Wow, I didn't realize this would be quite so long or heavy lol ;) But I've inserted some gifs for your enjoyment, hopefully breaking up the monotony of seeing just a bunch of words and toning down the heaviness! xo

Okay. Here's the deal, I've been going back and forth on writing this post, because A) I didn't think it'd make much of a difference, B) I didn't want to offend anyone, and C) I didn't really want to get involved. But I've just seen too much of it going on lately, and since not saying something certainly isn't helping, I figured I'd throw my two cents in, if anyone cares to read it ;)



There will be things we dislike in life. That's just a fact. And it's OKAY!

It makes me incredibly sad to see so many reviewers saying that they've considered reviewing less, or reviewers who actually have started reviewing less because they feel pressured.

Apologizing for your feelings and preferences is like apologizing for living your life. Something you should never have to do.



I hate going into the ocean. When I was younger I thought I was going to drown because I kept getting pulled under by very strong currents. It was scary and I obviously didn't like it, and that colored how I saw the ocean. But that didn't mean I ran around trying to convince everyone else to get out of the ocean. Why? Because it's ridiculous... see where I'm going?

If you like a book, fine. If you don't, that's also fine. Go find and talk to people who feel the same way. Reviewers who put "warning" tags aren't rating the book, thereby lowering the star count on something they didn't read. They're simply stating why *he/she* wouldn't be interested. And, once again, that's OKAY. Realistically, authors aren't going to go bankrupt because a handful of readers have decided this book isn't for them.

Personally if you're not a fan of the themes in the book, I would think the author would rather you not read it. Why read something you won't enjoy? Then you will be forced to give it a lower rating.

I don't have anything clever to put here, but it feels like a place for a break. So here's a cute puppy <3



When I hit "publish" on my first book I felt like I was signing an unwritten contract about accepting the fact that there will be negative reviews. Is it hard? Yes, of course. And since I'm so new there haven't really been any glaringly bad reviews, probably because there's not many reviews in general lol ;) And that's fine. I'm sure if the time does come it will be extremely difficult, especially the first one since so much of myself is present in there. But it is what it is, and that was one of the things I had to ask myself when I considered publishing. I decided it was worth it.

I know reading about something as heavy as depression is not for everyone. It was hard to write sometimes, it's hard to live with sometimes. And while my goal was to provide comfort to others who are suffering, I know it can also be emotionally draining. And for those who read to escape, there's no escaping with Unveiling The Sky. All of this is OKAY.

What's NOT okay is to jump on someone else for having a different opinion than yours. I've read some comments where I genuinely didn't believe the commenter meant any harm. They weren't necessarily rude or aggressive, they were just curious.



^^ THIS. This is so true. And guess what we don't have on the Internet? Tone of voice. Yeah, we don't have that, making it ten times harder to communicate. I think it would go a long way if we all tried to remember that.

That being said, I have indeed seen very nasty comments. The truly heinous ones are few and far between (or maybe they've been flagged and already deleted), but they do exist. And I have no excuse for those. Personally, I've never felt more inclined to listen to someone who's being rude to me. Never. Maybe this is my petty nature, but I don't believe in rewarding disrespect by sweeping it under the rug. I still try to be respectful, but there's a clear undertone of "fuck off."

Life is too short to live your life for someone else.

And I used to. I used to do a lot of things wondering how it would look to other people. But let's be real, you'll never please everybody.

And maybe it's because I live with depression, but I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to spend a single second not enjoying my life. And if I'm not bothering others, I really don't see the problem.

Realistically, I know this will change nothing.



But this isn't for the haters. It's for everyone being hated on. I just wanted to say...

Please keep writing reviews. Please keep having opinions.

Don't let others dictate how you live your life, or what you're allowed to enjoy. I know it's hard when people come on your reviews or send you messages, all saying mean and hurtful things. But I've noticed that there is far more support than there is censure. Focus on that.

And if by chance someone is reading this who does hate on other's reviews, this isn't an attack on you, either. I'd be a hypocrite to say all opinions count (oh except yours). No, that's not what I'm saying. Just be nice. There is a way to disagree in a harmonious way. I promise. :)

xoxo