I'm good at making noise.
I learned this three years ago during the publicity tour for Gotcha Down. Since I actually work in the media, I understand that radio shows need to fill time, newspaper writers need to fill slot (especially in the summer, when half the staff is on vacation but the same amount of space needs to be filled).
As The Interim embarks on the publicity machine, of the "come look at me! I'm a fantastic story" ilk, now the job shifts from just getting it to the newspapers to getting it to the reviewers.
Ah, the critics.
That's okay. I can handle negative words. I work in a business where a thick skin is required, twice a day. When I hear the phone ringing at 6:31 p.m. or at 10:36 p.m., seconds after I've closed out a newscast, I usually assume it is someone that has an issue, be it with a news story or maybe even some throwaway comment I tossed out there to fill time. I can even handle personal attacks from callers, unaware that I may be the one picking up the phone. "Yup, he already knows because you're talking to him right now." Then the caller will usually back-pedal faster than Rickey Henderson in left field, which brings a high entertainment value in itself.
Whether negative or positive, I just want the words.
Gotcha Down enjoyed praise from Booklist, which is somewhat of a gathering point for new book releases. Off the good review from Booklist (the words, "Earl gets the details right in this engaging story," still ring through my cobweb-laden head). Hundreds of copies sold just because Booklist had some nice words on my first work.
That's the power of book reviews.
It is also why I'm sifting through the various book reviewers. Some love small press (great for me), others just want the latest Grisham/Rowling/Patterson epic, which is fine, too. Finding that ideal review shop is trying, between meeting their various requests for submissions. I understand these people "want things the way they want things".
If my mailbox sprouted 75 books a day, all asking for a review and all convinced they are just one 4-star recommendation from selling 150,000 copies (as I firmly believe with The Interim), I'd be particular as well.
Even reviews that are less than glowing may not help the writer for that work, but they can expose a certain desire to overcome whatever failures were mentioned. Plot. Characters. Realism. Whatever it is. I did not have any below-average reviews for Gotcha Down, but the points that, some said, needed improvement were not taken lightly as I finished up The Interim.
Keep evolving in this world. Keep getting a little better with each book.
I just hope that some reviewers out there are able and willing to notice what I've know for more than a year. The Interim could be my Purple Rain, just without Prince's cool motorcycle or having to be Morris Day's opening act.
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