Today
someone gave Convergent Space a one-star review.
My
first reaction was anger. Convergent
Space had been well-received and all the other reviews so far had been five
stars. Suddenly a bottom of the heap one-star had appeared! What had I done to deserve this?
The
person who left the review called themselves ‘Spionidae’. I had to google it – basically it’s a type of
worm. How apt. But who were they really?
Another writer who was jealous of my five-star reviews? A bitter ex-girlfriend?
A random spammer? Maybe it was someone who genuinely didn’t like the book. I
suppose I’ll never know but I do know they did me a favour.
Up
until that moment, I think the positive feedback my book received from so many
people in different corners of the world, all the nice tweets and five star
reviews, the book going to number one in the Amazon UK Space Opera
charts... It was starting to go to my
head. Quite a few people at work had read my book and I was getting a little
recognition in my own backyard. And I was enjoying it. I thought I was great. I thought I was Mr
Creative Genius. If this had gone on, who
knows how big my head could become?
Luckily,
my worm-like friend and their one-star review brought me back down to Earth
where I belong. They reminded me that
I’m not quite that great. Convergent
Space isn’t perfect. It’s not the
greatest space opera ever written and I need to work harder to make sure the
second book in the series is even better.
I
thank the worm profusely for reminding me who I am. For reminding me I don't
write to get rich quick or become a celebrity. I write because I want to tell
stories that haven’t been told yet. I write because I want people to read my stories.
And I write because it’s a compulsion and a hobby and an obsession and a
pleasure, all at the same time.
Everyone
needs a one-star review sometimes, just to remind them who they are.
If
you want to read the sometimes 1-star, sometimes 5-star sci-fi adventure
Convergent Space, it’s available here on Amazon. If you want to read the worm's one-star
review, it's on the Amazon UK page.
Addendum
14/2/13 - I noticed today the worm has changed its handle to 'Qwerty' which is
a little disappointing but the review is still there.
