I Didn't Pay for a Favourable Opinion.
I Paid for an Informed One.

A while back, my wife suggested I enter Meeks in the Whistler Independent Book Awards. I couldn't have cared less about winning, but I figured, what the hell?

The entry fee included a supposedly professional literary evaluation. That interested me.

The reviewer repeatedly complained about confusing viewpoints, too many characters and shifts between past and present. The same complaints appeared under virtually every category, whether they had anything to do with the criterion being evaluated or not.

Worse, the reviewer appeared to have missed the novel's central premise entirely. I won't explain why, because I'd rather not spoil the book.

Then there was this gem:

“Too much of what their weaknesses were and how they turned those weaknesses into tools to obtain their resulting needs however they could.”

I've read that sentence several times. I still have no idea what it means.

I paid to have my writing evaluated by a professional, only to receive criticism written in barely coherent English.

Who was this reviewer? What qualified them? Did anyone bother to read the evaluation before sending it to me?

I have no idea.

I welcome criticism. I've received negative reviews from readers, and that's fine. But there's a difference between an honest reader's opinion and a professional evaluation someone has paid for.

I didn't pay for a favourable opinion. I paid for an informed one.

And as for literary awards and credentials? I don't give a shit about your trophies. But if you're taking money from independent authors, you'd better deliver the expertise you're selling.

I write for readers. Their opinions are all that matter to me. Whether they love my books or hate them.

The reader. Period. The end.