Having now written several novels, after all that hard work it’s pretty scary waiting to see people’s reactions. Something you’ve worked on for months, pouring hours and hours of time into … I mean, obviously, I think my work’s pretty good – if I truly thought it was rubbish I wouldn’t let it see the light of day – but, well, what about everyone else?

So, a couple of weeks ago The Shell Keep was published. It’s my first novel for adults – my previous forays being into children’s and YA fiction – so it’s something of a new venture for me. As with my previous books, I had the manuscript critiqued by an experienced editor, and implemented most of their recommendations, but at the end of the day that’s just one person’s opinions, albeit someone who certainly knows what they’re talking about. Once your baby’s out in the big wide world, anything can happen. After all, appreciation (or not) of books, as with any art form, is so subjective.

I know, I know. I should develop a thick skin. Try to take any constructive criticism in the spirit in which it’s intended, strive to ignore anything negative that’s not helpful or useful to your development as a writer – after all, you can’t please everyone all the time. And remember, the customer is always right (even when they’re not, in your humble opinion!) – you put your work out there, inviting people to buy and read it, then they are fully entitled to their views on it. What do you expect?

I’m pleased to say that the reviews of The Shell Keep has been very positive so far. People have written some lovely things, and I’m grateful. But I’m not getting carried away – partly because I know I can always improve, but also because not that many people have bought it so far – and the more that do, the more chance that someone is not going to like it quite so much. Or maybe not at all. You notice that with the real big-selling books with hundreds or thousands of reviews – it’s inevitable that, among all those people, they’re going to get at least a few bad ones. Some along the likes of, “I bought this because everyone says it’s brilliant, but I don’t know what all the fuss is about …”

Anyway. That’s not a problem I have right now – my books don’t sell in those quantities! I mean, it would be a nice problem to have, I suppose.

The problem I do have is that I’ve become kind of addicted to checking The Shell Keep on Amazon for new reviews. Seeking that ego-boost (if I’m honest) of another good review, whilst also dreading a not-so-good one. If I was one of those mega-selling authors I probably wouldn’t bother so much – there wouldn’t be enough time in the day. But I bet everyone keeps track of their reviews at least to some extent, even if they pretend they don’t. Because we all care what other people think of our work, don’t we? Sometimes, possibly, a bit too much.