If someone doesn’t like one of my books, I feel as if I should apologize, as if I fell down on the job as an author.
Because everyone should like my books, right?
Well, no. Of course, I would like it if more people read my books, though inevitably that would mean more people would dislike one or two. And I would like it if everyone who read my books liked all they read, but that’s not always a feasible expectation.
People don’t all dislike the same book. For some, Madame ZeeZee’s Nightmare was too girlish. For some, Light Bringer was too complicated. For others, Bob, the Right Hand of God is a bit . . . I don’t know . . . blasphemous, maybe, though it wasn’t intended as such.
I do appreciate the candor (as long as they keep their disappointment between us) and despite my urge to apologize, I try not to take their assessment personally. After all, it was my vision I tried to put into words, not theirs, and to that extent, I succeeded. So, I have no need to apologize or feel bad or have any opinion about other people’s opinions.
I once saw a plaque that I disagreed with when I read it, but now I see the truth of the saying.
What other people think of me is none of my business. I suppose this is the same with my books — that what other people think of them is none of my business. It feels as if it should be my business, since after all, other people’s opinions are what fuels the book market. And writing is my business.
I do know that if one writes to please other people, one ends up pleasing no one, least of all oneself.
Still, I hope you like my books. Or at least one of them anyway.
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Please check out my new book!
“I am Bob, the Right Hand of God. As part of the galactic renewal program, God has accepted an offer from a development company on the planet Xerxes to turn Earth into a theme park. Not even God can stop progress, but to tell the truth, He’s glad of the change. He’s never been satisfied with Earth. For one thing, there are too many humans on it. He’s decided to eliminate anyone who isn’t nice, and because He’s God, He knows who you are; you can’t talk your way out of it as you humans normally do.”
Click here to order the print version of Bob, The Right Hand of God.
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Bertram's Blog 
November 20, 2020 at 5:43 am
For me your writing reflects, the messiness of it all. I have long wished all of it could fit into neat boxes and simultaneously realized it can’t and won’t. Ambiquity.
November 20, 2020 at 7:05 am
It’s why the “stages of grief” model endures. It is not at all accurate, but it makes it seem as if grief fits into into neat boxes.