murder.booklocker.com

Shortly after I got my first review I was anxious to harvest the wheat, ignore the chaff, and post the glowing remarks to both my blog and website. To my dismay, one whole paragraph (of three!) quoted the back cover. One down. In the two remaining paragraphs I found things like “traditional mystery genre with a touch of romance.” That’s good, right? I quivered slightly when this was represented as “the challenge is how the detective solves the crime and gets his girl.”

But when it came to the actual writing, the reviewer said, “This was a good read, primarily because Chery Hagedorn is a good writer.” She also called it a “well-written tale.” For sure that’s good stuff!

My problem came when I had to decide what to do with the criticism that formed (for me) the heart of what she had to say about the book.

“I must say, however, that I had a bit of a problem with the motivation for the murders. It seems these days that just about anything which annoys a person is an adequate reason to end another person’s life . . . and I don’t think this applies solely to senior citizens. That would be the only criticism I might make of this novel.”

My first response was to reply to the reviewer. I asked her as carefully as I could, “What exactly did you think the motivation behind the murders was?”

Her response was, “Each victim had something about him/her that annoyed or irrated the murderer.” I did an aha! to myself and wrote back, “Thanks. In that case I definitely agree with your assessment. I was shooting for long term abuse by the “activists” who thought they were superior to the card players.”

I came up against this same sort of thing when I interviewed one of my readers.

Writers Group

Meanwhile, I posted (to the Chicago Writers Association) the query, “What to do with a bad review?” – knowing full well that the review I had gotten was NOT a bad review.

But still.

It was the first one I had received and my feelings were a bit bruised.

The group responded:
1. Reviews are like Christmas ornaments: take them out and look at them once a
year. Then put them away and forget about them.
2. Wow, what coincidence. I was toying with posting of a similar nature. I just received my very first poor review. Though I can stack a few excellent reviews up against this one lousy one, this one seemed to pack the biggest punch.
       Of course it would, it’s always easier to take the good than the bad huh. After a few folks telling me “Any review is a good review!” or “It’s not that bad of a review”, I decided to spin it in a positive manner and learn from for future reference concerning what I write and how.
3. Anyway, nothing wrong with a review that has the word “good” in it. And you ARE making the best of it simply with your post to this group (and anyone else to whom you may mention it)…it caused a lot of people who might never have heard of your book to try to find out more about it, and that’s the whole point.

4. Take cheer, Cheryl, your review had the word “good” in it. I know what it’s like though to hear someone say something along the lines of “it’s good and well written but…” Oh Lord how I hate that “BUT!” I’m the kind of person who will forget all about the “good” and fixate on everything that followed the “but.” Even if it was just one person’s opinion.
5. My short answer would be to ignore the “bad review” and wait for one or more good ones. While a rating of “good” may not be glowing or even “very good”, it’s not a “bad” review. And the general rule of thumb is that any review - even a truly bad one - is better than no review at all. It’s still publicity, which is better than no publicity at all. And I’ve never heard of a reviewer turning away a book because it has not gotten glowing reviews from others.

Consolation

Charles Stross has culled reviews of classics from reader comments on Amazon.com which make for hysterical reading. This is a must-read for every writer. Check the following:

1984 by George Orwell:

Caitlyn from Atlanta, GA, wrote: “1984 is the worst book I have ever read. I would advise anyone who is thinking about reading this book to reconcider! George Orwell is not a bad writer, however, this book he does not do evry well on, as some of his others. Prehaps he was getting old and lost his touch. Animal Farm was okay, but 1984 was horrible. It took him forever, it seemed like, to get into the accual book. If someone were to take out all of the useless part of 1984, it would be half as long. Why would he wirte so much about nothing? I havent ever meet someone who could wirte such a boring book about the goverment. I have meet many people who have loved this book, but i dispised it. I am not at all intrested in the goverment. This may be part of the reason that I didnt like it. I would advise you not to read this book.”

Advice from Different Sectors

In an article entitled, “Employee Performance: What To Do About A Bad Review” by Carol A. Guy, she made the following points for a constructive response:
1. Don’t Respond in Haste
2. Respond Point by Point
3. Don’t Be Defensive
4. Keep it Positive
5. Admit it and Move On

On Critics

I found the following list on a site that addressed reviews of software programs. There’s a lot to be gleaned here, but first the list:

“The most common threads that bind bad reviews are:
1. The reviewer doesn’t know how to use the program;
2. the reviewer didn’t actually use the program;
3. the reviewer knows and likes another program so much better that they would never like this program no matter how much better it might be;
4. the reviewer has never done the task that the program solves (be it DTP or accounting) so they’re not qualified to judge how well the program performs its tasks.

Some Thoughts on Fighting Back

One of the responses I got was from Marlys Marshall Styne (member of the writers group) who has an entire blog posting about a bad experience she had with a reviewer.

“Today I noticed what may be a new kind of review: the ‘I didn’t really read the book, but I’ll write a review anyway.’ I don’t object to the negative parts of the review (it’s not technically a “bad review”) but to the fact that it clearly indicates ignorance of the book’s contents and some very basic facts.”

“After correctly listing my name and the book’s title, the reviewer repeatedly refers to me as ‘Dr. Stone.’ First, my name is not Stone, [it’s Styne] and second, I do not have a doctorate. Then he refers to my long teaching career at ‘St. Olaf’s College.’ My father graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and my brother taught there for many years, but I did neither.”

Read the whole post.

The second instance of an author “fighting back” comes from the Author’s Den, where Gary R. Varner writes “O! The Horrors of Bad Reviews.” Definitely worth a read and, in some instances, similar to Marlys’s experience.

This is Gary’s final paragraph:

“Don’t take reviews seriously! Write the best that you can and get your work published. But please choose the review source carefully and stay away from those that may appear to be qualified but really don’t know as much as you do. Sadly, book reviewers have writers against the wall. They can tear your work apart but there is no forum available to the writer to exchange opinions with them or to question their attack.”

An Opposing View

From Neil Gaiman:

“I think that unless a reviewer gets their facts completely wrong, the author should shut up (and even then, the author should probably let it go — although I’m a big fan of a letter that James Branch Cabell wrote to the New York Times pointing out that their review of FIGURES OF EARTH was bollocks*). As Kingsley Amis said, “A bad review may spoil your breakfast, but you shouldn’t let it spoil your lunch.”

Other Places To Go Look

The Intergalactic Medicine Show has an interesting post for readers who want more:“When Book Reviews Go Bad: Negative reviews and how to cope

Ken Rockwell has an excellent article which insists that “Bad Reviews Are Good.” Here’s a few quotes as teasers:

“To be memorable, work must be unique. No one else has done it before, and no one else ever will duplicate it. If your work is great, people will try to duplicate it, but never succeed. Be yourself and be great, or be like everyone else and be forgotten.”

“Bad reviews are good. If you’re not getting bad reviews you’re doing the same old thing. Not that the same old thing is bad - if you love it. Do what you want, and do it well.”

I gleaned the following quote from the Chicago Writers Association forum:

“We are often lonely, isolated, angry, misunderstood. But we are also the keepers of the flame of insight, the reminders of reality, the weavers of dreams and imagineers of fantasy.”

I confess that I had not seen myself in that light before, but I take a great deal of comfort from it.

I’ve been following a discussion which raised several issues like do editors pander to popular taste? [this led to a bit of wandering on popular taste and snobs versus popular consumers] Can you get a serious, literary book published? [this led to talk about whether a book had to be serious to be literary -- oh, and there was a real digression about Nietzsche] The forum then segued into self-publishing [one person seemed very concerned about whether the list in an article at the Self Publishing Hall of Fame (owned by John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books and editor of the Book Marketing Update newsletter) was legit. This same person objected to the list at Illumina ("This list was compiled by Dan Poynter, author of The Self-Publishing Manual," quoted by a company in the business of helping authors self-publish.]

And on  and on it went. It wasn’t until everyone had succombed to the effects of too much eggnog that one lone voice raised the question of why writers write, and why they write what they write.

Since I’m a member in good standing of the Illinois Philological Association, and since they’re having some trouble with their website at the moment, I’m posting the Call for Papers (’07):

The ILLINOIS PHILOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION was founded in 1996 by representatives from several Illinois colleges and universities. Its purpose is to promote fellowship and intellectual exchange among faculty and student members of departments of English, Linguistics, Communication, and Foreign Languages, as well as independent scholars and writers throughout Illinois.

Come and share your work with interested colleagues and delight in the quality and diversity of Illinois scholars and writers!

The Association invites submissions in four categories:

1. 1. From faculty members, independent scholars, and graduate students — abstracts or proposals (300 words) for papers on any aspect of literature, literary criticism, linguistics, and composition theory or literary theory.
2. 2. From creative writers — original works of fiction, poetry, drama, or performance art. Dramatic works and performance pieces that can be staged within the timeframe of a session (90 minutes) are also solicited. Please submit manuscript for consideration.
3. 3. From undergraduate students — creative writing or scholarly papers. You must submit the entire text of your reading or paper, accompanied by a supporting letter from a faculty member.
4. 4. From any category of participant — session or panel proposals. Panels that deal with practical concerns of specific disciplines, including those relating to pedagogical issues, as well as panels on literary topics, are encouraged. You must submit a panel description/abstract and abstracts of all papers to be included in the panel or session.

Each submission must also include a proposal summary of no more than 50 words.

The maximum reading time for either creative writing selections or scholarly papers is 25 minutes. Sessions, panels, dramatic works, and performance pieces should be no longer than 90 minutes, including time for questions and discussion where appropriate. All presenters must register for the conference and be IPA members.

Please forward your proposal by email as an attached file in Microsoft Word or Word Perfect format to bcass1@uis.edu. Or send 2 copies of your submission by surface mail to Barbara Cass; University of Illinois at Springfield; MSUHB 4093; One University Plaza, Springfield, IL 62703-5407. Please include Name, Preferred Address, Phone Number, Email Address, Status, and Institutional Affiliation. EMAIL SUBMISSIONS PREFERRED.

IPA again is awarding grants to cover the cost of registration to student presenters. If you are a student and would like to be considered for a grant, please send a letter along with your submission requesting the grant and indicating why being a part of the IPA 2006 Conference is important to you. Please Note: Students who receive this grant will be expected to fully participate in the Conference.

Visit the IPA website at www.illinoisphilological.org Questions? Contact Barbara Cass at bcass1@uis.edu

Submission Deadline: January 30th, 2007

Illinois Philological Association

Dues Notice/Membership Application Form

To become a member of IPA: Fill out form, below, and make check or money order payable to “Illinois Philological Association”

Please circle appropriate dues category:
Students — $5
Adjunct faculty/Retired/Emeritus/Individual scholars — $10
Full-time faculty — $15

Name ___________
Institution _____________________________________
Department______________________
Preferred Mailing Address________________________
City___________ State_________ Zip__________
Phone________
Email__________

Please send this form to:
Kris Muschal, Treasurer; Illinois Philological Association
c/o English Department
Richland Community College
One College Park
Decatur, IL 62521

Please complete this form, then cut along the dotted line above, and send along with your check or money order for dues.

To get a printer-friendly copy

I just got this photograph in the mail this morning. Major Donna Jackson, D. Min., and I have been friends forever. She is currently stationed in the Central Territory, Northern Division, where she is the Divisional Candidate Secretary & Pastoral Care Officer.

Here’s some interesting info about Anoka:

“It is believed that Anoka was the first city in the United States to put on a Halloween celebration. In early 1920, Anoka merchants and other interested citizens joined together in a move to stop Halloween pranks. The idea was to have a big Halloween party for all the children with free candy and lots of entertainment. In October of 1920, Anoka had its first Halloween celebration. The celebration has been held every year since, with the exception of two years during WWII. Anoka considers itself to be the “Halloween Capital of the World” and now has many events during October including football games, costume contests, block parties, Grey Ghost 5k run, and two parades.”

For more information, visit the City of Anoka website.

I couldn’t resist. The excerpt is from a letter to the Hollands and sounded so much like poetry — as do all Dickinson’s letters — that I just had to make a page for it. The script is great, too. It generates the falling snowflakes from a single asterisk.

I’m a proud member of the Emily Dickinson International Society.

A while back I wrote a post about how my book landed on a shelf in the library in Desert Hot Springs, California. Then this morning in a comment I discovered that my book is being donated to the library in Anoka, Minnesota! I’m beginning to feel like I have my own library project.

Randy Richardson, a fellow Chicago Writers Association member, writes about his campaign to get his book into area libraries as part of his marketing strategy. He even includes an update on his success. At the end of the post he says, “So I can take my son to any of the neighborhood libraries and point out to him my book. How cool is that?”

Granted, that’s cool. But how cool is having your book in the library at Desert Hot Springs, California or in Anoka, Minnesota, when you live in Des Plaines, Illinois?

Hard to believe that just one month from now I’ll be joining the folks in Des Plaines to talk about my book and the writing of it, as well as sell and sign copies.

Date: TUESDAY, January 16
Place: Frisbie Senior Center, 52 Northwest Highway
Des Plaines, IL 60016
Phone 847-768-5944
Time: 9:30 a.m.

Jennifer Gervase tells me that we’ll be meeting in the library — complete with coffee and a fire in the fireplace.

This isn’t just for members of the Center — the public is welcome to join us!

Jinx Schwartz, author of Just Add Salt and Just Add Water (the Hetta Coffey Mystery Series, had this to say about my book:

“When old folks behave badly” is the whimsical premise for Cheryl Hagedorns’s Park Ridge: A Senior Center Murder. In this first novel, she weaves an intriguing tale that proves you are never too old to practice beytral, deceit and murder.”

Visit Jinx’s website or mine for more about books from Jinx Schwartz.

In the writing classes I teach at the Senior Center one topic invariably comes up — ambiguous antecedents. The problem is that the writer knows what they meant and can’t understand how anyone could read it any differently. Last night as I was finishing a novel I came across an stunning example. It’s the kind of thing that if you wanted to craft you couldn’t.

Since the example reveals the ending, I’ve changed what I could to make it less title-specific. Sid and Char, two TV news people from rival stations competed for a story. Sid got the big scoop in an underhanded way from Char. Char and her boss Bill are in her office watching Sid and his big story on the TV screen. The book is written from Char’s point of view, first person — the “I” in the following is her.

Sid is interviewing Mr. Jones. During the course of the interview, Jones is surprised when Sid plays an incriminating tape recording. Sid then asks, “Do you have any comment, Mr. Jones?”

Jones shook his head, stood. “I’m finished here.”

The camera angle widened to capture both men.

I ached. It should have been me on this story. It should have been me. I must have said it aloud, because Bill grunted, “Yeah, this is the kind of story that could win journalistic awards.”

“Not quite,” Sid said, standing with him. “We’ve notified the authorities, and the word is that your assistant is ready to turn state’s evidence.”

Do you see the ambiguity? MerriamWebster.org defines antecedent as “a substantive word, phrase, or clause whose denotation is referred to by a pronoun (as John in ‘Mary saw John and called to him’); broadly: a word or phrase replaced by a substitute.”

In this case, the word him in the last paragraph refers not to the noun immediately preceding it (which would be Bill), but actually refers back to Mr. Jones. The words not quite make the transition even more ambiguous because they could be understood to contradict what Bill just said about the awards, when in fact they contradict what Jones said about being finished.

At Medical News Today there’s an interesting article (under Psychiatry) about a study done with ambiguous antecedents. The example at the top of the article is pretty funny to me.

“Medicines can be harmful to young children. Make sure you keep them locked in the bathroom cabinet.” (Do we put the children or the medicines in the bathroom cabinet?)

There’s more from IBM believe it or not. You can look for yourself but this was pretty interesting (nothing to do with antecedents!)

Guideline B1-1

Do not omit prepositions or articles from sentences.

If you omit words, such as the and an, to store an otherwise long message into a pre-allocated space, the message can be interpreted in several ways.

Example: What does the message Print control file list mean?

• Print all the files that contain controls.
• A list of files that contain print controls.
• Print a list of control files.
• Print the controls and file the list.
• Control the print and list the files.
• Print and control a list of files.