Get in the Ring

A friend recommended a book to me just the other day. And in what has become habit, I went out to a few sites to read the descriptions and reviews of said book. One of the places I checked was Amazon, where I decided to read what the rest of the world thought about the book. Well, the opinions were wildly varied and some of the lower-starred reviews were downright rude.

I'd never really given much thought to other peoples opinions on books and generally decide for myself based upon whether or not I like the premise. Like a bolt of lightning, a memory crashed in on me and I recalled that one of my Chicago North-RWA chapter mates debuted a book recently and the reviews on Amazon were favorable. All but one. One reader wrote what seemed a very narrow-minded view of what the author 'should' have been doing with the book instead of enjoying what she actually did. A nagging sensation brought a twinge of terror to mind.

What would happen if I were lucky enough to get published? Would I be relegated to never reading a review or avoiding Amazon entirely? My temper sometimes lends itself more to the 'waiting outside for you with a coke bottle (the old ones made of heavy glass) and stocking cap over my face' school of resolution rather than the 'everyone's entitled to their opinion' school of thought. But that can't be good, can it?

I applaud authors everywhere for remaining calm and ignoring the hurtful things that are sometimes said about their books while tucking away the useful advice for the next effort. Because really, who wants to hear that their baby is ugly? No one. And especially not those of us who own coke bottles.