Are You Dealing With Bad Reviews?

I had started a comment on a blogger friend's article and decided to create an article instead because it had grown larger and more complex than what I believe is appropriate for a comment. Thank you, Auden, for inspiring this post.

I'll quote the original question which prompted this response: 

There's a ton of advice out there on how to deal with bad reviews. They like to say "dwell on the good reviews." What if you don't have any glowing reviews to off-set the negative/indifferent ones?

I've had my two short stories on Amazon since 2012 and one of them has exactly one review and the other a whopping five reviews. I can tell you this much. I didn't ask for reviews, but when I got them, I was pleased. I'm far from inspired by the numbers, but I'm flattered by and appreciate the favorable responses by those who appreciated my work. However, I've not written or produced much these days and that makes me sad.

On the contrary, though a bad review has to hurt, it's not a lost cause, because bad reviews are those things that prompt you to explore and improve! Especially if you're passionate about storytelling.

Here are some questions to ask yourself if you feel you're not getting the feedback you desire. Do you attend a lot of writing conferences? I know they can be expensive, but the advice and information you walk away with is so wonderful! Have you joined a writing critique group? In-person group sessions can help your writing out quite a bit. Don't shrink away from advice and constructive criticism. It's out there. 

I've joined both, the Tallahassee Writers Association and the Florida Writers Association. Both organizations have welcomed me in such ways I can't even explain. You need to be around people who are driven and wired the same way you are in order to learn the lessons and solutions of the trade. These folks are willing to be there for you because their struggles are the same. 

Lethal Injection, The Seed is 7 pages, received almost 400 downloads, and I have 5 reviews, 1 from a relative. The story has no action but is described as powerful. How does that happen? Writing classes, conferences, critiques, and encouragement helped my confidence in putting the story out there. It's the readers who will figure out if it works or if it doesn't. If it doesn't work, I agree, it would be helpful if readers would provide better feedback. Unfortunately, they are not required to give anything of value. It's other writers who will fill that void.

So how do we improve as writers and storytellers? Stephen King advises that we read, read, and read some more. However, how do you take the time to read if you're pumping out novel after novel? After all, Dean Koontz does it! He has an excuse. He's famous and people buy his books because it's branded already. Come on! He's Dean Koontz. 

If you don't have the time to read much, do like I do. Audio books! They are great because I pop them in on my way to work, and they start up again when I'm driving home. 

:)

Hope I've been helpful in some ways.

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Get Yourself Some Sophie Kinsella

After the passing of my husband, I needed something to occupy my time and to take my mind off the deep sadness that comes from losing your best friend. I can't praise Sophie Kinsella enough for her stories, and I had no idea how entertained I would become just listening to these two audio books.

In Can You Keep a Secret, Emma Corrigan spills her deepest, darkest secrets to a complete stranger because she kind of gets nervous when her plane is getting ready to crash, and in her last moments of living, it's her way of confessing all her sins before the end. 

The thing is, the plane never crashes. And as it turns out, the complete stranger happens to be going to the same town as Emma because he's the CEO of the company which employs her. How funny is that? It's hilarious and had me entertained for hours.

The Undomestic Goddess is another Kinsella novel which kept my spirits high during some very trying evenings. The protagonist, Samantha Sweeting, is a perfectionist and an attorney trying to make partner in her law firm. When a simple mistake on her part impacts a client by costing them several million dollars, Samantha has a melt down, takes a train to the middle of nowhere, and gets lost. 

When she stops to ask for directions at a huge mansion, she is properly interviewed and accepts a job as a housekeeper. She does everything she can to not blow her cover. She even subcontracts out some of her duties to hide her incompetence.

These stories are hilarious and if you haven't heard of Sophie Kinsella, hopefully these brief summaries will get you out to the books stores exploring some.

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Recommending Fool by Christopher Moore

I checked out the audio book, Fool: A Novel by Christopher Moore, from the county library and I was surprised by the amount of entertainment this experience provided. The vulgarity promised in the book blurb presented itself nicely, and there was enough buggery and shagging going on, but not too much so that it overshadowed the entire story.

It is the retelling of King Lear by William Shakespeare, yet told from the perspective of a character named Pocket, a Fool. The voice of Euan Morton was the perfect choice, as his English accent immersed me into the story quickly and I stayed there, not leaving until I had to eject a CD in order to insert another.

I highly recommend this audio book to anyone who might become enticed by such a blurb:

Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank.

You won't be sorry. If you are or aren't, please share your experience in the comments below if you've read it or heard the audio version. 

Or just say hello! =)

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An Audio Book Disaster

I'm not usually harsh on authors who have topped the Best Seller lists in the past, but I just finished Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I'm sorry, let me rephrase that. I just finished CD number 4 of 13 in this audio book narrated by Scott Brick and I plan to return them to the library, unfinished.

I can't even push myself to listen to the rest. My O.C.D. is even saying, "Oh, no girl, I'm not going to make you finish it either."

Was it bad? No, not particularly. The writing is fine and the characters are okay. I didn't have any problems staying in the story, but this was only my 2nd audio book ever and I feel like I'm not giving the narrator a chance. Well, I know I'm not giving him a chance because I'm returning it without having finished the story, right?

Things that annoyed me with the narration and the story:

1. Just because a story takes place in the South or Midwest, doesn't mean you have to narrate in a slow southern drawl, good GAWD!

2. The dialogue coming from FBI Special Agent Pendergast: a southern drawl for a stoic character sounds ridiculous.

3. There were too many non-consequential characters.

4. The cover made it look like a horror story and this blurb makes it sound the same. Correct me if I'm wrong.

A small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground.
Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?
Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?
Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America's heartland.
No one is safe.

5. I got to chapter 17 and nothing scary happened. Only the discovery of a dead human body and a dead dog. As a matter of fact, I was bored on top of being annoyed with the narration, and I still don't know what genre this is.

Did I mention I got bored?

Anyway, I feel badly for this feedback, but I'm glad I didn't spend the money to purchase the audio book. I would be highly pissed at myself. With my time freed up from that painful mess, I get to begin listening to Fool by Christopher Moore. It sounds promising as the narrator has an English accent. This is the quote that made me check it out:

This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank.

Sounds like my kind of audio book. We shall see!

Have you ever listened to a book and just couldn't give the narrator a chance to finish? Tell me the title so I don't make another mistake!

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My First Audio Book - Innocence by Dean Koontz

I purchased my first audio book today. I'm listening to Innocence by Dean Koontz. It seems the only time I have to myself where I can zone out of everything, including my own thoughts, is during that time I spend going to and from work.

So now my head will be filled with the voice of MacLeod Andrews as he reads to me a story about a banished man living below the streets of a metropolis, an exile from society who finds a bond with a woman, also dwelling in seclusion as a fugitive from enemies.

You can listen to a blurb here. Andrews has a good voice for the novel thus far and I'm liking his neutral tones. I think I'm going to enjoy audio books a lot. They are more expensive, but well worth it if you're pressing for time. I'll probably get in a good 20 minutes per day, unless I unload the CD and take it into my office. Wait, I'm supposed to be writing code.

Maybe I can spark my interest in reading again. My brain needs food!  Do you listen to audio books? What's your take on the time savings?


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