All right, boys and girls, it’s hard-lesson time.
Any of you who read my blog know that, while I’m happy to offer advice and share what I’ve learned, I tend to be fairly quiet about voicing strong opinions.
Not this time.
This time, I’m disgusted. Appalled. Shocked.
Heck, I’m darned near rendered wordless, and we all know how hard it is for a writer to reach that state.
But when it comes to authors stalking reviewers?
Get. A. Grip.
Here’s the deal: when you publish a book, you are asking to have it judged. You’re putting it out there into the public realm where people other than your mother/sibling/significant other/favourite aunt are going to see it, read it, and have an opinion about it. Some of those people will publicly express their opinions on the Internet via blogs, Goodreads, etc. Some of those opinions will be favourable. Some will not. Some will be downright nasty.
Tough noogies. Because your role in this as an author? You get to
Shut. Up.
That’s it. Nothing more. No polite appeal to a reviewer to ask them to withdraw their opinion. No explaining to him/her how they missed the point and here’s what your book is really about. No angry tweets or Facebook posts. No sniping on your own blog. No rounding up your friends to retaliate with a crapstorm of nasty comments on the reviewer’s blog/Goodreads post.
And absolutely no stalking the reviewer either online or off. Period.
(Sidenote: The fact that I’m even having to state that last bit boggles the mind.)
Now before you start accusing me of not understanding how difficult it is to have your book receive a bad review, let me assure you that yes, I do. I’ve had my share of one-star ratings and snarkily worded reviews. We all have. And yes, when they happen, they sting. But here’s the thing: reviews are about my book, not about me. And I am not my book. I repeat:
I. Am. Not. My. Book.
Let’s take a moment to let that sink in, shall we? Heck, let’s all say it out loud. Several times. And then several more, because friends, you must, must, must understand this.
As soon as your book is published, it becomes nothing more than a product. It will be shelved (virtually or in the real world) with other such products. Consumers (readers) will come along and pick it up, squeeze it, test-drive it, hem-and-haw over it, and otherwise judge it as they — and you — judge any other commodity out there.
This is what every author implicitly agrees to when they sign a publishing contract or upload their book to a digital platform.
Good or bad, beautiful or ugly, it’s what is supposed to happen.
And if you don’t want it to happen or you can’t handle it? Don’t publish. It’s as simple as that. Pick up your marbles now and go home. You can continue writing your stories if you wish, but do yourself and the rest of us a favour and keep them to yourself, because darling, if you can’t be a professional when it comes to reviews, you don’t belong in publishing.
And now I have a book to finish editing. End of lesson.
P.S. For a balanced view of yesterday’s #HaleNo storm, check out Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. And if you don’t buy into my advice not to respond to negative reviews? Chuck Wendig offers 5 Ways to Respond to a Negative Review.
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