Of thin skins and itchy twitter-fingers

When it comes to reviews the late great Paul Newman said it best, “If they're good you get a fat head and if they're bad you're depressed for three weeks.” Which is why he didn’t read his press. And for the most part, I’m the same way. I have no control over reviews, so why bother? I do confess though to looking at my stars on Amazon once in a while, just to see which direction the compass is pointing. (So far there are 82 five-star reviews and 3 one-star write-ups. And I’ve been told one of those is a complaint about a book not arriving. Nice).

Interviews though, I do read, because I’m an active participant in the process and it’s always interesting to see how they turn out. And yes, I’ve been misquoted several times, but no one really cares, so I don’t get my knickers in a knot about it.

During one particular interview a reporter had great things to say about my writing, but also a few criticisms. Did I take it personally? Did I take his book in the back yard and riddle it with bullet-holes and mail it to him as Richard Ford once did? Nah. I understood that he was writing an article and not signing up for my fan club. And the next time I rolled though town we split a bucket of clams and had a great time. Some writers have notoriously thin-skins and I don’t want to be one of ‘em.

Which brings me to the Twitter dumpster-fire set ablaze last week by author Alice Hoffman, who was so incensed by a bad write-up in the Boston Globe that she tweeted the reviewer’s email and phone number, encouraging enraged fans to—do whatever enraged literary fans do—boycott their lattes? Hold book group sit-ins?

And through a twist of sweet, buttery irony, the critic that once so enraged Richard Ford—sending him to the backyard with a book and a loaded pistol, was (wait for it) none other than Alice Hoffman.

I say books and pistols at twenty paces settles it once and for all.

Comments

[Eric Stallsworth]

Wow, I've been watching this news item unfold and I don't know whether to laugh at her stupidity or cry at her career going down the tubes. Criticism is nothing more than an opinion, and everyone has one. It's unfortunate she let her anger override her common sense. I have a feeling she'll be regretting this one for a long time to come.

[WendyNYC]

I feel almost bad for her in the wake of all this Twitter controversy. If she didn't handle a review well, how do you think she did after being openly mocked in every corner of the internet?

Notice I said "almost" bad, because, well, she did bring it all on herself.

[Dara]

It's sad to see authors act this way. I wonder if they ever learned that not everyone will love their books?

[A. D. Tejada, StrangeTango.com]

How appallingly mean-spirited.