Scathing criticism

[Louisa Chu]

You've read the comments here. Why do you believe you're judged so harshly? And how does it affect your work?

[Amanda]

i don't know why. do you have any idea? i'd be interested if you do.

it doesn't influence what i write about in any way. i've been at the times since 1997 and have received many critical letters and emails. after a while you begin to understand that not everyone will love your work. but to be honest, i feel like negative feedback is better than no feedback. it's always interesting to find out what readers are interested in, or what bothers them. (and it's pretty easy to brush off the cheap shots.) sometimes they will point out an error or tell me about something i missed in my reporting. i always want to know about these things. it has helped me discover some great sources.

i have one reader who calls me up every few months and leaves messages about the good spots he's found. others email me regularly telling me which recipes they liked and which ones they didn't. i love the dialogue.