I am no longer a book without a negative review

Please Don't Hire Me, I'm Scared! has received some great reviews recently which has made me incredibly happy because I have produced something which is liked, at least by a few people. All reviews cannot be positive though and I received some feedback from another writer this week who unfortunately did not like my book.

(continued from Reviews)

"The other piece of feedback I'd give is just to be really careful that you are writing with kindness when you're dealing with real people. Some of the comments about your co-workers at the cinema made me a little uncomfortable as they felt a little mean-spirited. I'm sure you didn't intend them that way, but the written word can sound so much harsher than conversation...readers want to like characters, so finding something unique about everyone you write about is a good idea."

My book was my way of expressing how I felt about the jobs I've had, my frustrations with the whole job-hunting process and how I got a lot of things wrong. It was through these experiences of starting and leaving jobs, meeting new people who were good and bad, spending countless hours sat in front of an interviewer or even more hours sat in front of a computer screen applying for jobs, which helped me to improve my soft skills. I got better at interviewing and presenting myself, as well as being more decisive about what I want and what I don't want from a job.

Some of the words in my book are intended to be nothing more than saucy, especially when it comes to describing co-workers. We've all had to work with difficult people, and at the time these words simply describe how I felt. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong. I just don't see the need to wrap anything up in cotton wool.

When we find ourselves in difficult situations at work, regarding colleagues or managers, we all need to find a way of coping with it. And when someone at work appears to be doing something wrong or something we don't necessarily agree with, the last thing we're going to do is talk about them in a delightful way, because we don't see them in that light at that particular moment in time.

I can't control how the book will be perceived and I'm sorry that in this instance, it wasn't well-received and even made someone feel uncomfortable. That was not my intention. But I do hope that I can reach a few more people who can relate to some of above and even like some of the more undesirable words I've used.

I had asked this person to read and review my book and so it wouldn't feel right about having asked for this, and not publishing it just because it wasn't a positive review.