Sticks, Stones, and Bad Reviews

[rj_anderson]

No worries about that subject line, I haven't personally had any bad reviews yet (phew!). But then, I've hardly had any reviews yet at all... and I've been thinking about how to handle it when the comments really start coming in.

To any of my fellow writers who may read this, whether you're ficcers or in a critique group working on getting published or (especially) if you're an established pro -- how do you deal with reviews? Do you:

A) read them avidly, good and bad, trying to see what you can learn from them? (And if so, have they actually taught you anything, or just alternately exhilarated and depressed you?)

B) read only the good ones, and ignore the bad? (And if so, how do you manage to do this?)

C) read no reviews whatsoever? (And if so, why?)

I'm still undecided about the whole thing myself. I love hearing nice things about my writing (who doesn't?) but I also don't want to turn a deaf ear to any advice that could help me improve. On the other hand, as has often been said, "reviews are for readers", not the author, and many authors feel that reading them is really not helpful on a practical level and is only likely to discourage you and hurt your confidence in your next project. I'm not sure what the argument is for reading no reviews at all, though.

Anyway, if you have thoughts on this subject, as an author or a reader or a critic, I'd be glad to hear them.

Comments

[writerjenn.livejournal.com]

I think the reason people might choose not to read reviews would be to avoid getting too caught up in trying to please others. Ultimately, we need to listen to the story, the story that must be told. Feedback can help us shape the way we tell that story, but feedback can also become a devastating roller-coaster of: "They love me! I stink! I'm wonderful! They hate me!" Some people choose not to even get on that ride in the first place.

I haven't evolved my own review-reading philosophy yet. I'm still a few steps away from needing to do that.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Yes, good point about the emo-coaster. It's pretty hard to stay focused on your next book when you're busy angsting about the last one...