Nicola Mody-Nikoloff wrote:
Yep, I was being kind. I hate to bad-mouth someone else's writing (maybe I'm scared of criticism myself), but I do wonder sometimes how some books get published.
I would be considerably gentler if we were talking about a beginner instead of a supposed pro; but I've come around to the opinion that when one put's one's art in the public eye, one had darn well better be able to take criticism. And that goes quadruple when one is expecting the audience to pay money for it. The arts need to be subject to peer review in order to maintain credibility, just as science is. I suppose I think that honesty is kinder to everybody in the long run. For one thing, there is no way for the artist to correct problems that s/he isn't aware of; for another, the public shouldn't have to suffer incompetence if they have a chance to avoid it by being told the truth.
Mistral