Ouch. My Feelings.

A lot of people have said nice things about I Sold My Soul on eBay.

But even in some of the good reviews, the reviewers manage to say certain things that just stick with me.

Like when one magazine said:

“[Hemant’s] plain prose tends to make his procedural accounts of rote church services a slog to get through, too.”

Slog?!

There was also the time when someone prefaced how much they liked my book with:

He’s not the greatest writer in the world…

Now, we can add to the list.

This lady from the The Hartford Courant has a name for me:

Remember reading back in early 2006 that some yahoo had put his soul up for sale on ebay? This is that yahoo.

“Some yahoo”?!

*Hemant goes to Mirriam-Webster dictionary…*

2 [influenced by ²yahoo] : a boorish, crass, or stupid person
– ya·hoo·ism /-“i-z&m/ noun

Ouch.

And if you want to know whether she read the book or not, here’s part of her recap:

After a Seattle man – a former pastor – submitted the winning $504 bid, at his request Mehta made a barn-burning tour of some of America’s larger churches, including Saddleback in California and Willow Creek near Chicago.

Wait a minute… I never went to Saddleback… or California, for that matter.

This can mean only one thing: There are pirated versions of my book out there with different church reviews. I must find those and destroy them.

[tags]atheist, atheism, I Sold My Soul on eBay, slog, The Hartford Courant, yahoo, Saddleback, California, Willow Creek[/tags]

Richard

At least you have a good sense of humor about it.

I remember hearing a writer once say that book critics are people not creative enough to write themselves, so they tear down those who do.

I leave you with the words of a great prophet, “Screw em.”

Richard
http://lifewithoutfaith.com
writerdd

Hemant, your book was not a slog. It was clearly written and easy to read.
LeAnn

I completely aggre with writerdd. And I think it offers some good insights to church leaders as to how to connect with those that are coming from a different perspective than they normally think about.
Richard Wade

Hemant, I think if you do searches about your favorite writers of all time you’ll find that some of their contemporaries said just awful things about them. You’re in good company.
Karen

I’m reading “Making a Literary Life” by Carolyn See right now, having just finished Stephen King’s wonderful, funny, instructive “On Writing,” which I can’t recommend highly enough.

Anyway, See says whenever you get a bad review, or a rejection letter, you should turn around the same day and send a calm, neutral “thank you” note to the reviewer or editor. Not to thank them for trashing you, but to thank them for taking time to read and review your book. It makes you feel better, and it makes you stand out positively in that person’s mind so they’ll perhaps have more deference for you the next time around. It’s good advice, I think.
Mriana

Your writing skills need a little work, but you aren’t a bad writer. In fact, you bring humour into your book in which an English major like myself tends to overlook the skills in favour of the worthwhileness of the book. In other words, your other skills make up for it. You’re no Ernest Hemingway or Mary Wollstonecraft, but then again, neither am I. You are definitely no yahoo. 🙁 That was a bit mean.
Maria

what a stupid lady. I bet she never even read your book……..