You spent time writing your post, you read & re-read it made sure it said exactly what you wanted it to say. You feel its a great representation of your writing.

Then someone reads it and leaves a comment, which is of course what you want as a blogger.  However, this comment is less than flattering.  Its a complete critique of your work and not in a good way.

What do you do? Should you just delete the comment, should you ignore it, or should you answer it and risk getting into a long debate with the comment author?

Everyone has an opinion about this. Depending on the validity of the comment, leaving it out there can actually be a good thing.  Don’t be tempted to respond immediately leave it at least a day, you never know your other readers may well leap into the debate before you get a chance.  That is one of the benefits of developing a recurring readership, they will often make comments before you do and you can simply tag along.

However, if that doesn’t happen, you should try to make a balanced response.  Take note of their comments perhaps point out where they are flawed and point out where they make good points and accept the critique.

Whichever path you choose, accept that whenever you publish a post there is the potential for someone to criticize your work that is part and parcel of being a writer.

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