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| photo by Amazon.com |
Yesterday Kelly O'Connor McNees gave a presentation for Saturday Writers. Kelly's debut novel, The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott is now in paperback.
I loved Little Women when I was younger. Because I was a tomboy, Jo was my favorite character.
I bought a copy for my daughter for Christmas
After the presentation was over, a few of us went out for lunch. It was an opportunity to hear more about Kelly's journey to Publication Land.
One of the funniest tidbits she shared was a reader's "review" that was posted on the internet. They said, "This summer should have stayed lost." She said she laughed about it, thinking the play on the title was humorous.
As writers we have to develop a thick skin. Certainly there is going to be constructive criticism, and most of it we will weigh and ultimately, the suggestions will help shape our work.
But other comments we should just laugh about, shake our heads over, have some chocolate or a margarita and forgeddaboddit.
So true! I'm so glad you were able to join us yesterday for lunch, too! See ya Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteI once heard of an illustrator who drew a tombstone on the last page of her picture book that read: R.I.P. Virgina Kirkus and it got past the art department and made it into print for the first print run.
ReplyDeleteGreat point. Many times we need to listen but others just ignore and still others run from:)
ReplyDeleteI keep reminding myself of what a thick skin writers and artists truly need when it comes to putting their work out there. But then, are we trying to please others and gain the fame, or... are we to stay true to ourselves and hope others like it? Always a tough question that each of us must answer at some point in time..
ReplyDeleteMy advice to all: write the book that YOU want to read, because you're going to have to read it many, many times. That bad review reminded me of a comment a friend made when we saw a movie together after our waitressing shift in NYC. It was a foreign film, billed as a comedy about suicide. At the end of the movie, the protagonist went to the beach to kill herself. As soon as the credits began to roll, my friend said (using her outside voice), "She should have gone to the beach two hours ago."
ReplyDeleteBad comment is a comment anyway - whatever forced somebody to make a remark, bad or good, has to be relevant enough...but oh do we suffer with negative criticism - for me, there is no such thing as "learn from it, apply it to get better" - I rather ignore it! Up for the drinks and chocolate ;)
ReplyDeleteOJ from CastaZero (my blogger account does not allow me to sign to your comments section)
Particularly "experts". Run, don't walk, from "experts."
ReplyDeleteHey Sioux,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Sorry I couldn't join you all for lunch.
And I'm all for chocolate--with a margarita.
Or is there such a thing as a chocolate margarita?
Donna
Chocolate and margaritas? Be still my heart. *sigh* I live in the wrong part of the country, obviously. You MO writers have way too much fun. (I'm going to have to talk to my writers' group about the whole chocolate and margarita thing.)
ReplyDeleteYes. A thick skin is a must. It is necessary to remind ourselves that comments about our writing, be they good or bad, are only an opinion, and opinions are subjective. And then, after reminding ourselves of this, we should eat chocolate and pour margaritas. Sioux, I always knew you were smart!
Yep, I agree with all of the above. We must *celebrate* criticism as an excuse to eat more chocolate and pour more margaritas!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the meeting was great, wish I could've been there (been posting that whenever I read about it on other blogs - I'm sounding like a broken record), but finally taking some time to look at all the blogs I've been neglecting. You're funny. Since I'm not a drinker, I'll go for the chocolate if anyone says anything stinker about my work :-) if and when it would ever get published!
ReplyDelete