Ed: Now with more soundy sound! 

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6 Responses

  1. Speaking as a reviewer (and, would you believe it, someone who has never actually gotten a review–really), I can tell you that you shouldn't take negative reviews all that seriously. I know that they do hurt, but we all give those who judge us harshly far more importance that those who appreciate what we do.

    According to what I have read (here, mostly), people really appreciate what you have done with your book. The fact that it has helped a lot of cellists deal with problems they encounter on the instrument is your most important piece of feedback.

    If there is constructive criticism that came from this negative review, you are certainly free to accept it, but the fine art of trying to "do better" according to the way someone you do not know and will probably never meet is not always the most constructive or the healthiest way of approaching growth.

    It is kind of like submitting a piece of music to a competition (something I only do very rarely these days), and having it not be chosen for whatever the sponsoring entity was choosing pieces for. It doesn't mean that I didn't write the best piece I possibly could, but it does mean that what I wrote was not what the people judging it wanted.

    So what. It doesn't reflect at all on the quality of the work that went into making something (a piece, a book, a meal, a blog post, or a comment).

  2. Elaine: I hope I do not appear to be taking it seriously.Nasty things float into my inbox on a daily basis! I just thought it would be an opportunity to use the Darth Vader graphic that makes me laugh so much, and also the boxing squirrel.

    And the "doing better" refers to the hidden meaning of the post title. He pointed out the phrase "bow stoke" instead of "bow stroke" on page 44. What makes me laugh is the idea of someone so vexed by it that

    1. he had to tell me

    and

    2. what would have been entailed had he actually tried to stoke his bow

    hee hee. 🙂

  3. Maybe he did try to stoke his bow and is now angry that it is on fire. That would explain the general Comic Book Guy level grousiness of his review.

    I do not deal well with "reviews". It took a long time for me to thicken my skin enough to deal with theatre audtions. Like Elaine said, I had to constantly remind myself I just wasn't what they were looking for. Maybe my inability to move past that cognitive dissonance is part of what moved me away from theatre as a profession.

    But still… I will add to your penny jar this week when I buy your book – on the same paycheck as the cello hanger, so that I can both more easily get to the cello for practice, and so it can fancy up my room.

  4. The internet lets people think that anybody can criticize anybody anywhere at anytime.

    The bright side to this is that just because somebody has posted a criticism does not mean the community gives it any credibility.

    Most people discount raving lunatics. But I do understand. I'm still reeling from the understated criticsm of my own MS "this needs lots of work".

  5. Emily– can you tell me what program you used to create your entertaining narrated slideshow? I'm wanting to do a similar thing for an upcoming presentation. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks, as always.

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