As an author, I’ve gotten good and bad reviews. The later always sting, but it’s part of the biz.
Nevertheless, I was curious if a classic, like To Kill A Mockingbird, had received any negative reviews.
To my amazement, it has quite a few!
I especially loved the reviewer who gave it 2 stars and misspelled Pulitzer Prize, or the teen who said it was boring and “there’s barely any actions.”
So how should writers handle such critique?
One author I know says she NEVER reads reviews of her books.
I may join her!!
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J.E. Lowder
I've played bass for Shania Twain, had a black rhino charge me while on safari, and I've been in the Oval Office. In high school, I went backstage to interview groups like Bob Seger, Rush and Kansas, sorta like "Almost Famous" but without Kate Hudson! As an author, I draw from all these experiences (and then some) when crafting my stories. The quote that sums me up the best is by G.K. Chesterton: "Nay, the really sane man know that he has a touch of the madman."
I'm married, the father of four wonderful children, and a proud grandfather. I currently live near Nashville, TN where I write, bike and am always on the prowl for adventure and stories.
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J.E. Lowder 
Writers read books. Critics read critics.
Am I generalizing? Yep.
Write and let it go. Read a review or don’t. It’s all about how tightly you hold.
At least, for me.
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I don’t mind negative feedback as long as it’s constructive-critique rather than just an expression of subjective opinion or personal preference. The negative reviews I despise are those obviously written by other writers and deliberately posted to undermine a fellow-artist’s chances of success – goodness only knows what motivates such behaviour!
This particular line – seemingly eruditely pontificated to the world in response to Firebird – both amuses and annoys me in equal measure: “There’s typos, all over the place… and most, are simply careless mystakes.” Yes: one grammatical error and one spelling mistake in the same sentence… Hey ho… 🙂
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Sorry for the late reply…
Every book I’ve read has had an error in it, and these are from top shelf publishers/writers.
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Yeah, I reviewed Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” a ways back and posted it on Shelfari. I saw someone else had given it like one star. I mean, really?
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Sorry for the late reply…
I think I saw that same review of Two Cities. Everyone’s a critic! 🙂
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