Reviews: Love 'em? Hate 'em?

Hello all,

Sable Angel here to pontificate on the review. I've been doing some reading in the last couple weeks between head banging sessions on my keyboard and have come upon a quandary. Should an author review or not review?

It's a really tough question believe it or not. In an interview of the May/June 2011 issue of Writer's Digest, Pat Conroy [Prince of Tides, Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline and Beach Music] counseled his wife, Cassandra King [The Sunday Wife, Making Waves, The Same Sweet Girls and Queen of Broken Hearts] to ignore reviews. He commented while he would get fifteen great, glowing reviews it could take only one lackluster review to have him doubting his own ability to write.

Must be nice.

The truth of the matter is reviews can make or break a writer's sales. For those of us not in the upper ten percent on the sales charts, good reviews push us to getting there; bad reviews can shoot us down in a heartbeat. It matters.

I've been fortunate enough to have an amazing review for my second Dragon book, Dragons Among the Eagles. I'm thrilled beyond belief and the best part is the reviewer understood the story.

I'll continue to write even when my muse is on vacation because I love telling stories. The characters bug me in my sleep and whisper in my ear when I'm driving to my bill paying job. My brain never quiets until I've put 'The End' on the last line of the last page then the next story starts nagging for its place on the page.

My biggest regret is I didn't see this daydreaming for what it was when I was younger. I'd probably have four or five dozen more books/stories under my belt by the time my first book was published, however, as several characters in my books have said--shoulda, coulda, woulda.

My conclusion about my conundrum... try to write the best book I can and let the reviewers think what they will. Those who like my work will probably continue to buy my books and ask me when the next one is coming out.

Thank you readers! After all, it really is all about them.

Let the sunshine warm your wingtips,
Sable Angel