Dwelling in Probabilities

I'm seeing the question of whether or not writers should or do read reviews of their work on a couple of lists I'm on. To some extent, the question baffles me. Why I wouldn't I want to know what's out there? But I'm a rip the Bandaid off kind of gal. Here's my take on it: if I don't read the reviews, I'm missing the good with the bad. And I've been fortunate enough to get some awesome, thoughtful reviews. I want to be able to thank and acknowledge those reviewers. I also want to be able to say, "Yay! Someone gets my work!" But what about the bad ones, the haters and the clueless or the reviewers who just plain hate my work? Well, I may not be reading those reviews but other people are. I want to know how my books and stories are doing and it's one way to tell. If I only want to see the rainbows and sparkle ponies, I'm not getting the full pictures. Writing is a business for me as well as a necessity and I try hard to treat it as one. I've survived and will survive rejection, I'll survive the occasional bad review. And someday, if I make it big, I'll have my assistant do summaries of my press, the good and the bad. Now there's a goal to shoot for. :-)