There’s a massive flurry going on in the romance community right now, stirred up by writers unscrupulously dinking around with reviews on Amazon.Com, and taking part in much darker and sinister shenanigans. By all the evidence, certain writers are unwilling to endure the existence of less than stellar comments, that anything less than glowing praise is seen as condemnation.

Like, whoa, man.

I, too, once had a fragile, friable ego.

And then I grew up and got over myself.

Before I finally realised I have to exorcise the characters cavorting in my head by writing fiction, I spent many, many years as a commercial illustrator [and if that don't grow you a thick skin, nothin' will], where all my output was geared to the specific needs and expectations of the clients,…

If they were paying for that shindig, they did indeed get to call the shots.

When my work — in various stages of progress — was presented for critique and subsequent adjustment or correction, I learnt early and quickly to check my ego at the door if I wanted to be seen and treated as a professional.

As I matured in both spirit and technique, I actually began to look forward to those critiques. Each review [particularly the ones that stung the worst] brought with it a chance for fresh growth and development, a chance to make my work better and stronger.

And since the work was being done for them, their needs — not mine — were the ones I had to address.

But my clients had to stay out of the studio while I was at work — I just cannot paint with a critic snarking over my shoulder at each brush stroke. After all, they couldn’t visualise the completed version the way I can, or they’d've been painting it themselves.

I suspect some authors, due to insecurities and/or varying levels of sensitivity, are unable to see that a critique of their work is not a personal attack. But then there are those who can’t stand being told their work is less than perfect in a very public forum — in which case maybe they should reconsider publishing, at all.

Honest reviews and critiques are vital. I crave them. And I recognise that there are times I become so enamoured of my own work that it’s in danger of crystallisation, and I need someone else’s perspective to see it in a more honest light and put me back on track.

If you need some tips on how to review a book [rather than just post juvenile snarks], here’s an excellent primer on that by SF writer Mike Brotherton: A Guide to Reviewing a Book: A Writer’s Perspective.