I was going to spend this week’s post continuing my leisurely and self-indulgent stroll down memory lane (it is that time of year, after all), but then I read a short article in the December 17 issue of Newsweek that I simply can’t resist addressing. It’s about a sensitive topic, particularly for writers, so if you have a delicate stomach, you may wish to stop reading now.

For those made of stronger stuff, here goes:

Bad reviews hurt.

In a short article entitled “Hatchet Job,” Newsweek compiled quotes from some devastating book reviews that appeared last week: “insufferable schmaltz” (William Giraldi on Alix Ohlin); “so…average” (Geoff Dyer on Julian Barnes); and my personal favorite, “like watching a moose try to describe a leopard, using only its front hooves” (Dwight Garner on Richard Bradford). Ooooof. Punch, right to the gut (although I have to confess that the last one elicited a giggle, but only a small one, I swear, Mr. Bradford…).

You know, I just appeared on a local television program, “It’s A Woman’s World,” where my fellow authors and I talked about how difficult it is, as a writer, to put yourself out there. There are so many critics in the world, just waiting to pounce, and it seems like the nastier they can be, the better folks like it (just ask Guy Fieri.) In the words of the immortal Taylor Swift, “Why  ya gotta be so mean?”

Now, I would never understate the importance of good, objective, helpful critiques to the writing process—nobody writes a perfect first draft, and those critiques play a major role in helping us polish our work so it is the best it can be.

But I really believe there is a fine line between a critique and criticism; just because it’s a fine line doesn’t mean you have to cross it.

We writers put ourselves out there, by choice, baring our souls and our innermost thoughts for the entertainment and edification of our readers. So yeah, you could say we ask for it. But is it too much to ask that folks be a little more civil, more constructive with their comments, than comparing a writer’s work to wild animals playing Pictionary?

Come on, reviewers. You can do better than that. We writers work hard at what we do. Even those of us who stumble, those of us who fail, and those of us who produce average work, deserve a little respect–don’t we? After all, we have accomplished what appears, apparently, as #23 on the semi-official list of 101 Things to Do Before You Die—write a book. (Of course, I do take this list with a grain of salt, because one of my items–driving a Zamboni–didn’t make the cut. Snobs.) There’s a reason the saying goes, “It’s as easy as riding a bike” and not “It’s as easy as writing a book.”

I know, I’m probably asking for it by posting this, but I thought it was worth sharing, if only to remind the writers on the receiving end of last week’s snarkiness that everyone gets bad reviews from time to time (some of us more than others, and some of us far snarkier). You will survive, you will endure. Take heart, for you have the unfettered sympathy and condolences of thousands and thousands of your fellow writers.

Carry on, my friends, carry on.