To Google Alert of Not to Google Alert?

Tip of the Day: If you want to see what people are saying about you online, you can set up your own google alerts here.

Ok, everyone respond please-- do you have google alerts turned on for your name? Your book? I'm coming to that point in a writer's life where one must decide, do I turn this thing off or what?

Let me explain why. At first it was exciting and fun-- Oh look! :-) People are talking about me! They like me, they like me! Cue confetti! Now, I sorta cringe when the thing pops up in my inbox. Oh. People are talking about me. What new hell is this? Ok, it's not THAT bad. But the cringing does happen. Because while there has been lots of nice stuff said about my book there has been some not as nice stuff too. And aren't we programmed to automatically think the worst is the right stuff? So if 50 people say OMG, I love this we're still thinking oh yeah? Well so and so anonymous poster says I suck rocks and they must be right! SIGH. And then I think what if that screws with my writing because I'm thinking about what someone said? I'm sure it's just this type of thing that drove Heidi Montag to getting all that plastic surgery. Too many google alerts. I'm wondering if it's not worth bothering with at all. I mean, if something fantastic were to shoot up online from an official reviewer I'm sure someone would let me know. I don't really need to know every single thing said, do I? Although, I will admit that the google alert on My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours gives me a laugh most days. Not once has it sent me to a page that had anything to with my book. Instead I get links to all kinds of crazy problems people have with their boyfriends from he's cheating on me, I'm cheating on him, I'm going to trick him into marrying me, I fake you know whats, his mother is trying to kill me etc. So maybe I should keep that one.

What do you guys think? Weigh in!

Kristina, Miss See Me on the Shelves