When someone criticizes your worldview, applaud yourself
Don’t get down on yourself when someone criticizes your worldview. That’s an accomplishment because your voice is spreading.
My old sports writing job wasn’t pointless — even if I posted about pointless “who the hell cares” content. My mantra was always talking about stats, analytics, and predictive trends. When the supposedly fan-driven company I worked for shifted gears and expected us to write like a bunch of NPCs, it was time to GTFO, which I did in January 2026.
But I drew criticism before they went all NPC, something bound to happen when I was churning out over 100 pieces of content per month. Or, criticism when the content was still primarily fan-driven as opposed to “Elliotte Friedman spilled the tea on the Quinn Hughes saga,” or something similar.
How I ended up writing 400-word articles about that and similar topics, I’ll never know. Yet it stripped me of everything I’d become in the cyber world since I first started blogging years before I snagged my first real sports writing gig and ultimately a full-time job for a while there.
With that void, I turned my full attention to The Rogue Scribe, getting more unapologetic about why I really write, and why I’m flooring the throttle lately. I’m no longer leery about calling necons “chicken hawks,” or calling NPCs out on the mind-numbing BS they repeat.
Has it drawn its fair share of criticism? Hell yes. But that’s to be expected. Best yet, it makes for some kick-ass blog and newsletter content.
People criticizing your worldview comes with the territory
When I first started writing my books — the Renegades Epic shared universe and even Beyond the Lost — I was still in “cheerful author mode,” especially in my primary newsletter — you can download a free book and become a member here.
It was always, “Hi! Happy Monday. Here’s what I’ve been up to this past week.”
While my work always contained strong pro-liberty, anti-state messaging, and anti-institutional themes, they were more of a discovery thing for my readers. I never intended to talk openly about them, even if one side of me was screaming “hypocrite!”
You’ll talk about why the Sabres or Red Wings sucked, or even call out the fans every now and again. But you won’t talk about why Wind Wielder flips off American foreign policy, why neocons are your least favorite people, and why both the Left and Right turn into NPC drones the second their side gets to spew propaganda.
That’s become the case these days. And if it pisses a reader off or even if it causes me to lose a reader or two, is it really a big deal? Have I ever met these people? The answers are no and no.
Criticism comes with unseen intangibles
Many writers are scared senseless that the wrong person will see an opinionated post or article. They overthink about what’ll happen if and when the wrong person shares their content, that it goes viral, and they get hated on in the foreseeable future.
Happened to me more than a few times during my hockey writing days. That was a catalyst for breaking me out of that shell and slowly but steadily shifting gears to adopt the same thing with fictional inspiration.
So if a chicken hawk saw my recent article of how Beyond the Lost Assault unleashes “Operation Epic Fury” on neoconservatism and shares with with 100k+ followers — so be it. Is it really the end of the world?
Sure, I’d get rude emails and probably even death “threats” in such a scenario. I’m sure the neocon-filled region I live in would recognize me if they looked closely enough, but is it bad publicity?
Hell no. Because there will be a lot of people out there who’d see an article like that and say, “You know what? I agree with him. Oh, he’s got books that talk about this. Okay, I’m buying and sharing them.”
Perceived ramifications are blown out of proportion
Regarding haters “review bombing” me because I pissed them off so much? It wouldn’t be easy for them. One, if they went over and did it on Amazon, its algos in charge look for these tactics.
As for my primary store, The Rebel Lore Vault? First, they’d have to buy what’s a “non-refundable e-book,” then write a review that wouldn’t be posted. Mainly because I moderate them before they’re published to avoid “drive-by ratings/reviews.” Or, ratings/reviews with little-to-no depth.
That said, they’re making a donation and supporting my work — which would drive them up a wall even more. Ultimately, the ball’s in my court and I have control over the situation.
Plus, the more criticism that comes my way, the more my voice gets heard. Once again, it’s not a bad thing.
So, if you crave fiction that isn’t afraid to challenge power, institutions, and the comfortable lies we’re told to accept, you’ll probably love my books.
You can explore the full backlist inside The Rebel Lore Vault, where every story in the Renegades Epic is written with the same backbone you see here.
👉 Browse the library here and make your “donation”
This article first appeared on The Rogue Scribe
