Thoughts on less than favorable reviews

Defense of our offspring has been hard-wired into the human genome since the earliest days of our distant past.

As authors, anything we pen was conceived in the womb of our minds and as such, we tend to be overly protective from the moment of conception. Early in the WIP's life, the writer puts it into an incubator of sorts, otherwise known as a word processor. Gestation continues through several self revisions and any day now, baby is going to let us know it's ready to meet the world, right? Well, sort of. ...

Even being as ruthless as we possibly can, it is very difficult to find fault in our own creations. Reviews by others is a vital continuation of the gestation period because at this point in the process, our precious babies are still preemies. Only published authors can truly be said to have carried their children to full term.

Here's where evolution kicks in. "What?," you think. "The poor thing hasn't even been born yet and your just can't wait to pick it apart? You're nothing but a fox filching eggs in the chicken house."

Not so. Anyone who's taken the time to give you an honest review is doing nothing more than trying to help you mature as a writer. If you truly have a love of language and the written word, can accept constructive criticism while realizing that it merely reinforces what you've already read in any number of self help books, and above all continue to write (often) - for it is through our writing that over time we best learn how to winnow out the chaff - then it is inevitable that your preemie will remain ever longer in the nurturing embrace of the incubator, maturing to the point when it is ready to go out into the world on its own.

Someday you may find yourself beaming with pride and sporting a pocketful of cigars.