Rosie

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Second only to the scary thrill of holding a copy of one's very first published novel in one's hot little hand or seeing it on a bookshop table, comes the knowledge that people you know as well as those you don't are going to read it--and have an opinion. They may well even make it public.

Of course, being a new and unknown writer of a less-than-literary novel, I never expected to be reviewed in the broadsheets or even in big circulation magazines. So, in that, I wasn't disappointed. Friends and family said they enjoyed it--well they would, wouldn't they? As to the wider world, I had no idea what it thought until that modern book reviewing phenomenon--the blogosphere-- began to gear itself up.

Now, if your're a sad writer like me, you will immediately set up a Google Alert for your name or your novel's title and sit back and wait to see what comes up. Apart from the shock of seeing it being offered for sale on eBay, I was pleased to see a trickle of positive reviews in which any criticism of such matters as style, plotting, characterisation (or failures thereof) was both constructive and engaging.

Until yesterday. I was alerted through Google Alerts to a review by an anonymous blogger. I wasn't at all upset that this person didn't like the novel. After all, you can't win 'em all and everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. And it wasn't so much that the blogger had totally misunderstood the nature of the novel either. Again, the saying goes that if someone misses the point, then it's probably because you didn't make the point clearly enough. No. It was the fact she couldn't find one thing to mention in a positive light. She (and it was definitely a she) quoted a sentence she said was bad writing. (Not sure why as she didn't explain.) She also wrote that my dialogue was unbelievable, again without saying in what way.

So why am I mentioning this at all? All writers should expect bad reviews. Of course. But, as I scrolled through the rest of the blog I slowly began to realise that the blogger was someone I once knew on a now defunct internet writers'forum. She once sent me a short story of hers to critique. I told her I would be fair but honest and that's what I thought I was. As well as flagging up places I felt were praiseworthy, I also pointed out various aspects that, in my opinion, prevented it from being publishable. Her reply to me was dripping in acid and although I tried to explain in further emails that I did not consider myself superior as a writer (as she'd accused me) but someone with more experience of what editors might say. Her replies continued to be so unpleasant that I refused to correspond with her any further, after which she began to blog about what a nasty piece of work I was. She then closed that blog down and started a new one under a different name and I wouldn't have found it nor that she is continuing to be less than friendly towards me had I not set up a Google Alert. I know; you win some, you lose some and not everyone will be your friend. I can live with that.

The point of all the above is to remind all writers that whilst we are told not to be seduced into complaisancy by gushing praise from friends and family about our writing, we also have to ask ourselves whether there may well be a hidden agenda behind negative comments as well. You may never know why but I feel a lot better having realised that this particular piece of negativity has less to do with my merits or otherwise as a writer, than the personal hang-ups of the reviewer.