Something for the Old Scrapbook!

[rusty_armour]

I have now received my first bad review for In the Family Way on Wraithbait. And when I say "bad," I don't mean criticism for a particular scene or aspect of the story because I've received that already. No, I'm talking about a review in which the reader pretty much trashed the whole fic and found very little that she liked about it. I'm now wishing I'd waited until the anger wore off to respond to her review because the situation seems pretty funny now. I mean, I had intended to be diplomatic (in some part of my brain), but writing the following sentence wasn't really an act of maturity on my part:

I could argue the points you brought up, but I think that would probably be a waste of time.

I've really got to learn to develop a thicker skin. I mean, taste is such a subjective thing and people have a right to like or dislike whatever they want. That's kind of the point of a democracy. However, I have a problem with people who make destructive rather than constructive criticism. In this case, I felt as if the reviewer was looking down her nose at me and using this as an opportunity to show off how clever and sophisticated she was -- or thought she was. Her review felt dismissive. Well, your little fic was disappointing and definitely below my standards, but thank you for sharing it anyway. It gave me a few minutes of entertainment when I wasn't cringing over everything else. Well, thanks. I'm so happy that, despite its numerous faults, the novel-length story I spent over three years writing had at least a couple of things you liked about it.

Oh, well. Anyone can write a glowing review in which they praise a story, but it takes much more work to provide a list of everything the writer did wrong. I should appreciate the time and effort that went into this feedback. And, hey, it's the first truly negative review for this story, so it should be cherished. *g*

Comments

[sublunarfields.livejournal.com]

I can only agree with the others here and also wonder why she bothers with fan fiction if she is oh so clever and sophisticated. To me at least, fan fiction is supposed to be fun, and if you don't enjoy it, why bother?

Maybe I don't have to say this, but even without knowing that particular fandom, I enjoyed your fic a lot, as I told you before, but of course, to someone like her, that might not mean much. I mean, I'm obviously not nearly as clever and sophisticated as she supposedly is.

This sort of thing happened to me too, once and funnily enough it was a Stargate SG1 fic. Maybe it was the same person? Despite having a hot temper I took the time to be patient and respond to her criticisms, but after that it was kind of ruined for me and I just removed the fic. DOn't do that. Your fic is too awesome. Just leave it online for other people to enjoy.

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I can only agree with the others here and also wonder why she bothers with fan fiction if she is oh so clever and sophisticated. To me at least, fan fiction is supposed to be fun, and if you don't enjoy it, why bother?

Thank you for reminding me of that, sublunarfields! Fan fiction is supposed to be fun. And this story was supposed to be fun. I mean, I wrote it mostly as a comedy, for Herne's sake!

Maybe I don't have to say this, but even without knowing that particular fandom, I enjoyed your fic a lot, as I told you before, but of course, to someone like her, that might not mean much. I mean, I'm obviously not nearly as clever and sophisticated as she supposedly is.

It means a lot to hear you say that. :-) Well, I'm guessing this person knows very few people who are as clever and sophisticated as she is. I'm sure she must have a hard time finding fic that meets her exacting standards, unless it's something she wrote herself.

This sort of thing happened to me too, once and funnily enough it was a Stargate SG1 fic. Maybe it was the same person? Despite having a hot temper I took the time to be patient and respond to her criticisms, but after that it was kind of ruined for me and I just removed the fic. Don't do that. Your fic is too awesome. Just leave it online for other people to enjoy.

Oh, no! That's awful! I'm so sorry this person ruined your story for you, especially as you patiently responded to her criticisms and kept your temper, which is more than I did. However, I can understand why you would want to remove your story. Unfortunately, I think this has happened to quite a few fic writers, which is just completely wrong. Well, I won't be removing my story. I worked too long and hard on it to take it down. And I know there are people who have enjoyed it, despite its imperfections, so the story isn't going anywhere.