This IS my happy place

October 28, 2011 /

Here’s the thing.  This is my blog.  I pay to keep it on the internet.  (If you’re reading this on Facebook, Livejournal or Goodreads…those are mirrored from my original posts which always begin and will always remain on my blog.)

My blog is my little corner in this big wide internet sky. I post silly knitting pictures, talk about my writing life, put up excerpts from my books, and really do anything else that suits my fancy.

For fun.

You are welcome to come on my blog and leave a comment–as a matter of fact, I LOVE that.

You are not welcome to come on my blog and rant about how much you hate my books, and despise every word I have ever typed, including “Chapter One” and “The End”.

If you post those kinds of angry reviews on my blog, I’m going to delete them.  This is my little corner of the internet, remember?  I don’t want anger here.  If you look back through my posts you will see that even I don’t  write angry things here.

This is a No Anger Zone.  I can’t emphasize that enough.

However, one of the very cool things about the internet is that there are a million places that are All Anger All The Time Zones.  There are also places that are Hey, We’ll Take Any Emotion You Want To Express Zones.

If you feel the need to express how much you hate my books, might I suggest giving me a good ol’ one-star smack-down review on Amazon, or on Goodreads?  You will probably be read by more people than those who scan my comment section, so your discontent can be heard far and wide.

Now, before you think I’m being a jerk about this, let me tell you a secret.  I think one-star reviews are sort of awesome.  Yes, awesome.  As a matter of fact, one-star reviews have cheered me up and kept me going as an author.  It’s true.

When I’m feeling really blue about my writing (which happens to all writers–trust me)  I head over to Amazon or Goodreads and pull up my favorite books by my favorite writers.

And I read their one-star reviews.

I read all the angry, hateful, frustrated rants. The one-star reviewers felt so strongly about how horrible the book was, they took the time to write all their feelings down and post them on the big wide internet.

But…I don’t feel that way about the books.  At all!  I LOVE those books!  Those books are all kinds of perfect for me.  Reading those reviews just shows me that something I love, something I and many others think is exactly the kind of book we love to read….will be hated by someone.  Just like my books, which some people have told me they love, are hated by someone.

Which brings me to this point that has been repeated oh, so many times: a book can not please everyone.  We are human beings with widly divergent experiences, tastes, and needs.  Of course we’re going to like different things.

One might even be bold enough to suggest all readers might not be right for all books.  When I read a book I don’t like, the first thing that goes through my mind isn’t “this book sucks”, it is “I am not the reader for this book.”

And you know what? That makes me happy too.  Because I think the most amazing thing about writing and reading is that there are stories enough for every taste and need.  We are all winners here.  How awesome is that?

So, rock on, writers! Rock on readers!  Rock on angry reviewers!

But angry reviewers? Please don’t rock on in the comment section of my blog.  There are plenty of better places for angry out there. 

23 Comments

  • Jackie Kessler
    October 28, 2011 at 11:57 am

    ROCK ON, DEVON!!! I completely agree with you. This is YOUR place, and you get to decorate it however you want! (And you are so darn nice about it, too! Much nicer than me.)

  • Suzanne McLeod
    October 28, 2011 at 12:09 pm

    I second Jackie! This is YOUR place! Not cool for people to come and be nasty. (Hugs). Also, LOVE your books (and Zay), eagerly bouncing for Magic on the Line to appear on my kindle 😀

  • Robin
    October 28, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    I think this is one of my favorite posts. Everything you wrote is so true who wants ugly things about them on there own space, not me. I always think it takes more energy to hate so why waste my time. If I don’t care for a book I think who might like it I’ll give it to them or I donate it. Someone will love it just not me. I apprciate every author,they put there thoughts and feeling down for us to read. I’m not an author nor do I have the creative talent to do so. However I love to read and feel lucky there’s people out there who can write and I get to read it. So thank you to all the authors.

  • C. M. Barrett
    October 28, 2011 at 12:40 pm

    Thanks for this. It’s totally your right to determine what goes on your blog. I totally support any effort to support civility, kindness, and to, as W. B. Yeats put it, “Come clear of the net of wrong and right.”

  • Jessica R
    October 28, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    Good for you Devon. I love your books btw. You are awesome in my eyes and I can’t wait till November 1st for Magic on the line.

  • Jennzah
    October 28, 2011 at 12:45 pm

    your books are fantastic, and i love reading your blog because it’s witty and entertaining. don’t let the ratters get you down! you’re amazing! 🙂

  • Tori Scott
    October 28, 2011 at 12:49 pm

    I’ve decided that people who write hateful things are people who are so miserable in their own lives that the only way they can feel better is to try to make others miserable. So when I see mean, hateful things posted (mostly on the Kindle boards, which I’ve learned to avoid), I feel sorry for those people. Pity them. And I’m grateful that I’ve learned to find peace and joy in my own life so that I can spread that joy to others instead of spreading misery. It’s my way of trying to make the world better one comment at a time.

  • Karen Mahoney
    October 29, 2011 at 9:29 am

    This is wonderful and so, SO true.

    You’re right that it’s not even about getting ‘bad’ or ‘angry’ or ‘nasty’ reviews. We all get those. It’s about the appropriate place to post them. 🙂

    Big hugs,
    Kaz

  • Shanna
    October 29, 2011 at 11:31 am

    I think you’re absolutely right to delete those kind of posts. I agree with you on the ‘I am not the reader for this book’ part. I do read books I don’t like… but it doesn’t mean those books are horrible! It just means they’re not my cup of tea. Well, that happens. Someone else is going to love that book! It’s a good thing we all like something else. The world wouldn’t be what it is if we didn’t. But it’s the way you put it that matters…

    Keep up the good work. Good luck!!! 🙂

  • Karen
    October 29, 2011 at 12:54 pm

    Well said.

    As an obsessive reader, of course I’ve come across books that I didn’t like. (I LOVE all of your books, though!) I would never, in a million years, go on an author’s blog and insult their work.

    …and OMG, I am ANXIOUSLY waiting for the next Allie to hit the shelves!! Tuesday can’t come soon enough for me.

  • Kourious Jorge
    October 29, 2011 at 8:19 pm

    I LOVE your books. My fave character is Shame. I work in a book store and am told all day which authors are good and which are not…It gets old! I constantly recommend yours!!!

  • Mandy White
    October 29, 2011 at 9:35 pm

    I love your take on the one-star review. It’s true; every single famous and much-loved author will have some who hate his/her work. Unfortunately, the more famous you become, the more likely it is that the haters will come out of the woodwork. “I am not the reader for this book” is the perfect way to express what one feels after reading something that just isn’t their cup of tea. I’ll remember that. Thanks!

  • Julie
    October 30, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    Wow, this post was so awesome, I even made my husband listen to it as I read it out loud. He said, “Is she a good writer?” I said yeah I love her books, I have read them all, he is one of those power of positivity people so he totally agrees, if you don’t like something get over it and move on to something that excites you. “you control your universe”, he’s so crazy about it he makes our kids do push ups if they say the word “can’t” my 9 year old is getting pretty good at push ups, and as a side note her creativity is getting a work out, she has to think up ways to verbalize the fact that she does not want to do something as well they are trying all kinds of things they may not have tried on their own before. Sorry about the tangent I just felt inspired that other people like to focus on positive things as well. Thanks!

  • Maria
    October 30, 2011 at 10:47 pm

    Totally agree with you – on both the fact it’s your blog (and you can do with it whatever you want) and on the inappropriateness of posting a nasty review about a book on a blog maintained by the writer.
    BTW, love your books, and your blog always makes me chuckle!
    I’m sure you’re getting a lot of positive feedback on that post, but I’d just thought I’d add my own to it as well!

  • Maithe
    October 30, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    Devon, you are so much nicer than I could ever be. I am glad you can ignore the trolls that are out there trying to make everybody miserable. I love your books and have been a fan for years. Keep up the awesome writing!!

  • Caitlin Conroy
    October 31, 2011 at 6:23 am

    If you hadn’t banned angry posts, I’d probably be going off about those jerks right now. But seriously, why would someone go through the trouble of even looking someone up just to write something so nasty?

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