Dave, an acquaintance, shared an article with me that made me giggle. It seems even authors that time and academia have deemed “classic” or “noteworthy” get creamed by critics from time to time. In the universe of literature, no one is exempt from a scathing rebuke.
Feeling glum because someone dissed your work? Read this. You’ll feel better. You may still have to re-write, but you will feel as if you are in good company.
The 30 Harshest Author-on-Author Insults In History
[Editor’s note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we’re revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published June 19, 2011.] Sigh. Authors just don’t insult each other like they used to. Sure, Martin Amis raised some eyebrows when he claimed he would need brain damage to write children’s books, and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan made waves when she disparaged the work that someone had plagiarized, but those kinds of accidental, lukewarm zingers are nothing when compared to the sick burns of yore. It stands to reason, of course, that writers would be able to come up with some of the best insults around, given their natural affinity for a certain turn of phrase and all. And it also makes sense that the people they would choose to unleash their verbal battle-axes upon would be each other, since watching someone doing the same thing you’re doing — only badly — is one of the most frustrating feelings we know. So we forgive our dear authors for their spite. Plus, their insults are just so fun to read. Click through for our countdown of the thirty harshest author-on-author burns in history, and let us know if we’ve missed any of your favorites in the comments!
For the complete article, go here:
http://flavorwire.com/188138/the-30-harshest-author-on-author-insults-in-history/view-all
Fay Moore: I Want To Be a Writer 
I went to the link and read the comments that the authors made about each others writing. Whoever said that “the pen is mightier than the sword” was absolutely correct. Cutting edge OUCH!
So true!
Most insults come from jealousy, and that tints some of the insults in that article. How quick people are to say “hack” when what they really want to say is “Wow! I wish I’d sold that many books!”
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
You are right! May we write well to please ourselves and our readers, sell books, and let insults roll off our backs.