The joy of receiving a 1-star review

"Leigh, you're crazy!"
"You're sleep-deprived!"
"I do not think that word means what you think it means."

On a Goodreads scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best, it certainly is preferable to receive a 5-star review.  And when it's accompanied by lots of lovely words like "Wonderful!" and "Entertaining!" and "Best Book Ever in the History of Books!", well, that definitely is nice.

A lot nicer than the 1-star review spewing vitriol toward you, your characters, and your dog, right?

Yes and no.

The yes is obvious.  Every writer on the planet, except for someone like Jonathan Franzen, wants to be loved and appreciated and to have his work revered and praised by critics and readers alike. Isn't that why we publish in the first place - to bring joy to other people?  Of course! So yes, I do want those 5-star reviews.  Keep 'em coming!

Now, the no.

Someone gives your book a 1-star. She writes how she hated your main character.  She hated the story, the plot twists she saw coming a hundred million miles away because that's how obvious your writing is.  She also detested the love interest who was boring, the best friend who was also boring or possibly boreing since she was so angry that she couldn't bother with spell check.  She had to write three paragraphs of how much she hated your book so that she could spare others the pain she experienced.  Oh and yes, she was very glad she got the book as a gift so she didn't have to pay for it.

Is that enough to give you heart palpitations?  Sensitive Author!  Do not fret. If you feel really terrible, go back and re-read some of the 5-star reviews you got.  They're just as accurate.  No, seriously, they are.

Okay, done? Breathe easy. Now, embrace the 1-star review.  Why?  Why? Let me explain:

That reader felt so much after reading your book, she had to tell the world. She had to locate her iPad or laptop, sign in to Goodreads, find your book, go to "review," compose it, and put it up.  Those are many, many steps to take.  Believe me, I know.  I'm a Goodreads member and that's the number one reason I don't write a lot of reviews!  It's time-consuming and for a book I didn't care about too much, meh, I'm not going to bother writing anything.

But this reader did!  She cared enough to go through all that in order to write and publish her review.  Was it nice?  No.  Was it well-written?  Of course not. But she did it anyway!  Let's be honest.  Today's readers don't have a lot of patience.  They are insta-buyers, insta-readers, insta-lovers, insta-haters.  They don't have time to give your book a chance.  They don't have time to waste. Does anyone?  I know I don't.  So look at the 1-star review this way: someone took the time to write something about your book. He or she easily could have deleted it from their Kindle and shrugged, meh. And moved on.

So you touched someone. They got annoyed, so don't do it again, but hey, they were touched. Now move on.  That's it.  Move along and linger no more. 

YA's too dark? Bring it on!

For the past week, the YA world has been aflutter with essays and tweets about the Wall Street Journal opinion article by book reviewer Meghan Cox Gurdon. Here it is for your reading pleasure but I can sum it up briefly: she spoke to a mother who walked into a B&N store and couldn't find a book for her 13 year old daughter that wasn't filled with vampires and werewolves or dealt with issues like cutting, suicide, etc. Where are all the fun books for teens?

Well, LOTS of well-known writers jumped into the fray, providing cogent arguments refuting her claims. Among the best that I read were by Laurie Halse Anderson, Cecil Castellucci, and Sherman Alexie. There are plenty more plus the Twitter hashtag #YASaves that asked people to talk about their own experiences with books and how they helped them in rough times.

My reaction? It's all overreaction. The woman at the store, Ms. Gordon, and many of these writers. First of all, that woman at the store didn't try very hard because there are hundreds of books on the shelves that don't have black covers and "blood" in their titles. And if she bothered to look online, thousands of bloggers would gladly direct her to their favorite contemporary novels. Second, I don't think Gordon was condemning the entire YA lit world but she was making lots of incorrect assumptions. The idea that YA writers and publishers should somehow be held responsible, more so than their adult lit counterparts, is ridiculous. We write stories because we want to tell stories. We don't write stories because we want to be role models or teach lessons. If lessons are gleaned, well, hurrah.

When I worked in network standards, there would be periodic uprisings from Parents Television Council, a very vocal conservative watch group that would freak out about blood on the show "Angel" or sex on just about any other show on television. Language, nudity, sexual innuendo - they would lump it all together and shout, "Enough!" Some show runners might tone down things for a little while in response; some would dig in the heels, but eventually, it all worked out.

In the world of TV, you vote with your remote control. You don't like a show, you don't watch. The numbers get to the networks and they cancel shows that no one likes. It's that simple. The book world is the exact same thing. Vote with your dollars: you don't like a book, don't buy it. Will they go away? Yup, they will. Will this argument- and the one on television - come up again? No doubt about it.

Male YA Author Month at A Book and A Chat

The amazing Barry Eva, author/raconteur/radio host, is holding "MYM" in November. Male YA Author Month! He'll be interviewing a whole month's worth of male authors and bloggers on his show, "A Book and a Chat."

If you've never experienced internet radio, it works much like real radio: Barry interviews an author or blogger via phone, and you can listen in from the website in real time and then call in with questions. You can also listen to past interviews from his archives to get a feel for how he works - and to hear all the wonderful interviews he's done! Like mine!

Barry is charming and funny and makes everyone feel at ease. It's like talking or listening to an old friend, although one who makes all the right jokes and says all the right things.

So be sure to check out MYM this upcoming month on "A Book and a Chat"!

Don't Forget November is MALE YA MONTH