The Risky Review

All authors want to be reviewed - if only by their friends, family, other writers, or their cat. My cat thinks I'm great - yet her views are more based on food in the dish and a lap to fold into. Scratches behind her ears get extra stars.

But when you throw your work into the publishing ring (self-pub or otherwise), you will start to get reviews from people you don't know. Sure, whenever you ask your friends and family to review your work, you tell them, "now, be honest." - well... shocker... rarely are they. In their defense, maybe you don't really want them to be honest. And trust me, they can smell that like dogs sense fear.

"He says he really wants me to be honest but why is he clutching the tablecloth like that and what about that sweat on his brow, and... etc. Yeah, I think your book is great. No, really I do. Put down the butter knife."

I digress.

This weekend I knew about a review coming out for Correction Line. I had exchanged emails with a blogger (and professional editor) about kicking off her new book review section with my novel. She promised me that the review would be honest, and told me there was no guarantee of a good review. Sure, this felt like a bit of a risk - not knowing the reviewer from Adam - but I do truly want honest reviews of my work (clutched tablecloths and butter knives aside). So I said, yes. And then I waited.

Saturday morning, while still in bed, I grabbed my iphone and checked the site. Yep, there it was. Now, when you've got that blurry-eyed morning thing going on, it's not the time for careful reading. I scanned the opening paragraph and saw this sentence,

"I don't like most books."

Oh-oh. This could be bad.

I decided to shut off the iphone, and grab a cup of some French Roast extra strong, extra black, extra intense, and steel myself for the rest of the read.

Thoughts rambled through my head as caffeine made its way into my capillaries.

Damn, what was I thinking asking for honesty? If she really trashed the novel, then what? How do I do damage control? Where's my cat?

Well, here's the thing - it turned out to be a great review. She talked about the quality of the writing, the overall mood and themes of the book, the importance of landscape, the lonliness of the characters - in short, she really really got the book. I also loved that she pointed out what didn't work for her, and the challenges of the book, and why some readers might not like it. In other words, a very honest review.

As a writer, I couldn't ask for more.

Read the full review here.