by Janis Patterson
It’s part of a writer’s life. Sooner or later you’re going
to get a one-star review. Expect it, people say. Don’t let it get you down,
people say. It’s part of the business, people say. You’re not a real writer
until you get a one-star review, people say. All of which are very true.
But it still hurts, and it hurts worse when it’s on one of
my very favorite books, one that has more five-star reviews than any other
ranking.
It’s not even what I would call an honest review. The writer
says she (assuming it is a she) gave it a chance, stuck it out through the
first quarter of the book, then threw it down without giving any cogent reason.
I know that she (?) is not expected to give a reason and probably should not
be, but it does seem rather mean-spirited just to say ‘its’s bad’ and nothing
more.
One thing she did say was that the heroine’s name changed
once to a very similar name. Well…. to my shock that is true, and I have no idea how it happened. I went to the typescript I sent to my formatter – thinking to prove
her wrong – and by gum, there it was. In that instance she was absolutely
right, and I would like to know how that particular little bomb got by my many
readings, two editors, half-a-dozen beta readers and a respectable number of
buyers. Gremlins…. it has to be gremlins.
So – first thing tomorrow I must send all the electronic
files and the print file to my formatter and hope he can squeeze in a quick
correction so I can get the files reloaded. For that bit of information I thank
her, as I like my files to be as pristine as possible. Or maybe I should say as
pristine as the gremlins will allow.
At least having passed the one-star baptism of fire I can
call myself a real writer now. But it still hurts.
