The best way to achieve excellence is through a hardnosed attitude towards the process, accompanied by an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

The word review, a noun, is an essay or article that gives a critical evaluation The key words here, are: ‘critical’ and ‘evaluation’.

Critical, an adjective, means: characterized by careful evaluation and judgment.  Example: "A critical reading" The key words are: ‘careful’ and ‘judgment’.

The word ‘critical’, I believe, is what causes the nature of a review to be misunderstood. Critical can be synonymous with negativity because by definition, it also means a marked tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws.

Objectivity: *Relating to, or being an object, phenomenon, or condition in the realm of sensible experience independent of individual thought and perceptible by all observers.  I found a more clear definition in www.rhymezone.com : Objectivity is a judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices. Our dislike of the subject matter, for instance, should not influence the way we determine whether or not, a writer succeeded in putting his point across. If we cannot stay objective, then we’re better off going on to something else. I often review works for my publisher, BeWrite Books. I know that my enjoyment of the subject and admiration for the particular writer I am reviewing colors my point of view; I don’t think we can get around that. However, and despite my enthusiasm, I must render a critical and objective evaluation of the work.

From the standpoint of the writer being reviewed, we must remember that a review, an objective critique of the work, is also a reviewer’s point of view – no more, no less.

How does this apply to us, here in Authors Den? I can best relate this in terms of my own experience. As most of you know, I am a fiction writer. I came into poetry just a couple of years ago. I have many short stories and some poetry published both electronically, and in print. A co-authored book titled Kaleidoscope and released just a few months ago, includes seven of my short stories.  I recently finished my first novel, now undergoing some serious revisions. When I finished telling the story, I knew “the book” was far from finished. I sent it around to some tough authors whose work and opinion I respect, and asked to be offered no mercy. I knew these excellent writers to be excellent readers, as well, and had no doubt that they would be able to tell me where they thought the story succeeded, and where it failed, and that they would indeed provide me with a careful, objective, and intelligent evaluation of the work. Did I want to hear flattering remarks from them? You bet your quills!  But what I want more than anything, is to end up with the best darn book I can possibly write. Through my years as a developing writer, I learned a most valuable lesson: The best way to achieve excellence is through a hardnosed attitude towards the process, accompanied by an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

I had to learn to take criticism without taking it as a personal attack.  If I disagree with the critique being offered, I leave it aside, but never take offense.  If I am having any success at all right now, I have those harsh critics to thank for. Criticism, no matter how honest, need not be negative or callous, but on the other hand, I truly believe that negativity is often our perception, and not at all the reviewer’s intention.

Right here in Authors Den we have a section labeled “Reviews”.  Because this is a public site and not a private discussion board, people are, understandably so, sensitive about what is posted there, and so we do it privately, either through the message board, or private e-mails. That is perfectly alright. However, there have been times when even privately, my good intentions were misunderstood; I lost a reader and even worse, a friend. Consequently, for a while, when reviewing something I though might need a little help, instead of making my suggestion to the writer, I fell into the practice of leaving comments that were generic and non-committal in order not to offend people who I consider nice, and certainly don’t want to offend. I must tell you though that when I do that I feel as genuine as a three-dollar bill.

I recently received a review that was so impressive and flattering of my work I was astonished until I realized that everyone else I read that day had the same review posted by the same reviewer, with minor adjustments made in an effort to personalize it. Said review never addressed anyone’s work in particular. It was just a form letter. It makes you wonder if the person even read our work.

Is that what we’re all about? Again, I’ll relate that question to my own experience, as I cannot speak for anyone else. Negativity is not pleasant; nobody likes it, and neither do I. But I can somehow let it roll down my back. If the comment is abusive and nasty, I delete it. No problem.  But a flagrant display of flattery, randomly posted on everyone’s work, is simply patronizing, and disrespectful.

Some people only want to hear the ‘good stuff’. That’s what they call positive. A fair review may indicate that the rhyme scheme is incorrect, or a word misspelled, and for some, that’s negative. So let me tell you what I think: We deal in communication. We are told that critics and publishers frequent Authors Den and read our work. Spelling, proper syntax, are our tools; we should use them. Would you hire a carpenter who didn’t know the difference between a nail and a thumbtack? I don’t think so. So why would a publisher look at a manuscript with obvious spelling and punctuation errors and take the writer seriously?

I know that many of us have become friends, good ones I’d say, and sometimes we know a post is just for fun, and we respond accordingly. However, there are times when a post is an author’s serious effort, and it deserves a serious response. A piece may affect us emotionally, and we let the author know that, and why. That is important to our development and growth, which should be a never-ending project, if we’re serious about what we do. Sometimes a piece needs help; if we know how to help the writer, we should be able to do it. I do not mean to imply that we cannot comment otherwise. Some people are not comfortable reviewing. They like to acknowledge reading the piece and saying they liked it; that’s fine. What I mean is that we should be able to offer our suggestions without having to dread the accusation of negativity.

I wouldn’t be writing sonnets today, if some poets I know and respect hadn’t stepped in and suggested reading material, pointed to the fact that my syllable count was wrong, or that inverted sentences in order to force rhyme are not reflective of 21^st Century technique.  Someone who goes out of his, or her way to correct us, may just be a friend who cares. English is my second language; one I learned as a young adult. I would not be writing today, had friends not taken the time to correct me, or had I interpreted their efforts as negative.

I think it all depends on what you want to get from of your efforts. Individually, we all know our needs. So I’ll tell you mine: I want to be the best writer I can possibly be. I also want to be encouraging and supportive of my fellow writers. And for the writer I have become, I want to thank those who have taken the time to encourage me by pointing out my mistakes as well as praising my efforts, when praise was due. Whether it be a misspelled word, a misused word, a punctuation error, or crafting, I want to know it because what I expect from my efforts is nothing short of excellence.

Carmen Ruggero © 2004

*Merriam-Webster