What Every Artist Can Learn From the Latest Scandal in Young Adult Literature

1. The Sarah Dessen Twitter debacle

1.1. Read about it in depth here

1.2. Or here’s a quick recap

2. The lesson

2.1. After you release your work — a book, a documentary, a Tweet, a presentation you post on LinkedIn — it no longer belongs to you.

2.2. It belongs to the consumer.

2.3. The work we labored over belongs to us only up until the moment it’s complete.

2.4. Each person who reads/listens to/looks at/uses your work is going to get something out of it that’s colored by their own experiences.

3. Replying to reviews and criticism is pretty much always a bad idea.

3.1. If the only way you can understand this is to put blinders on to public criticism, then do it.

3.2. Accept and listen to negative feedback from a small group of people who have earned the right to offer you criticism.

3.3. Or create a process for yourself for when you come across a bad review.

3.3.1. When feel like responding, go for a run, call a trusted friend, or do some other ritual that does not involve engaging with the critic.

3.4. Whatever you do, don’t get into the mess.

3.5. When you see your art as a gift to the world that no longer belongs to you, you’re free to create the next thing.