Reviews, the good, the bad and the ugly

On writer loops there is one thing that often pops up in conversation, and its reviews. For a writer they sing out the tale of whether some loved or hated your work. For the indie author they are particularly harsh. Because we don’t have the backing of big houses in NYC. We’re set adrift to hear about how our books are poorly edited, filled with bad grammar, and just plan idiotic story telling. We are defenseless against the attacks we’re left to endure alone. As indies we do have each others shoulders to cry on, but often that’s with a nice little knife in the back from a fellow author who is one of the biggest critics of your work. We write in a cruel cold world, indie or trad-pub.

My first published work will be out in November. I’m fortunate I’ll be in an anthology with four other fabulous and accomplished authors. For me, I’m the babe in the woods. I fear the moment when the reviews start to come in. What am I so afraid of? My inexperience will bring the book down? I’m unknown? My age? 

Today on one of the loops, bad reviews set up by publishing houses to discredit indie authors, was a topic of conversation. When I read the comments and heard the horror stories, fear gripped me, right in the chest, above my heart. You know the area where all the emotions of the situation seem to gather into a big giant wasteland of convoluted emotion. I’m still feeling the effects, of what I’m sure a doctor would call an anxiety attack.

My book is done for the most part. I did my line edits and corrections. I’ve gotten back comments for my beta readers, and took those under advisement. I'm waiting for it’s finally read by me. I have it printed out, and sitting on my desk. I worked on some corrections this morning and decided to let it rest until this weekend for its final once over, before I send it to the formatter next week.  The cover is done, and now it’s just a waiting game to get it up. My heart does that familiar anxious jump at the thought of waiting for the good, the bad, the ugly.

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