Today, while teaching Frankenstein to one of my 5 horror classes that I am teaching this term, one of my students said to me at the end of class, "Why does Frankenstein have to be so boring?"

My mouth dropped open in surprise and dismay that anyone could possibly think Frankenstein was boring. However, I did not tell my student he was wrong to feel the way he did. I explained that I understood the language could be a barrier for him to enjoying the book and that he should try to focus on the things he could find to like in the story in order to be able to finish the book. I reminded him that Frankenstein would be on the final exam as testable material so that he should do his best to find as much as possible in it that he could talk about in an essay.

As I walked back to my office, I realized that authors need to be able to accept criticism of their books the way that I accepted the student's criticism of one of my absolutely favourite books that I choose to teach maybe 8-10 times in a year.

I am on Goodreads as both an author and a reader. Today, I've been reading on my Updates page comments from readers who have been singled out and attacked by authors and their fans/friends for reviews they have made of those authors' books. Readers should never be attacked for their personal opinions about what they read. As a reader, I demand the right to voice my opinion about what I have read without worrying that I will be personally attacked by others who may disagree with me.

As an author, I have to remember that I am NOT my book. I am not being personally attacked when someone criticizes what I have written. My book may feel like my baby but it is NOT my baby. Once I set free my book in the world, whether others like or hate it is up to them and not for me to try and control. It may hurt my pride to know that not everyone will love what I have written but so what. That's the risk that all artists take when they create art and put it out in the public sphere. If you don't want to play the game, take your toys and go home.

Trust me, I know that this advice is easier said than done but it must be done if you as an author are to survive publishing your book.

I had a first-hand experience of this need to remember that your reader has a right to his or her own opinion. A few months ago, a dear friend who had spent her hard-earned money to buy my book and then use some of her valuable time to start reading my book, walked up to me and said, "Wow. Janus is a real asshat," isn't he?"

My initial reaction was to wince inside but instead of trying to defend Janus (the villain) and explain how I had tried to make him understandable and still likeable, I said, "I can see why you would think that. He does some really bad things in the story."

Be thankful that people bought your story and then wrote a review for it. Don't attack them because remember, reviews may come and go, but the internet is forever! If you as an author attack your readers, how on earth do you expect to acquire new readers? Bad behaviour is punished not rewarded by those readers with hard-earned money that they choose to spend on books.

I know bad reviews can be painful to read. As a teacher, my students do course evaluations at the end of every course I teach. That means I have been evaluated by thousands of students in the last ten years on my teaching abilities. Some of them really, really hate me and some of them really, really love me and some of them are indifferent.

I don't take the reviews personally. I am grateful for the love, read the negative ones to see if there are things that I can change or improve (after all, I'm not perfect), and ignore the ones that are hateful.

I found that the only way to be happy as a teacher and now as an author is to have a thick skin and remember: it's not about you, it's about your work.

Dear authors, don't attack your readers: after all, you're a reader too, not just an author.

Remember, reviews may come and go but the internet and bad behaviour is forever.