…a common feature of life when this ol’ Jurassic was growing up in Docklands Govan in Glasgow was a scarcity of money… most of the families who lived in our street experienced the same thing, and mutual bonds of neighbourhood togetherness meant nobody actually starved… in truth, it has to be said there were times when stomachs were less than full… in an environment like this, local shopkeepers, the forerunners to the Seven-Eleven corner shops, were implored regularly to ‘put the bill on the slate’ until the pay-packets came in at the end of each WURKING week… the amounts were never big enuff to challenge the National Debt… a few shillings for the kids’ dinner, and a couple of eggs or half pint of milk here and there… needless to say, some of the ‘slate’ bills began to accumulate beyond the comfort level of some of the corner store owners, and the following sign became commonplace:
…fast forward to the present day, and leap mentally with me if yeez will to the author’s WURLD… a WURLD where eBooks and the Great God Amazon looms large… a WURLD where many scribblers would give their writing eye-teeth for that most precious of commodities… reader reviews… comes next the insidious requests for reviews from fellow quill-scrapers… I say insidious, ‘coz, implicit or otherwise, is the expectation that yeez will laud the other Lad’s or Lassie’s WURK with splendid approbation, regardless of quality… to render glowing reviews, often beyond sycophancy… even more so, if the request for the said review is accompanied by an offer to ‘review sum’thing of yer own in return’… slippery slope, slippery slope, slippery slope… I deflect these requests, more to preserve my own sanity, and above all, to keep intact whatever modicum of professional integrity I may possess… of course, I do frequently review others’ masterpieces… but not at their request.. I do so as part of my own mechanism, which I’ve shared with yeez before, where I try to download regularly, offerings from other authors, especially newbies and self-published writers, all as part of my wee attempt to ‘pay it forward’, and to ‘pay it back’… therefore, an ‘umble plea:
…see yeez later… LUV YEEZ!…
ALL MY BLOG POSTS ARE FREE TO SHARE OR RE-BLOG SHOULD YOU SO WISH—BE MY GUEST!
Good advice, Seumas. It avoids trouble all around. 🙂
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…comes back to honesty, m’Lady, Suzanne:)
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Just shared with the comment – I don’t have much but my integrity and my sense of humour and I intend to keep both. Well said, that man!
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mwaaaaaah 🙂
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Good advice, Seumas—and to digress a bit, those conditions in Govan are the sort pay-day loan merchants love these days 😦 My Liverpudlian FIL used to call it “going on the horse”. Why, I have no idea.
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yes, indeed, m’Lady, Christina… p’raps ‘going on the horse’ never to get back off it 🙂
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Exactly! I do not ask for reviews, nor do I review on a ‘you did mine so I’ll do yours” basis. Let’s grow up!
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..I also never ask, but appreciate it when they do come… even the not so sterling ratings! 🙂 cheers , m’lady, Carol:)
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Reblogged this on Crooked Cat's Cradle.
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,,cheeers 🙂
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Yes, I agree.
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….cheeeers, m’Lady 🙂
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This is excellent, Seumas.
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..thanks, Jo 🙂
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Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
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