A Matter of Opinion

I received several new reviews on various books recently and it took my mind down a wandering road. And yes, my mind wanders a lot on a number of things.

A number of authors (me included) wait with dreaded anticipation for that first review of a new book. For some reason, that first review creates the most anxiety. Once its under our belts, we either are doing a happy dance or looking for the nearest sharp object (around here, all sharp objects are hidden during this period)…or at the very least on a negative review, we have a pity party. Some are parties brief, while, others are full blown ones that drag on for days or longer. I had one friend, after a particularly nasty review decide to give up writing. When this same book later won a contest, it improved her mood considerably!

Anyway, back to the wandering road. Reviews are opinions and reviewers, like agents and editors rejection of your work (we’ll save that wandering road for another time), is just on individuals take on a book. I’ve read books that have received rave reviews and won awards out the ying-yang, where I barely made it through three chapters before giving up.

There have been others that I picked up in a bookstore and became so engrossed I stayed up way too late reading and when finished, put it on my Keeper shelf. The surprise comes later when I’ve stumbled across a review dishing the book. See, a matter of tastes and opinions.

So I’m going to enjoy the elation I felt when I opened the email for my latest review. It isn’t the first one for Dogspell, but still made me feel good. Having someone praise your work has a way of doing that. If you want to check it out, here’s the link http://www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com/reviews/2010/05/03/review-dogspell-by-lizzie-t-leaf/

In the meantime, since the first review of Butterfly Kisses is under my belt and it was a good one, I can have my husband dig the sharp objects out of their hiding places.

How much does a review influence your decisions to buy a book? It it is a negative one, do you look at other things about the book you may find interesting before you decide?

Lizzie