Having been compared by two different reviewers of my debut novel, Coming Home, to Alan Sillitoe, and Evelyn Waugh, surely I could be forgiven for basking in the warm glow of popular acclaim?
I thought so; at least for a short while anyway. I wouldn't get too carried away; I wouldn't immediately dash out and proclaim from the rooftops: 'Hey, guess what! I'm the new Alan Sillitoe, or, depending on the rooftop, I'm the new Evelyn Waugh.' I wouldn't puff up my new found peacock feathers too much; rather I'd just quietly savour the feeling.
That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Well, apparently it was.
A different reviewer, whilst not actually saying my novel was crap, managed to give me that impression in her review. This left me with a major problem. Do I now not read any reviews, or do I start reading and if they look favourable carry on, and if not stop. Or, do I take the more mature approach, and read all reviews, glow or sulk for a while depending on content, and then forget and move on?
Alternatively, I could read all reviews, focus on any negatives, analysing the points being made, and if I agreed, learn from them. Having decided to approach them this way I took a deep breath and approached the crap review quietly from behind in order to take it unawares. And found that, she'd picked up on exactly the same points about my novel that I was unhappy with myself. Okay, she'd also disliked some of the things about it that I really liked. But hey, we're being mature here.
I knew really all the time that my novel wasn't perfect; that the three five stars out of five bestowed on it by other reviewers were overly generous. I was just miffed that someone I didn't know on another continent had only given it two out of five when I considered it worthy of three.
Still, you can always download it, read it, and then give your own opinion, bearing in mind that anything less than three out of five and I'll sending the boys round.
Take the rough with the smooth Chris. As a teacher I became aware that I wasn't going to get on with every student. Some raved about my teaching and I'm linked on facebook with them years later and others would say I was terrible. I was the same every day as a teacher. That's the human race I'd say. I do take away from my book reviews, (as few as they are and that's a real 'bugbear' with me as I've given away nearly 2,000 copies and you'd think some would give me a free review for a free book - good or bad), the positives as encouragement and the negatives as constructive criticism - if they point out glaring errors in my work. Keep writing even if all the reviews are bad. Keep writing even if the rejections pile up! I like your work and I've said why. There's millions of people out there and they're not all going to like it. Bit obvious to say that to a man of your intelligence, but I'm offering it up as support and encouragement, not as wisdom. Talk later... off to clean offices for the morning... not everyone likes the spray air freshener being used in the toilets either...
Thanks Richard; I did take it as encouragement and support. I know what you mean about the paucity of reviews though. Good luck with the cleaning.