Superpowers and Kryptonite
ALL SUPERPOWERS HAVE THEIR KRYPTONITE
We all know publishing is a business. Writing the book is just the beginning. And yet the writing itself is why we as authors are first drawn to the field. Telling stories from our hearts. Creating characters from thin air and weaving plots that keep the pages turning can feel like having a superpower. But all superpowers have their kryptonite.
Until a thoughtless comment or bad review slows you down, like kryptonite.
I broke my wrist last summer…
..and fell woefully behind schedule with my fiction writing. I’m also a technical writer at my day job, and it was all I could handle to get that work done before icing my wrist down at night and self-medicating with a glass or two of wine. The book that I’d promised my readers fell by the wayside, the “coming soon” date on my website mocking me.
Early this year, I started writing again, determined to finish it by “Summer 2017,” an amorphous enough date that I don’t feel hemmed in… And then a terrible review hit me like kryptonite. The manuscript languished, I despaired of my choice to write fiction at all. Fan letters followed, readers eager for the next installment in my series… but still I clung to the harsh words from the bad review, choosing to let one bitter reader ruin it for the rest.
How do you overcome kryptonite?
With a conscious effort to choose love and support over those who would tear you down. Even Superman needed Lois Lane. You have your writing group, your author friends, your family… listen to them. The good reviews, the emails and Facebook messages from readers who take the time to reach out and tell you they appreciate your books… listen to them.
Writing is subjective. Not everyone will like yours. But don’t let their kryptonite stop you.
Katie’s Favorite
PROMO TIP
Summer is prime “event” season, lots of fairs and outdoor events with opportunities for authors. Always-Always-Always remember to smile – a smile is an open invitation to start a conversation. And besides, you never know when someone is taking a photo these days. Better to be the one smiling than the one with the scowl.
Descent
Shea MacNamara’s life just got complicated. When a freak tornado devastates his Oklahoma farm, fifteen-year-old Shea moves to Cape Cod to live with a grandmother he’s never met. Struggling to make sense of his new surroundings, he meets a girl along the shore who changes his life forever.
Kae belongs to an undersea world hidden from humans, where bloody war rages between opposing clans. A fragile peace accord hinges on marriage between the royal families, but treachery and magick lurk in every shadow.
With Kae’s help, Shea discovers his true heritage and finds that his destiny lies somewhere far below the ocean’s surface.
Buy Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble
About the Author:
Katie O’Sullivan lives on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. Living next to the Atlantic influences everything she writes, from her YA series about mermaids to her contemporary romances for The Wild Rose Press. A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and now writes romance and adventure for young adults, and something steamier for the young at heart.
Find Katie:
Website: www.katie-osullivan.com
Blog: http://katieosullivan.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatieOSullivan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OkatieO
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3326303.Katie_O_Sullivan
9 COMMENTS
Terrific post! We all need to take your advice. But why is it one bad review can negate–in our minds, at least–all the wonderful four and five star reviews we have? But it does. Somehow those are the words we remember far too long, and can really undermine us until we can find a way to ignore them. As you say, listen to fans, to friends, crit partners, family. And know we’re not the sum of those words!
I agree with everyone else Katie – a bad review can pull you down so much you forget about the good ones – but you have to concentrate on those good ones – not everyone has the same taste in books, but I can’t see the point in destroying an author’s confidence with a nasty review – I sometimes think nasty reviewers just do it to make a name for themselves because they can’t write a book themselves! I have a really vicious one on Amazon for my first book, they gave away much of the plot, slammed the ending said they wished my heroine had died! (It’s still there, despite me asking Amazon to take it down.) Sometimes one can learn from constructive criticism in a review, but if it’s just negative, with no reason for being such a downer. I’m glad you’ve had so much support and can move on from this one bad review – and I love the analogy to Kryptonite!
I agree with you Katie. Draw on the support of friends and fellow authors. We have a mantra in my house. “No negative self talk.”
Writing or any other difficult task is tough enough. Don’t give negativity space in your head.
Loved the excerpt and cover.
Thanks, Katie. Bad reviews are a bummer and drain an author’s creativity. But, like you said, we have to focus on the positive comments and reviews on our work.
Wonderful post, Katie. I only read my bad reviews once and then move onward, knowing a glowing review will eventually follow. My mantra when I’m feeling horrible over a nasty review is this lovely quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Wishing you all the best! xo
Morning Katie, great post! Everyone has those bad reviews, getting past them is a learned behavior with the support of friends and family. As you said and we all need to keep in mind, writing is subjective, not all will like your work. I have to say I can’t for the life of me figure out why people buy a book in a genre they don’t care for, then leave a bad review. been a lot of that going around. Anyway thanks so much for sharing, glad to hear you’re writing again and super best wishes for Descent!
Thanks, Tena. I saw that you blogged on a similar theme today. I’m not sure why someone would buy a book in a genre they don’t like and then complain that its a genre they don’t like…
Hopefully book 3 will keep flowing and I will make my deadline…
You made me remember a review I received that was so nasty and insulting I didn’t want to tell anyone. As it turned out, I didn’t have to. Amazon removed it without being asked. I thought that was pretty awesome. Good luck, Katie.
I’m so glad you found your way past that one bad review. Keep writing!