Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Writing Links of the Week

Favorite Photo of the Week: A.J. of Lit at Billy Bob's this past weekend. Yes, a rock band at a the world's largest honky tonk. It was like walking into a scene from Urban Cowboy but then they were playing Nine Inch Nails on the speakers. o.0

This week's list of links is going to be a little shorter than usual because I've been holed up in the rewriting cave under a tight deadline. I'm still in there, but I can almost see light at the end of the title (ha, that last word was a typo, but I think I'll leave it as stands, it's appropriate). That concert (above) is about the only relaxation I've had this week, so I'm looking forward to getting this book sent off so I can breathe. Well at least until I start drafting book four next week, lol.

So here are some of the best links I've come across this week...

On Writing/Publishing:

• Anne Browning Walker: Why Smart Women Read Romance Novels
• Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors: Why Do Bad Books Get Published?
• Going Both Ways: Outlines for Plot, Pantser for Character by Janice Hardy
• ARCs and Librarians and Bloggers, Oh my! | The Book Smugglers (on the ALA kerfuffle)
• 8 Signs You’ve Stumbled on a Passion | Stephanie Saye
• 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Set to Reach 20 Million in Book Sales - WSJ.com
• Why, For Me, Print Will Never Be Extinct « Catherine, Caffeinated
• How to Write Fast: Guest Post - Write Faster with Scrivener 

On Reviews (since that seems to be the BIG topic this week, with lots of kerfuffleness going on) 

• Gossamer Obsessions: Responding to Negative Reviews: Do's and Don'ts - this is made of win
• Anne R. Allen's Blog: Bad Reviews—Six Reasons to Be Glad You Have Them
• The Millions : On Bad Reviews

On Social Networking and Marketing:

• J.C. Martin - 5 Ways to Market Your Book by Angela Ackerman
• Jeff Goins of "Goins, Writer" On Starting Over And Succeeding In Blogosphere
• Pinterest Alert: The New Pin Scam To Avoid | kristin nador writes anywhere

On Other Stuff: 

• Making Time for Sex When You’ve Got Kids | peanut butter on the keyboard
• All Season Long - A Summer Erotica Giveaway | RT Book Reviews (MELT INTO YOU is included!)

What You May Have Missed From Me This Week: 

• Skeletons (and Mancandy) in the Attic 
• The Joe Manganiello Growl & Magic Mike to Brighten Your Day
• My Top 5 Online Tools for Writers
• The ONLY sneak peek you're going to get of the Andre/Jace scene in MELT INTO YOU
• On Rules and Rule Breakers
• On Finding the Perfect Ending

Alright, that's what I've got this week. How has your week been? What's your weekend looking like?

Why I Walk Away From Bad Reviews... #atozchallenge

Photo by Chriscom (click pic for link)First, just a quick heads up. I'm blogging over at Peanut Butter on the Keyboard today on: Enough with the “Mommy Porn” Label – Moms Are Still Women. I hope you'll stop by. :)

Okay now to today's topic...

There are many things that I can handle. I have had critiques that had so much red you couldn't see black print anymore. I have had my agent tell me to remove an entire subplot and replace it with something completely different and I had two weeks to do it (she was right.) I'm even the girl who wanted the teacher to hand out test grades on Friday instead of waiting until after the weekend. In a lot of arenas, you could call me masochistic.

But, I have found this tough-skinned thing does not translate to reading reviews. And that's okay. Sometimes you have to know your limits. (And sometimes being tough-skinned isn't the be all end all.)

 Bad reviews...

Ruin my day when I read them.

Make me question my current WIP and my ability to write.

Make me worry about sales.

Get me grumpy.

Inspire writer's block.

Cause me to wonder if all those months I spend buried, sometimes ignoring my family and everything else, to write books for hardly any income are for naught.

Are part of the deal.

Are necessary.

Are totally the reader's right.

Are for other readers, not me.

So when I feel the urge to read what that person who gave me 1-3 stars said, I sing the choruses of these two songs in my head and click on something else.

Walk Away - Kelly Clarkson

Not For You - Pearl Jam

What have you learned you have to walk away from because it's just not good for you? Fellow writers, how do you handle tough reviews? Do you read anything anyone says about you?