Four Hard Things I Want You to Know About Writing

#1: Reviews aren’t for writer, they’re for readers.

Photo by Antor Paul on Unsplash

If you are a writer, there will be times when you find yourself either actually or metaphorically curled into a ball under your blankets, weeping.

This is an intense business. It swings wildly between being utterly isolating and putting you smack in the middle of everyone looking at you.

There are a few things I think you should know.

Reviews aren’t for writers, they’re for readers

I’m not talking about professional reviewers here. I mean reviews on Goodreads or Amazon. Reader reviews.

I know. They feel so personal.

Reviews feel like your readers are writing directly to you. Love letters. Or hate mail. Sometimes something in between, but that’s even worse than hate mail. Mediocre mail? Who wants that?

A three star review is the literary equivalent of a shrug.

Here’s what I want you to know: Those reviews are not for you. The readers who write them? They aren’t thinking about you. They’re writing for other readers.

The best thing you can do for yourself and your sanity is not even look. I know how hard that is. As hard…