That Thicker Skin...

Oh yes, a mention of thicker skins...it must mean a blog on reviews; well of course it is. I confess, my skin needs thickening. Many reviews are good and I bask in the glory of positive feedback that enjoys the characters, action, and the story telling of my novels, but then along comes the one star and like Icarus, I come tumbling to Earth amidst the gloom of a writer's reality. Of course the sillier, 'Slow read' or 'boring' aren't terribly bothersome for me. They are quick, emotive offerings that one can shrug off - an equal to the work that was shrugged off. Both acknowledge the receipt of services and quickly move on. The ones that pick a little harder, while offering at times interesting or useful feedback, are as often as not couched in needless negativity which as an author that has poured many, many long hours into a work, well, those ones tend to sting a bit. I do appreciate the feedback, it allows me to perhaps do a little adjusting to the next iteration (my yearly edit that I attempt to do to each book) but it means shrugging off the atmosphere of accusation and sometimes mockery of my attempts. That's always the challenge - to push back on ego, bite back on emotion, and find the useful in the negative offering and work with it. Yes...that is always the challenge. Some days it;s just harder to do than others.