What the Readers Want. . .
I went to a movie last night with my husband and four friends. We plunked down our $9.50 per ticket to see Cowboys & Aliens, spurred by a sense of fun and curiosity. One or two may have gone along because it was what the “crowd” wanted.
Coming out of the movie, the reactions were varied. One friend who expected to dislike the movie, didn’t. In fact, she really enjoyed it. Another friend hated it.
The mixed reactions emphasized the importance of choosing who critiques your book. Make sure your readers — be they friends, business acquaintances, or paid editors — are familiar with your genre and respect it, if not love it. It can be helpful to let someone read your book who is unlikely to enjoy it, but your best feedback will come from those who read published books in the genre you’re writing.
I recently sent a humorous non-fiction book I’m toying with to someone in my writing group and she hated it. Turns out, she doesn’t read that kind of humor and doesn’t enjoy it. Despite her kindly note explaining she didn’t like those kind of books, so take her opinion with a grain of salt, the negative feelings about the beginning of my book stayed in my head. What arrogance of mine to think I “should” be able to capture the attention of everyone, even if they’re not interested in the subject! The writer’s ego at work. . .
Of course, I also broke another steadfast rule of mine. Only 10 pages in, and I was soliciting feedback! It’s because this book is something I’ve never tried before and I promptly set myself up to fail. I’m just sure I can’t do it.
And the writer’s ego works in both directions!
If you’re going to write, know up front you won’t appeal to everyone. If a reader doesn’t like action books, he or she won’t like your action book even if you etch every single word on the paper in your own blood. (Actually, only a true action reader would consider that cool.)
Write your heart. Write YOUR book. Know that some people will hate it. More importantly, know that many more will love it.
-Morgan Chilson, www.exactlywrite.net
Morgan, how true! I recently wrote two new poems to submit to publishers of poetry contests but first asked close relatives to critique them. My sister just could not understand the “drift” of what my “story” was telling. She did not like them at all because for one thing, every other line needed to rhyme for her, and mine did not! This told me that she was not aware of the different rules and different types of poetry. She has a degree but hasn’t been exposed by educated reading of these variations. I felt defeated to say the least until I read your blog. You are so right to know your audience before asking for a critique!
Great post, Morgan. You are so right. Also, even someone who loves to read the genre you write, there’s no guaranteeing they’re going to like or even love what you write. Writer’s must have a thick skin to succeed. I learned that the hard way when my debut romance received a rather scathing review on Amazon. But there were many others who loved it. You have to remain positive and ignore the negativity.