Well, somehow, Cal.E. was able to get out of Ad. Seg. and text me. She seems to have something very important to say, so I will post the transcripts of that conversation from earlier today.
d.: How did you get out of Solitary Confinement Cal.E.? I thought that you would be locked up for a LONG time after yesterday.
C.: I will get to that in a minute d.c. Right now, I have an important subject to address.
d.: What is it?
C.: It is about internet trolls, and NOT giving up on one’s dream.
d.: I am listening.
C.: Well, internet trolls address creative people’s posts with insults and improper personal comments. All the writer is asking for, for the most part, is some constructive criticism to help him or her improve the writing that is being presented. Of course, internet trolls usually have a lack of talent and education, a limited vocabulary (as evidenced by their use of profanity), and little or no class.
d.: So, all criticism is bad?
C.: Not at all. That is how I am talking to you now. When I was running from the guards yesterday, I hopped the fence into the warden’s backyard. His puppy had fallen into the warden’s pool. He did NOT know how to swim.
d.: I thought that all dogs were born knowing how to swim.
C.: Not all dogs, d.c., only cats are born knowing how to swim (and knowing everything else, too, of course. We ARE superior to every other being on Earth).
d.: So, what happened?
C.: This is the way that I got caught. I took the time to yell at the puppy to put his two from paws six inches closer together.
d.: What happened?
C.: He learned to swim, got out of the pool, and I got caught and brought to the warden’s office.
d.: Couldn’t you have jumped in and let him ride out of the water on your back?
C.: Sure. But what would have happened the next time he fell into the pool and a cat was not around? He might have drowned. Now, if I had just said,” You dumb dog, you are not swimming correctly. You will drown swimming like that! He would have drowned. That is the difference between constructive and destructive criticism.
Because I used my cat smarts, I was able to sit in the warden’s daughter’s lap last night and eat my dinner, instead of being served the swill in the rehab facility.
d.: So you are saying always listen to criticism, then. I’m confused.
C.: No, d.c. I am not saying that. Did you know that the two most popular series of books ever written, Chicken Soup for the Soul and the Harry Potter series were turned down by editors a total of 412 times? (And that is being kind to Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Their first book was turned down four hundred times. J.K. Rowlings was only turned down one dozen times before finding a publisher.)
In fact, Canfield and Hanson never found a traditional publisher. They decided to self-publish their book. That series and the Harry Potter series have each sold over 500 million books. That makes one billion books sold after the two series were rejected a total of 412 times.
In conclusion, a new author should not listen to internet trolls, who may or may not even have a high school education and are posting out of jealousy. The safer bet is that the author is a more educated person than the troll. Michael Crichton was an E.R. doctor before he became an author. John Grisham has a law degree from Ole Miss (who also boasts Eudora Welty and William Faulkner as alumni). Of course, Grisham got his undergraduate degree from the world’s BEST state institution, Mississippi State University, so I am sure that was helpful. Jack Canfield was set to go to law school before he decided that his future lay with writing nonfiction books and giving lectures. And you are a nurse, d.c.
d.: I would not put myself in the category with those authors, Cal.E. I just released my first book a little over one month ago.
C.: I am just saying, keep trying, to you and all other aspiring authors. Do NOT get discouraged by “internet trolls.”
Namaste, my friend.
d.: Peace be with you, too Cal.E. May the road rise up to meet you. May the sun be forever at your back and the wind give you wings. May your troubles be few and their answers be evident.
Tomorrow, Chapter fourteen of Beyond the Thirteenth Mile; The Iron Man Chronicles
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