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Home » Archives for Tamela Hancock Murray » Page 5

Tamela Hancock Murray

The Perils of Responding to Criticism

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 14, 2023
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Recently, I read a news article about a general-market author who offered a negative response when a reviewer gave her four instead of five stars for her debut novel. She attacked the reviewer, calling her a name I shall not repeat here. The author expressed she was upset that the reviewer had ruined her perfect five-star rating. The author’s response resulted in a barrage of retaliatory one-star reviews, and the publisher pulling her book.

As you’ve seen me post here, a book with only five-star reviews seems suspicious. Did the author merely share the book with intimate friends and loving family members?

Every day, I read one-star reviews. Many are justified, while others are brutal. We must remember that angry people believe authors are a safe place to release emotions. The reviewer may not have liked the book but could also be using the platform to vent. Authors would do well to consider this when reading reviews.

Remedies? 

Don’t read reviews. While this is a guaranteed way not to be upset about one-star reviews (unless a frenemy lets you know about those), the discipline not to read any reviews is almost impossible to practice.

Learn from negative reviews. Everyone receives negative feedback simply by existing. Our job is to separate the helpful from the not-applicable and act accordingly. To share a story, for a brief time in high school, I wore a bright orange hat with a wide, floppy brim everywhere. One of my friends said, “I hate that hat.” While that comment didn’t make my day, I kept wearing the hat for several more months until I tired of it. So just because someone comments, you don’t have to act on it. Conversely, a review about a book’s errors or suggestions about pacing may help you become a better author next time, especially if that review reflects a strong consensus about your book.

Never react to an unsolicited review in public. Scream, cry, and vent to friends in private. But do not react to a review in public. Don’t thank people for nice reviews or even show humility by thanking them for bad reviews. The exception is when you are working with a reviewer to promote your book. Then it’s proper to thank that reviewer in public for kind words when appropriate. But regarding formats such as Amazon and Goodreads, where anyone can always comment on your books for any reason, don’t respond. By remaining neutral, you protect yourself and keep your fans out of any fuss.

Praise and slander are part of our industry and part of living. The less drama we live, the more peaceful and productive our lives will be.

 

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Category: Rejection, Reviews, The Writing Life

You Gotta Have Friends … and Strangers Too

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 31, 2023
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No one likes to see negative book reviews. However, if you earn a negative review or two out of many, don’t despair. This event likely means strangers who have no personal interest in you, but are reading books only for themselves, are engaged with your work. That’s great news! Where Are the Readers? Keep in contact with potential readers so they’ll be amenable to your books and eager …

Read moreYou Gotta Have Friends … and Strangers Too
Category: Branding, Marketing, Platform

Hacks for Inspiring Ideas and Descriptions

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 4, 2023
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Seeking inspiration? Here are fun and weird hacks for writers. 1. Read advice columns to find ideas for creating conflict in novels. The problems people pose to columnists are rife with family drama, misunderstandings among friends, marriage issues, and romantic entanglements. Even columns about etiquette offer an array of tenuous situations. When you locate some columnists online, you may …

Read moreHacks for Inspiring Ideas and Descriptions
Category: Craft, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Hacks for Day-to-Day Writing

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 26, 2023
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An impulse as a writer is to get to an ending before shutting down the computer for the day. The productive author might decide not to stop writing until the end of a scene or a chapter. With fiction, the author feels relieved when the character has arrived at a good stopping place. With nonfiction, the author may have finished summing up five ways to declutter a closet, and that’s that. …

Read moreHacks for Day-to-Day Writing
Category: The Writing Life

Why Did She Say That?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 13, 2023
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Because this blog’s primary purpose is to help authors by dispensing opinions and advice, posts may hit close to home. A long time ago, I read an article in which a blogger I’d recently interacted with made a snarky remark. I thought, Is the blogger talking about me? So I know that sinking, disturbing feeling of wondering if I’ve been surreptitiously called out in public. I’m glad I saw the post …

Read moreWhy Did She Say That?
Category: Agents, Pitching

Easter Break List for Writers

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 5, 2023
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While the start of the new calendar year in January is an auspicious time to visit plans, so is the Easter season. I hope you have discerned His guidance during this quiet time of forty days when we remember our Lord’s temptations in the wilderness. After we celebrate His Glorious Resurrection this Sunday, the following week may be an excellent time to take practical steps you may take as you …

Read moreEaster Break List for Writers
Category: Encouragement, Inspiration

You’re One of a Kind

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 15, 2023
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A ham hock doesn’t usually come up in conversation for me, but recently I had an enjoyable exchange with creative people when we mentioned ham hock. One person suggested a character named Ham Hock would be the county champion greased pig rider. Another said her hero named Ham Hock would be a good ol’ boy courting a big city girl who returned to the farm. As a lover of romance novels, I said I …

Read moreYou’re One of a Kind
Category: Creativity

Love As a Christian Author

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 2, 2023
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As Christian authors, we have many opportunities to put into practice the list of the attributes of love that St. Paul listed in 1 Corinthians 13: Love: Is patient: After submitting proposals, we do ourselves, our agents, and editors a favor by exercising patience. In Submissions Land, editors may feel as though a month is five minutes. Agents might say a month is a day. For an author, a month …

Read moreLove As a Christian Author
Category: Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing Life, Theology

Tips for Nonfiction

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 22, 2023
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In response to my post “Line Editing,” a faithful blog reader asked me if I had any tips for nonfiction writers. The suggestions here aren’t considered line editing but are more general. I hope they offer insight. Consider your brand. While you want each book to be fresh, you want to stay within your brand, or the brand you’re building, so your readership knows you wrote …

Read moreTips for Nonfiction
Category: Branding, Pitch, Pitching, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Five Reasons to Read Christian Romance Novels to Celebrate Valentine’s Day

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 9, 2023
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Since Valentine’s Day is near, we have plenty of time to read romance novels before the big hearts, flowers, and candy day arrives! Here are some excellent reasons to read terrific Christian romance novels before and after February 14: Christian romance novels emphasize the couple’s relationship with the Lord. Many secular stories never reveal the characters’ spiritual lives. Readers can reach the …

Read moreFive Reasons to Read Christian Romance Novels to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
Category: Genre, The Writing Life
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