One of the best pieces of advice I've ever read (and I can't even tell you who said it--probably just about any writer who's ever written) was to not read reviews of your work. A good review can set you soaring, but a bad review can tear you to shreds.
I read that advice, and I said, "Whatever, I can take a bad review. Constructive criticism, right?"
Kind of.
The problem with bad reviews is that they fall into two categories: 1) people who actually put thought into them and do legitimately offer good advice on improving your writing and what could be improved in the story, and 2) people who just don't like your book but can't articulate why and instead rip you up one way and down the other.
So I started with every intention of reading bad reviews with the intent to find ways to improve my writing, but I quickly ran up against that second kind of bad review. You can guess how depressing the second kind of bad review can be. But it's like a car crash--no matter how gruesome the wreckage, you just can't look away. But finally I stopped and breathed a great big sigh of relief. Because no matter how hard I work and how much time I put into making my story the best story possible, there's always going to be someone who doesn't like it. And that's okay.
So the purpose of this post (I realize it got away from me!) was to thank book blogger Pam from Between the Bookcovers for the kind words she posted about The Burn. The book has been out for nine months now, and it still makes me giddy when someone new likes it. So thank you, Pam.
And for those of you wondering where The Reaping stands, I just finished another draft. One step closer :)
I literally just finished the book and came on to the web to hunt down the sequel. And I'm so sad it's not available yet! I thought the book was great. I was instantly into it, cared about terra and the fact that she just didn't belong. I was shocked at how quickly she got over losing her tongue, because that would be awful! But it showed how much she was willing to sacrifice to leave. I'm still mulling over David and how sudden he changed and I'm frustrated because I still want terra to be with him! But that all just shows how great of a story you've created. One where you get emotionally attached to the characters and find yourself laughing when they laugh and feeling lost when they do. I hope I can reenter this world again soon and find out what happens with Terra. Thank you for writing such an enjoyable dystopian and don't let the negative Nancy's in the world get ya down. ;-)
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