Saturday, January 15, 2011

Never read reviews...

I know better. I'm my own worst critic and I agonize over every book. The fact that I write slowly and don't come to it naturally, but by painstaking labor, makes me hyper aware that I'm undoubtedly attempting to do something nature never intended me to do. : )

But I persevere and usually have the good sense not to read my reviews. They will only mess me up in the head and echo there while I'm trying to write.

Maybe I can blame the fever. Or the boredom of being bedridden. But I read a couple of reviews today.

Stupid stupid stupid.

10 comments:

  1. Do we need to take your computer away??

    I read Death by Misfortune very recently and loved it. So there.

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  2. ~pets~ You must have chosen the one review ever that had something negative to say. You write amazingly, no matter the style or effort.

    Love you!

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  3. You guys are so nice. I've read reviews by people whom I kind of think of as 'online friends', but only very carefully. For instance, I try not to read the comments. And I don't read goodreads reviews.

    Even a positive review can mess me up, though. I'm still learning the craft and I don't want to become too self concious.

    And I've got a fever and had a sort of traumatic work week, so I'm too sensitive to read certain reviewers, who don't seem to like anyone's books much.

    It's my own fault.

    Thank you for petting my feverish virtual forehead.

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  4. By the way, Jason, how do you do? Have you got a blog? What is it called?

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  5. I cannot even imagine that you are still at a learning stage. If you are, I can't wait to read you stuff once you LEARN what you are doing. haha!

    I have a blog that I rarely use anymore over on Livejournal under slavetopassion. Mostly, I am on goodreads. One of the moderators of the m/m romance group (which I have to brag hit 2000 members today!) I write the author news for the group so if you ever need something announced, let me know at vslavetopassionv(at)aol(dot)com.

    You rock, AM! And you have tons of fans on goodreads who agree. :)

    ~smooches~

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  6. I can't wait to read my stuff when I learn what I'm doing, either, lol. Ah, I've seen and I've joined the m/m romance group but, like I said, I'm very careful of how much I read and take to heart there. I like to get recommendations about books and I've found a lot of great authors from that site. But I've seen inexplicable 'ratings' for books by authors I adore there, and some very harsh things said about books I happen to think are excellent. So I'm pretty sure if I read my own stuff I'd freak out.

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  7. "You rock, AM! And you have tons of fans on goodreads who agree. :)"

    AMEN Jason.

    I'm a reader who spends alot of time (and money) on stories, I go to websites (Jessewave, Goodreads, Amazon etc.) to get an idea of what to buy. I've found that some reviews are quite consistent, such as those I have read about your stories. They were always positive, which is why I first decided to get your book (Son of a Gun) and after reading (and loving) the story what prompted me to leave a review on Amazon. (also left a review for "NRFTW")
    You are one of the authors who, as far as I can tell, gets consistently good reviews. Deservedly so.

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  8. I love ALL your books! You can do no wrong in my eyes!! Unless you stop writing M/Ms.. Hugs!!

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  9. You're a terrific writer, A.M., but I can understand how you might feel about reviews and how reviews can make a writer feel self-conscious.

    Maybe get a friend to look at the reviews first. Or even better, to save those reviews where it's obvious the reviewer understands / appreciates what you're doing.

    Then you have a file of positive feedback to read during the downturns in life (e.g., you have a fever and feel awful) when things seem much worse than they are. By the way, I hope you feel much better soon! Best, Val

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  10. Val, that is an excellent idea. It's difficult to find a happy mean. Constructive criticism is SO helpful and all writers crave feedback. Typing away here in the void of my mind - who knows if what I have to say is valid? I do have a friend who might be willing to do that for me. And maybe I can do the same for her.

    rdafan7 thank you so much. It takes so much thought and work to create a review. I am TERRIBLE at it so I do appreciate people who make that effort and do it well.

    sayangsometimes; thank you I'll tell my friends and family that you said I can do no wrong! lol Don't think they'd agree. Especially when I'm in the midst of a book and walking around in my bathrobe talking to myself and forgetting to feed the dogs.

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