Rejections in self publishing

The worst thing about the internet is some of the people on it. Take people who feel powerless and insignificant in their own lives, give them anonymity and a culture that seems to value getting attention just for the sake of getting attention, and lo, you get people who run around metaphorically smearing crap on walls just because they can.

Anyway, I like your comic.

There's not much that people on the internet get more trollish over than webcomics. Not sure why, but folks just get mad, strongly opinionated, and vocally abusive over webcomics. If they're hitting you up, it's just a sign you're starting to make it.

Bartholomew said:

I write and self-publish a comic that has, at best, ten regular readers. I'm always delighted when I see a comment, critical or otherwise, but logged in today to find a couple of trolls had left their mark.

"This was so terrible, it gave me cancer."

"Someone help, the place where there was supposed to be a joke was just more dialogue."

Editors had me spoiled rotten with their professionalism. I'll be over by the liquor, being salty, if anyone wants me.

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Are you effin' kidding me, Bart? I adore your webcomic. In fact, I am remiss in not linking to it from my blog. It reminds me strangely of my uni days long past.

On trolls: they are trolls. No one sane takes trolls seriously. They only exist to salve their own chronic mental and social inadequacies with attacks on people who are actually Doing Something (instead of, on the average, being crazy cat ladies or thirteen-year-old-boys). You know you've struck a nerve when you have trolls. Dial your F**kYou filters up to max and soldier through.

I'll spot you some shots of zen tequila, if it'll help.

I'm sorry you're being trolled. It's never nice. I don't think it's going to get better anyway. As said above, anonymity makes cowards feel all powerful. People feel that they can just blurt out their opinion because they can. I see it in my job as a moderator every day. The internet has made it so easy for people to give their opinion, most of the time unwarranted or downright nasty. It's sad I hope they ease out on you.

My first review was one star. And I had given her the book for free and paid the postage, too. She wasn't trying to be mean though. She just thought it was stupid. So, there's that.

I actually love one of my worst one-star reviews - it has sold multiple copies of my book. The reader honestly listed the reasons why she hated my book. Turns out, those were pretty much reasons for the book's 5-star and 4-star reviews, and the reasons given by readers who email me to say they liked my work.

There are books out in the world I hate, but they seem to be loved by many other people. I can't fathom those readers' tastes, nor can they probably understand mine. If I can reach a small percentage of them, I figure I'm doing fine.

I don’t pay much attention to the critics. I have heard it all more or less when it comes to my photography...

"Sad"
"I don't like color."
"I don't like BW."
"I don't like HDR."
"I don't selective color."
"I don't like diffusion."
"I don't like Hyper-Real HDR, it is too cartoonish."
"Your photos are too contrasty."
"Your photos are too grainy."
"Why don't you take pictures of something pretty like flowers or a sunset instead of those ugly things."
"Your trying to make something out of nothing."
"Your photos are too sensational."
"Don't photograph the homeless."
"Don't photograph kids without their parents' permission."
"I find photos of people boring."
"Your not a very good photographer."
'Your exploiting the homeless."
'Your photo doesn’t work for me."
"I don't like flower photographs they are boring."
"What were you trying to say?"
"Digital photography is not real photography."
"I find it disturbing you think your work is museum worthy."
"It is over processed."
"Don't take pictures of people in public without their permission."
"Don't photograph anorexics."
"Cover up her breasts."
"Your photos are staged."
"I don't like your photo because it leaves nothing for the imagination."
“Never crop your photos. If you have to crop a photo it wasn’t meant to be taken.”
"Your disgusting."
"Your photography is vernacular."
"You should trash that photo."
"I don't like fisheye photos."
“Don’t shoot digital, shoot film, digital is no good.”
"Don't send unsolicited photos to museums."
"She (the person in the photo) is a drunk…she is fat…she is an attention whore…she needs to go to the gym…she is trailer trash."
"Your self-centered"
'Your self-absorbed"
'Your inconsiderate"
"I don't like wide-angle distortion."
"Your a phony...your all talk...you don't know how to take photographs." (When I don’t send in any photos to the photo forums.)
"Your a troll...your looking for attention...your trying to boost your website traffic...your an egomaniac." (When I do send in photos to the photo forums.)
“I’d never shoot digital. If and when film becomes unavailable I will give up photography.”
"Your goofy"
"I think somebody should tell you: your shots are very boring, nothing is happening there, just very normal snapshots, and you are trying to make them look interesting by shooting with a wide angle and HDR...they are all trash."
"It looks horrible."
"It's a hack composite, looks like it was done for some Sunday paper magazine."
"It looks like the view through the bottom of my shot glass after my fourth tequila at Cozumel."
"15 seconds of my life I will never get back. What a waste."

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. When it comes to art...you can never argue taste - there is no right or wrong. But whenever the topic of 'opinion' comes up I must recount what Clint Eastwood's 'Dirty Harry' character once said...

"Opinions are like assholes...everyone's got one."

As an artist, you first must master the basics. Once you are comfortable with your skill set, you have to become comfortable with your own style and learn to trust your own instincts. If you can't trust your own instincts, then you must follow the critics and do your art for the critics and not for yourself.

I've just finished my latest artists' book. Starting to solicit now for placements. So am getting ready for the usual diet of rejections. When you do books you never know if they will be successful. You have to do the best you can and work blind.

nsfw

http://bikermardigras.tumblr.com/

Never give up, don’t listen to the haters. Don’t try to be an artist unless you can work and live in isolation, without any thanks. Bleak advice, but needed until you get to the much lauded place. “
Scape Martinez

You know you've really been rejected when PublishAmerica doesn't accept your stuff.

caw

I feel your pain. I'm afraid that it's the way the internet works. No matter how many honest and decent people there are out there, we can't avoid the trolls. And trolls like to troll. They enjoy pissing in someone else's garden because there is usually no comeback on the internet.

My worst review so far is this one (on Amazon UK):

I couldn't put this down! A really unusual storyline, very entertaining, highly recommended

2 stars

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Yup, 2 stars. There have been many times when I've stared at those words then back to the two stars, then back at the words again.

I've looked up the reviewer's other reviews to see if they give two stars to other things that they like. I've sunk several beers. Asked friends for second opinions. Metaphorically kicked the metaphorical cat I keep for such occasions.

Highly recommended. Two stars.

I keep coming back to a couple of Yorkshire phrases from my youth (edited for modern sensibilities):

"There's nowt so strange as folk."

"The whole world's strange except me and thee. And I've got my doubts about thee."

Once! said:

Highly recommended. Two stars.

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Maybe it was two out of three?

Amazon, I'm afraid. So it's two out of five.

Just as an aside, I can't see this thread title without doing a double-take. What, you queried yourself, then you sent yourself a rejection? Was it a form reject, or were you helpful? Did you thank yourself for your time?

... I have way too much time on my hands.

Maybe. But this was a genuine review, so they have no reason to worry about whether other people will see it as genuine or not.

It's not a problem. It's only one review which is counterbalanced by the others which are 4s and 5s. The text makes it clear that they liked the book. I'm actually quite proud of it. It's cute and lovable, like a puppy that has peed on the floor because it's so happy to see you.