reader to come away with the sense that I actually read the book. <br />
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This reminds me of Gischlers recent blog post where he publicly thanked all of the reviewers on Amazon who hated his books for purchasing them. Among all the nodes of stupid…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:89282007-03-20T02:11:35.710ZJ.D. Rhoadeshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JDRhoades
Among all the nodes of stupidity on the Internet, the imdb message boards are in the top five for sheer density of blockheads. In fact,if you take the comments sections of right wing sites like Redstate.org and Little Green Footballs out of the equation, I'd probably rank the imdb boards as #1 on the Moron Hit Parade.<br />
By the same token, I don't tend to get hurt or angry over AOA (Any Old Asshole) reviews.<br />
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People I respect, now...they can cut me to the bone.<br />
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And the thing that hurts worst is…
Among all the nodes of stupidity on the Internet, the imdb message boards are in the top five for sheer density of blockheads. In fact,if you take the comments sections of right wing sites like Redstate.org and Little Green Footballs out of the equation, I'd probably rank the imdb boards as #1 on the Moron Hit Parade. <br />
By the same token, I don't tend to get hurt or angry over AOA (Any Old Asshole) reviews. <br />
<br />
People I respect, now...they can cut me to the bone.<br />
<br />
And the thing that hurts worst is being ignored. I like the way Stephen King p…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:87942007-03-19T23:08:43.114ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
I like the way Stephen King puts it in On Writing (paraphrasing): If two or more people you trust point out the same problem, it probably needs fixing. If one person hates something, but the writer likes it, it's a tie. In baseball, a tie goes to the runner. In writing, a tie goes to the writer.
I like the way Stephen King puts it in On Writing (paraphrasing): If two or more people you trust point out the same problem, it probably needs fixing. If one person hates something, but the writer likes it, it's a tie. In baseball, a tie goes to the runner. In writing, a tie goes to the writer. I think I'm fairly well-prepa…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:87702007-03-19T22:34:01.774ZToni McGee Causeyhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/ecouteuse
I think I'm fairly well-prepared that there are going to be a lot of people who really loathe my main character--she's not polite, she curses (often and creatively), and she's one freaking determined woman going after her goal -- a take-no-prisoners type. She's definitely not a shy, retiring introvert or a southern belle, and there are going to be people who see that there's a female heroine and expect something more... demure.<br />
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The thing is, I set out to create a character who is polarizing…
I think I'm fairly well-prepared that there are going to be a lot of people who really loathe my main character--she's not polite, she curses (often and creatively), and she's one freaking determined woman going after her goal -- a take-no-prisoners type. She's definitely not a shy, retiring introvert or a southern belle, and there are going to be people who see that there's a female heroine and expect something more... demure. <br />
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The thing is, I set out to create a character who is polarizing in her own world, so I have to expect that to happen with readers. I'd rather have strong reactions -- even very strong negative reactions. If I'm getting the extremes in both directions, then I will feel like it worked. (Masochistic? Probably.) <br />
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A friend of mine (a fairly successful screenwriter in L.A.) once handed me a script he'd butchered. I'd read an earlier draft which had been brilliant and then the last one... massively sucked. This was something he was doing on spec and I had to be diplomatic, but honest with him (which ticked him off for a while, but we recovered)... and I asked him why he'd gone down this path when I knew several other people had loved the previous draft. He didn't have to adhere to anyone's notes. Turns out, he'd had one friend who had hated the other draft and it had bugged him and bugged him and he'd rewritten trying to win that guy over. (The guy still hated it.) Then he said, "You know, as writers, we're entertainers, and we want to please everyone. And unless we're super successful, we're always looking for that one thing that's going to make us even better, so we tend to listen to the negative so we can try to fix that instead of listening to the positive and capitalizing on that, instead." <br />
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One of the very first readers I had (someone who was very powerful in the publishing industry) read the first three chapters and sent me an email: he loved the writing, thought it was vivid, hysterical, well-done, etc., and then said he absolutely hated 'that woman' and didn't want to spend another 20 seconds in her head. The next day, my current agent called and wanted to represent it and then sold it in a three-book pre-empt, based just on the chapters and synopsis. I printed out the first person's response to remind myself of how subjective this business really was. <br />
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Imagine how boring it would be if we all liked the same things all the time. yech. So, I'm trying to force myself to be as brave as my character and not care. Dunno if it'll work. If I disappear next week and am in a fetal position in a corner, you'll know why. Yeah. And I'd much rather hea…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:86922007-03-19T19:25:49.719ZKeith Snyderhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/noteon
Yeah. And I'd much rather hear snark than crickets.<br />
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Though not <i>exclusively</i> snark.
Yeah. And I'd much rather hear snark than crickets.<br />
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Though not <i>exclusively</i> snark. Keith, excellent idea. I deci…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:86902007-03-19T19:22:11.624ZRobert Gregory Brownehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/RobGregoryBrowne
Keith, excellent idea. I decided to go to the forum in question and respond to the critic -- NOT in a negative way. I simply told him I was sorry he didn't enjoy the book and thanked him for giving a debut author a try.<br />
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It'll be interesting to see if he responds, but no matter. I truly think everyone has a right to their opinion and I would never dream of attacking the guy. Such moves are silly and counterproductive.<br />
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It was nice, however, to give him my thanks. After all, he didn't have to…
Keith, excellent idea. I decided to go to the forum in question and respond to the critic -- NOT in a negative way. I simply told him I was sorry he didn't enjoy the book and thanked him for giving a debut author a try.<br />
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It'll be interesting to see if he responds, but no matter. I truly think everyone has a right to their opinion and I would never dream of attacking the guy. Such moves are silly and counterproductive.<br />
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It was nice, however, to give him my thanks. After all, he didn't have to read the book and I definitely owe him for that. This just happened to me yest…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:86772007-03-19T18:47:00.910ZKeith Snyderhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/noteon
This just happened to me yesterday, actually. CREDO (my last short film) just went online, and has been generating theological discussion at <a href="http://www.reallivepreacher.com/node/886">reallivepreacher.com</a>. One of the people in the discussion said "Meh," and went on to compare my composing skills to Andrew Lloyd Webber.<br />
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Now, I've been called lots of bad things. But that's just wrong.<br />
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I thought about it overnight, and decided that since the conversation on the Internet IS two-way,…
This just happened to me yesterday, actually. CREDO (my last short film) just went online, and has been generating theological discussion at <a href="http://www.reallivepreacher.com/node/886">reallivepreacher.com</a>. One of the people in the discussion said "Meh," and went on to compare my composing skills to Andrew Lloyd Webber.<br />
<br />
Now, I've been called lots of bad things. But that's just wrong.<br />
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I thought about it overnight, and decided that since the conversation on the Internet IS two-way, I'd see if I could stop being just an abstraction to him and let him see a person instead. It worked great. The conversation got back on the rails, and he introduced a new and thoughtful discussion that was actually about the film's content.<br />
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On top of that, he offered me the same courtesy: Now I see him as a person too, not just as the guy who made the snarky comment.<br />
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FWIW. YMMV. IRDDU. Just wait till the Amazon rea…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:86642007-03-19T18:11:50.286ZLibby Hellmannhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Libbyfh
Just wait till the Amazon reader reviews come in. The snarky comments can make you want to dive under the covers and stay there till next Christmas. <br />
It's always hard... at least for me... you do your best, you put everything you have into your story, and then you take a deep breath. And pray.
Just wait till the Amazon reader reviews come in. The snarky comments can make you want to dive under the covers and stay there till next Christmas. <br />
It's always hard... at least for me... you do your best, you put everything you have into your story, and then you take a deep breath. And pray. Yeah, Stuart's got a great se…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:86612007-03-19T17:59:49.034ZSandra Ruttanhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Sandramre
Yeah, Stuart's got a great sense of humour. I'm told it's an inevitability anyway - all Scottish male authors get measured against Rankin. <br />
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I didn't think the ending of your book sucked. So whenever anyone knocks something you just tell yourself, "Sandra didn't think so." That's all that matters. ;)
Yeah, Stuart's got a great sense of humour. I'm told it's an inevitability anyway - all Scottish male authors get measured against Rankin. <br />
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I didn't think the ending of your book sucked. So whenever anyone knocks something you just tell yourself, "Sandra didn't think so." That's all that matters. ;)