Thoughts On Reviews, aka An Important Conclusion

I've come to a conclusion. I think it's an important one. No, I know it's an important one.

Recently, The Path of the Sword got a three star review. This may sound strange but, after back to back to back five star reviews, I was distraught. I really was. Why strange, you ask? What's the big deal, you wonder? After all, three stars isn't that bad. It's not like it was a one star. It's not like the reviewer said the book was complete trash and buying it was a waste of money and time. In fact, the reviewer said the writing was good, that I know how to paint a picture. His main beef was that he thought my book was too long, too wordy. So, not a bad review. Not a great review, but not bad.

I got to thinking about what the reviewer said. I started trying to think about how I would incorporate his suggestions into my writing. I wrote a few pages, and I kept asking myself if this fit the bill, if I was in fact writing more efficiently.

It was about this point that I began to realize that I was doubting myself. I was second-guessing every word that I wrote. I agonized over every one of my decisions. When I went back and re-read the last few days of work, I noticed a few of things:

1. I was writing a lot less than usual. About two-thirds less.
2. My writing was flimsy. It had no feel, no voice. It sounded more like a history textbook than a novel.
3. It was no longer true to the story. This, to me, is probably the worst thing that could have happened.

I thought about that for a while and here is where I finally caught a glimpse of my big conclusion. I was no longer writing for myself; I was writing for someone else. I was, in a way, writing by committee. It showed. I was trying to write in a style that was not my own, and it showed. Those pages that I read back weren't even my writing.

What's the answer? Getting reviews is a fact of life for any writer. There will be good ones and there will be bad ones. The trick is to not allow them to dictate how I write.

I write in a particular style. In time, as I gain experience, I'm certain my writing will evolve. Perhaps I'll get better--I definitely hope so; I don't want to stagnate. I want to try new things. I want to see myself grow as a writer.

But that has to happen in its own time. I can't allow someone else to dictate a timeline for me. Otherwise, I'm forcing it, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Reviews are what they are. And primarily what they are is for the readers. If a writer takes a review--good or bad--too strongly to heart, the story will suffer for it.

Lesson learned.

Family Life

Okay.
The kids are in bed.
Right.
My nasty case of bronchitis has now calmed itself to the occasional fit of coughing and I can actually smell things (food good; dirty diapers baaaad). My lovely Cori is quietly watching news.
Awesome.
I have time now, right now, to either write a little or maybe promote myself a little on-line.
Perfect.
You know what? I'm bone tired. I'm seeing two of every letter I'm typing (I hope you're not!). My children have run me ragged. Who would have thought a baby with legs shorter than my forearm could run so fast? The only one in this house who seems able to keep up with the baby is my four year old daughter.
After we got home from work today, the normal rush was on: dinner, clean-up bath. Followed by a little play time for the kids. Each time they fell silent for more than three seconds, Cori and I exchanged a horrified look and mounted a frantic search for them to find out exactly what it was they were doing.
I'm exhausted.
Book two of Rites of Ascension is sitting there waiting for beta readers ("Honey?!?").
Book three is coming along fine; I'm a little behind schedule but not as far back as I thought I might be so really I'm ahead of schedule at being behind schedule...

I think I'm taking a night off.

Say good night, Gracie.
Good night, Gracie.

Back From the Land of the Dead...

...Sort of.

My wife holds a job in an office building which can be called, to put it as nicely as possible, a 90 000 square foot petrie dish. My children go to a babysitter everyday where they interact with a bunch of smaller, cuter, more boogery petrie dishes, two of whom have paramedics for parents. I have a day job where I interact with the general public and take their money...which are paper petrie dishes.

This is not a good formula.

Now comes the clincher:
I, apparently, am the polar opposite of Typhoid Mary. I'm not the starting point for illness. I'm the end point. For (and I think I'm exaggerating only a little here) all of them.

I've been in no shape to sit at my computer and socialize with everyone. Frankly, I've been in no shape to sit up at all. The only thing I've been useful for this past week has been to finally discover exactly how many crumpled tissues can fit in a wire trash can. I'm sure you're all ecstatic to know that question has finally, finally, been answered. The paper outlining my findings in the great Tissues in a Trash Can experiment will publish in Scientific American sometime next...well...never.

Anyway, I'm starting to feel better. The verdict isn't in but my arms don't feel ready to pop out of their sockets at any given moment so I'm going to go ahead and stay positive.

Now I can get back to all the fun--the blogging, Kindleboards.com, Stumbling (the worth of which should never be underestimated).

And,of course, I can get back to writing. I've been too busy counting tissues to write and that's terrible! I've got three novels and about six short stories I want to get to and I've spent the past week lazing about doing nothing more important than trying to figure out how hard a person has to cough to eject a lung!

Happy days everyone! I don't think I'm going to die anymore!

An Interview for The Path of the Sword!

I had posted this yesterday but apparently Blogspot was in the process of undergoing some maintenance; that post seems to have disappeared into internet purgatory. So, I'll post it again.

I had the distinct pleasure and honour of being interviewed by David Cleinman about The Path of the Sword.
Read about it here!

Thank you to David for this opportunity.

Great Advice for Indie Writers

I was wandering around the blogs I follow and I ran into an article that really struck a nerve.

As an Indie publisher my biggest headache has been marketing. Without the marketing engines provided by agents and publishers, getting the word out and getting my name seen has been difficult. That's why, when I happened across an article on Shea MacLeod's blog, I was riveted. Great advice for all of us aspiring bestsellers!

See it here at Shea MacLeod's blog.

Another short story!

The Adventures of Jaq de Kailleur: The Amulet of the Sun.
Ok. So. I had a new idea for a whole new character and he intrigued me. I have begun to explore his story here. His name is Jaq and he seems to be, on the surface at least, something of a mercenary. But only time will tell.
I think I'm going to explore his story for some time because he seems to be an interesting fellow.

Frustrations

So I've spent the last week agonizing over my cover. I did what I could but I'm most definitely not a graphic artist; I'm a writer. I've had a particular idea of what should be on cover almost from the day I started the first draft but...
To commission an artist to do custom work isn't cheap. I mean really, it isn't cheap. For someone like me, just starting out, trying to make it work, well, it is not cheap.
I never really liked my cover and so, over the last few days, I've laboured at it, and I finally settled on something that, though still nowhere near what I envisioned, was better than my first attempt. And of course the very next day, I had a better idea.
But, though my subsequent efforts (each one taking me a day and more to accomplish) were better, I still wasn't satisfied.
I've since become a member at a great site, Kindle Boards. Great site. Awesome. Fantastic. It's chock full of information. It's populated by readers, writers and, wouldn't you know it, cover artists.
I posted my frustrations over my utter lack of artistic talent (I hope my writing is better than my drawing!). Almost immediately I received a whole bunch of useful information. What's the punchline? I received a private message from one of the members. She told me that my post got her creative juices flowing and she thought she might be able to help me.
Well, not only did she help me, she created my new book cover! Take a look:

Tell me that's not awesome! I dare you! Thank you so much to Kathleen Valentine who, out of sheer kindness (or maybe pity after she saw my terrible attempt at cover art) decided to help me!

If you happen to be a writer yourself and you like this, then check out Valentine Design.