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Fiction Debut Author Roundtable
11.
AOTW: What was it like to have your book reviewed by critics? Or to hear from readers?
Jill Bialosky: Another writer once told me that if you believe the good reviews that means you must believe the bad ones. That seemed like really sane advice to me. In other words, it's so hard to keep in mind that a reviewer is only one voice, one interpretation, one stance, and yet we all know how much power a reviewer in, say, The New York Times has in driving a book. The truth is that the anticipation of how a book will do makes me feel slightly ill. But reading a really smart review of one's work is so gratifying, as is hearing positive things said from readers. The other day a mother from my son's school introduced herself and told me she has one of my poems that appeared in The New Yorker years ago posted on her refrigerator. She just recently made the connection that I was the author of the poem. To me, that's the highest form of gratitude a poet could ask for.
Jay Nussbaum: Most critics do their job sincerely and with good intentions. There aren't really a lot of Ellsworth Tooheys out there. Also, they're such intelligent individuals that I trust them to be aware of my martial arts training, and to take into account how easy it is in the information age to track someone down. As for my readers, they're family. They're why I write, and I'm eager to hear from them all.
Gary Shteyngart: My book has not yet been reviewed by critics but the nice advance blurbs I've seen popping up in magazines have been encouraging. I've given several readings and Russian immigrants have come up to me to tell me how much they appreciate the fact that I wrote a book on our common experience. I'm very touched when that happens.
Arthur Phillips: Well, much as I'd like to say something intelligent, balanced, or wise, all I can say truthfully so far is, "Good reviews are pleasures, and written by geniuses. Bad reviews are unpleasant and cruel, written by demons." Someday I hope to revise this, but I'm still working on growing a nice thick hide.
Ad Hudler: I have an agreement with my editor and agent only to show me positive reviews unless there is something said that I can learn from. I have very thin skin, and I obsess about every negative word. Because Househusband was so autobiographical, I was especially sensitive to reviews of that book. Though most reviewers have gushed, one simply hated the main character. "Hey!" I yelled out loud to myself "That's me you're talking about!"
Karen V. Siplin: When I learned Cosmopolitan magazine wanted to list my book in their May 2002 issue, I was speechless. When people respond positively to my work, it feels wonderful. When I received a negative review it was painful for about an hour. But I reminded myself that a year ago I didn't even think I would be published, let alone receiving reviews.
Stella Pope Duarte: At first I was very nervous, and I didn't want to see anything negative. My books, especially, Let Their Spirits Dance, is getting rave reviews, so I haven't suffered much over this. Still, I hold my breath when I hear that another review has been done.
Jill A. Davis: It's very gratifying to hear from people who've read the book. Mainly, I'm always surprised that people take the time to write.
Ali Smith: Reviews: I ignore them as much as possible, because it can go so easily, and so puzzlingly, either way, it's a volatile thing and also because, again, it makes me self conscious and being self conscious means there's a self in between writer and book, and I'd have to go to hospital to have the self removed by qualified surgeons before I could write properly again. But when I can't ignore it I read it once and throw it away regardless of what it says. Letters are different. I always answer them with my unremoved self. For Hotel World a lot of the letters I've had have been about people's own private grief at losing someone, and are very moving.
Kate Manning: Having my book reviewed by critics was like being eviscerated and massaged at the same time. I'm the sort who only remember the slings and arrows, not the milk and honey. Since Whitegirl is about race, not the safest subject in the world, I knew I was setting myself up for trouble, that readers would, to some degree, judge the book based on their own experiences and racial baggage. I got some raves, some pans. The raves made me happy. The pans sent me into tailspins of despair. I prefer readers to critics, truthfully. Readers are refreshingly honest. They like a book or don't, and unlike critics, have no personal reputation to advance. I have enjoyed hearing from readers very much, and hope to hear more.
Terrence Cheng: Hearing from readers is great. I love talking to people who love books and love writing. It also makes me think on a bigger level in terms of what my book means when I see how it affects readers --- the themes they are interested in, how they interpret the story, and so on. I had one woman say to me, "I love your book, but I hate the ending!" She then went on to explain and it was very interesting. Reviews have been kind to me so far, but I did happen upon a not-so-nice review. I was angry for about an hour, then I figured a) I shouldn't be reading my own reviews, and b) it's better to be talked about rather than not. Everyone's opinionated, and I have no control over that. I did my best to create the best novel I could. It is every reader's right --- whether they are a book reviewer or not --- to have an opinion. I'm fortunate to be talked about at all!
David Rosenfelt: Hearing from readers has been great; people are really kind and like to support someone new. In terms of critics, reactions have been quite positive, but I'm not bitter when some pathetic little moron says something negative.
Michael Redhill: These are two very different things. Readers have bought your book of their own free will, and then if they write to me or come up to me, I feel it's incumbent on me to take them seriously, and with an attitude of thankfulness, even if I don't agree with them. Generally speaking, at least with this book, readers have been very generous in their response. When it comes to reviewers, it's a little different. I try to remain emotionally distant from reviews, good or bad. I can take pleasure in a good review, and I do get miffed at a bad review, but I don't allow either of them to change my feelings about my book. I think reviewing books is a business like any other, and there are levels of aptitude when it comes to reviewers. I appreciate positive or negative comments coming from a reviewer who has read the book I wrote, but there are a lot of reviewers out there who impose or project a lot onto a book. In any case, I see it as an important part of marketing, but the relationship between writer and reviewer is a cautious one, while the one between writer and reader is, for me, the essential one.
Steve Almond: Most of the reviews have been sweet. A few critics have just loathed the book, to the point where you can see they got personally involved. Those are easier to ignore. The ones I find most upsetting are the ones that condescend to the book, or take some kind of gimmicky angle, as opposed to just discussing what the stories are trying to evoke and why they succeed or fail. Hearing from readers, on the other hand, is unconditionally fabulous. When a reader tells you what they thought, you know it's from the heart. The fact that they were moved to share their thoughts with you is an incredible act of generosity.
David Benioff: Terrifying. Critics tend to be gentle with first novels, so The 25th Hour escaped largely unscathed, but I'm no longer able to read Amazon reviews. Though the positive ones greatly outnumber the negative, the one-star reviews (almost always anonymous) are so vitriolic and unconstructive that reading them simply depresses me. Plus you never know if the Internet critic is truly a disappointed reader or just a kindergarten enemy seeking revenge.
Masha Hamilton: I was fortunate in that reviewers were generous towards Staircase. I love to hear from readers. I have talked to book groups over speakerphone in Israel, Canada and across the United States. Their questions and comments actually resulted in a couple small changes being made when the paperback came out in May. For instance, I added a family tree and a little more background about the ethnologist to whom the book is dedicated.
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