I am in the middle of freaking out because I'm getting love and hate early reviews for Dark Companion. Now, I'm rather used to people hating me, but I'm distressed that they hate my book because they think the "heroine" makes a huge shift in personality. I think the "main character" acts in a way consistent with the deep damage she's suffered. I thought I was writing a feminist story about a traumatized girl who is targeted for exploitation by selfish elites, and others think I've written a bad "role model for young women." I thought I was deconstructing paranormal mythology, and others think I'm writing "kink."
A teenage pal said I had to ignore early reviews and then raided the fridge. An adult pal suggested I smoke some weed and chill out. My crafty lawyer brother suggested that I try to get the book banned in either Alabama or Mississippi. He offered to write a scathing review demanding that it be banned. Yes, he is my favorite brother.
I'm so grateful to have caring people around me who give me such diverse and intriguing advice. So I've got my fingers crossed for the book banning. If you live in a place where book banning is popular, please consider insisting that Dark Companion be banned. Thanks!
Color trends come and go. Here are some upcoming books featuring red.
GRATUITOUS VIDEOS OF THE DAY
The theme today is red, blood, crimson. Have a great weekend!
And because it's Friday, it's Richard Armitage day.
15 comments:
It's great that you've received some early good reviews, but I'll never understand why some people are content with giving bad/harsh/mean reviews of a book. Rarely do I ever read a book I don't like, but if that ever happens, I would never, ever tell the author that I didn't like it for whatever reason, nor would I post a review anywhere saying it's a terrible book. That's just mean. I guess that goes with the business, but still, can't people just say something like, "Well, it wasn't really for me, but *insert something/anything nice about the book here*"?
Don't take it too harshly. Nobody likes all books and some people just aren't very good at stating why.
As a blogger, I think I need to be truthful and give my thoughts on books I don't like as well as the ones I do. But it should be done with a certain amount of decorum.
Your brother may be on to something ;). Controversy creates conversation which will always leads to sales. (Shades of Gray is a prime example)
Here's hoping your book banning pays off!! :)
Hi, Lori and Ali! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I actually think a reviewer has a right to be scathing: hates the writing style, finds the story plotless, finds the plot badly structured, etc. My dismay this that the interpretation of my character is diametrically different from my intention.
Ali, thanks for sending the book-banning juju my way!
Marta, I just finished your book, and although I personally think it was marvelous, I can see why some people would write a bad review. What I think of as a slow journey to a realization what you need they might think of as inconsistency because a lot of people see life as black and white instead of various shades of gray (as in, there are two opinions - mine and wrong, LOL). Negative and even scathing reviews are good because they intrigue people, they invoke strong feelings and make us want to read the book for ourselves and see what's all the fuss about, so your brother is right. Here is for Dark Companion to be banned by at least one library! :)))Cheers!
Kara, so glad you liked my book! There are different ways of reading, and I'm a little surprised that some people think that every character in a book should be sympathetic. However, I do think your two opinions (mind and wrong) idea works well when dealing with husbands and spawn. Enjoy your weekend!
Marta, I was going to add my nickel's worth of advice but I watched the video above. All I can say is, um....Richard. Armitage. What continent have I been living on? Thank you for sharing that.
Laurie
Laurie, I understand why you would have been distracted. I highly recommend Armitage as John Thornton in "North & South," which I think is better than "Pride & Prejudice," because I think Elizabeth Gaskell's character is for more interesting and substantive than Fitzwilliam Darcy. I also like him in the latter seasons of "MI-5." He's has one of the best smirks in the acting business.
Honestly, the approval of a reviewer doesn't matter as much to me as a reader as how much depth they put into the review. It's not like we all like the same things, so what the reviewer hates may be something I enjoy.
I'd rather read an insightful negative review than something written by a fanboi. The latter won't tell me anything about the book except that some chucklehead liked it and that's safe to assume about any book.
Hey, TMB, you're right, and I've read thoughtful negative reviews that make me think, oh, I'd like to read that. My irkiness has to do with the idea that my book sends bad messages to girls.
That was not my intention, since I believe that our society does a fantastic job giving girls bad messages.
Hey, don't knock it. Apparently there's a buttload of money to be made in giving girls bad messages if the fashion industry is anything to go by.
Next time try to make them all feel fat, ugly, stupid, and unloved. You could be a bazillionaire!
TMB, And if girls are so fixated on image, they don't notice all the big crappy stuff going on. One thing that perplexes me is all the young women who self-identify with impossibly beautiful princess types in fiction, i.e., people who were born into power/position. No wonder we fail as a meritocracy.
Please don't stress over reviews. I love your books. I can't stand when they use "role model" as an excuse. Does every character out there have to be a role model?????What are they so worried about. I was reading adult books since I was about ten. I don't ever remember thinking to myself that any of the characters were role models.
Marta, doesn't surprise me at all. Kids grow up to be what you teach them and what you demand of them. If you don't teach them self worth but demand they not be self-centered, well you've really no excuse for turning out narcissistic adults with a low self-image. YMMV of course, people being as complex as they are.
-Hi, Bethie, thanks! I'm just stressing, but the difference is that now there's a lot of feedback before a book's release. In them olden days, a writer had to wait. I actually love some snarky negative reviews, even of my books. One girl said she wanted to gauge her eyes out rather than continue reading, which was pretty funny.
-TMB, I don't think boys grow up wanting to be princes, perfectly handsome, rich, and entitled. Most young men just want to have a bigscreen with sports and porn, pals who laugh at fart jokes, and microwavable pizza that tastes good. Alas, good microwavable pizza will always be an unfulfilled dream!
Oh that? That difference is just several thousand years of the low hanging fruit principle in action. Being pretty is one of the few things a man will readily say a woman does better than himself.
Everyone wants something about themselves to feel good about. Mentally it's a wash and bigger, stronger, and faster aren't even on the table without an insane amount of effort.
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