Critics

Shelley posted a comment yesterday that got me thinking about reviews and critics and THAT whole world. When I was writing my first novel, I was blissfully unaware of its existence. When I was writing my second book, that world cast a long, long shadow. At times I felt paralyzed, worrying about how my second book would be received. Meh.

I have a lot more experience now with being reviewed. Sometimes the reviews have been positive, sometimes they haven't. And after all these years, a negative assessment can still sting. It's not like I deliberately set out to write a crappy book or article or column. But still. Being reviewed is part of the game, part of the deal. And at a certain level it's kind of exciting to think that we can all enter the conversation--writers, readers, critics, bloggers.

How do I handle criticism? I don't know. Usually I go eat something. (Today, for instance, I will go to Mrs. Backer's Bakery on South Temple, buy a cupcake with a frosting flower on top, and eat it while wondering if it's bad to write clean YA novels.) But I try not to go negative back at someone because seriously, what's the point? I learn what I can and put the rest in a box on a boat and send that stuff out to sea.

What else are you gonna do?