NYT Bestselling author, Tess Gerritsen, writes in her blog: www.tessgerritsen.com/blogs.cfm
If you want to be a writer, get ready for editors telling you your manuscript isn't good enough, critics telling you that your book is lousy, readers whining that they wasted twenty five bucks on your opus, the bloggers saying they're appalled you got nominated for that award. There's no way to avoid it. You'll get rocks thrown at you, and you might as well prepare for it now by hitting your head against the wall a hundred times, just so you get used to the feeling.
I don't know about you, but I don't write to have rocks thrown at me. Tess's blog of 2/2/06 You Can't Be A Wimp is an uncomfortable, albeit true read. I agree with her and salute her for forcing authors to look at the tougher sides of publishing. Tess has umpteen books published and is widely known in her genre and otherwise. For her to write this, she's had to been hurt at some point in her career--been stung by a few rocks.
But then, when you think about it, the most criticized book of all time is the Holy Bible. So, who are we as mere mortals? Why do we think we should escape tribulation when God's own word has suffered much more criticism for thousands of years. Geesh ... I guess if you put it that way, a few rocks ain't so bad.
Makes me wonder though, why anyone would have the audacity to think their opinions are so superior that they have the right to "cast the first stone."
Tess winds up her 2/6 blog by saying -- But if you're a writer, you'll keep writing anyway, even if you disappoint your readers or your editor or your agent. You won't give up, because then you'll disappoint the one person you can't afford to disappoint.
Yourself.
I'm certainly not going to throw rocks at myself.
Blessings to you and yours.
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