by Warren Adler @WarrenAdler
Every serious novelist worth
their salt believes in their soul that they have written a brilliant novel or
multiple novels in which the reader will find compelling characters engaged in
deeply imagined stories that profoundly illustrate the human condition.
What every novelist,
traditionally or self-published, yearns for is for others to be moved by their
work, to be praised, acclaimed, recognized and celebrated for what they truly
believe is their masterful artistic performance.
Of course, they might deny
such a characterization and offer the explanation that it is the only the work itself
that matters to the true artist. And while such a conviction does have the ring
of truth, human vanity and the power of the ego is too deeply embedded in the
psyche to be denied.
With that thought in mind,
how does a novelist whose work is presented to the scrutiny of allegedly
influential reviewers react to those who trash their book?
