|
Yeah, yeah, so yesterday I was all academic and philosophical about reviews. Today I'm ruining any attempt at scholarly distance by running around in happy little circles after reading this amazing review from Coffee Time Romance, which gives Alphabet Soup five cups out of five. Not only is it an amazing review, but I found the definition of 5 cups: "Ultra Rare Extraordinary Read. Not many books will be rated a 5. It is a superior work!"
I mean, how can you not be stupidly happy after that:) Lately, I've heard authors talking about reviews. There are some different approaches.
First: Those who claim they never read reviews. When I heard that, my first thought was "yeah, right!". My second thought was that they lie. Because honestly, we all comb the Interwebthing regularly to search for something about our literary babies. Whether we want to admit it or not. Then there are those authors who claim that you shouldn't read reviews because the readers are too stupid to understand your work of art anyway. To my astonishment, there seem to be a lot of those types in some forums. I might be able to understand the reaction as some sort of defense; it hurts to get a bad review. Still, it's not exactly the best approach in my opinion. Especially not the part where you call your readers stupid. Then there are the defensive authors who comment on every review on the net and explains why the reviewer is wrong. I do see why that is tempting; readers are people, and sometimes, people do get things wrong. But here's the deal: It's the author's responsibility to write in a way that ensures that people don't get it wrong. This is where a good editor is crucial, by the way; at the end of writing 85,000 words, you're completely incapable of seeing what's wrong with your story. Of course there are reviews that annoy me as well (I am only human. And an author), but generally, I find it really interesting to see what people get out of reading my books. I learn a lot about what readers notice and appreciate - and sometimes about what they hate (note to self: Do not end story abruptly). And most of all, it's amazing to realize that people actually read what I've written. That never ceases to amaze me. So, my point? All those authors who don't read reviews should begin doing so. And to the readers: Please keep reviewing. I read them, I learn from them, and I really appreciate them. I'm very happy to announce that second half of Himiko - Himiko: Warrior - has been accepted by the good people at Torquere Press. I must admit that it was a bit evil to split the story in two (personally, I detest having to wait for a sequel. I want everything at once!). But the story improved at lot, so it was the right decision. Still, I'm quite relieved to be able to tell everybody that it will be published in October.
Wow. It took a bit longer to finish Himiko: Warrior than I thought it would. But I got there; now I only have to wait and see if anybody loves me. Uh, my book, I mean. Damn Freud.
Well, actually, it was yesterday. But the good people at Torquere Press were updating their website so you might have had problems finding it. All is well now (and the website is all redone and pretty), so go here to find I Like You. It's your chance to meet Andy and CK again and figure out what the evil author hid in Alphabet Soup:)
... something odd in Alphabet Soup? It's well hidden, but it's there - and you'll find out what it is when you read "I Like You", my sip featuring Andy and CK, coming out this Saturday (May 7 2011). Yeah, I'm a mean, mean author;).
I was writing a ficlet for the Torquere newsletter, and it got completely out of hand. As a matter of fact, it almost ended up as another Sip, but I decided to get a grip and finish it. So if you want to know a bit more about Jeff from Alphabet Soup, go here to read more. Warning: Very hot!
|
CB Conwy
I read and I write - everything from corporate to kink. My naughty fictional friends are always there to make my life interesting. And pester me, of course. Pesky creatures. Archives
February 2018
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed