We've all been there, as writers, second guessing every chapter, page, word that we have written. So, when is it enough? When do you stop and put down the pen, the keyboard, iPad, or whatever you use to write with these days?
I ask this because I think it's something we all struggle with to a degree. Did I use enough adjectives, did I spend enough time on this scene? Should I have killed off that crazy crack dealer in that manner? Do vampires really drool?
Okay, you get the picture! Seriously though, it's a question that has been plaguing my mind lately. I recently gave a bit of advice to a fellow author who was considering going back and editing her novel (which is already published) because she had complaints about a scene in her book wrapping up to quickly. Well, I have read her book and I feel it was a neat, clean, scene based on what would actually happen in a real situation. Her other readers were apparently like the hungry little mob waiting to pounce on the pedophile down the street! They are like the crazy zealots at the witch trials who were standing in line to help weight the witch with stones before tossing her in the river to see if she floated. These readers were out for blood and were simply unhappy when they didn't get enough of it.
Now, I am not speaking ill of this author's readers. Having read the book, I understood the sentiment. We all come up with clever endings to our favorite villains. Sometimes, we think they are better than what the author has envisioned! But as I said, the scene in question was well written. My advice to the author was this, "You are NEVER going to make everyone happy with what you write, the minute you start trying to do that, you might as well hang up your computer and give up writing all together!" I say that because reading a book is a subjective thing. I have read books that were absolute misery for me to get through, while my friend was in love with them. There will always be someone out there who complains about some aspect of your writing. I think as a writer, especially one who ever wants to publish their works, this is the first thing you have to come to grips with.
And that brings me back to my question. When do you say enough is enough? We all have crit partners, beta readers, proofreaders, editors, or just friends with good intentions who tell us what they think before we turn our creativity over to the world. So, where do you draw the line? How much of that critique do you take to heart when you start making changes? How many changes do you make before you're ready to share with the world? And how many revisions are you willing to make to your work once you have published it?
For me, unless a glaring mistake has been made/missed that gets pointed out after I have published, then I am done. Now, mistakes happen and I am willing to correct those. For instance, it just came to my attention recently that my novel was missing half a sentence towards the end of the book. Apparently, it got cut off in the copy/paste/formatting for e-book process - Eeepp! After the initial panic set in and I thought about all the poor people who already purchased the book and won't know what that last half of that very important sentence said, I began the correction process immediately! This is where I would love to be able to play "stalker author" and track down each and every one of those readers and say, "I'm so sorry, here's the entire sentence!" That is the only case I can see for changing my already published work. There was an obvious error or mistake in the publication process. I can't fathom changing my book because a couple readers didn't like how I wrote something. There are plenty of books that I have read and wished things were a little different, but I wasn't the author. It wasn't up to me how things turned out, I could only hope for the best. Which is one of the things I love about reading. You have the element of surprise while the author takes you along for the ride.
I ask this because I think it's something we all struggle with to a degree. Did I use enough adjectives, did I spend enough time on this scene? Should I have killed off that crazy crack dealer in that manner? Do vampires really drool?
Okay, you get the picture! Seriously though, it's a question that has been plaguing my mind lately. I recently gave a bit of advice to a fellow author who was considering going back and editing her novel (which is already published) because she had complaints about a scene in her book wrapping up to quickly. Well, I have read her book and I feel it was a neat, clean, scene based on what would actually happen in a real situation. Her other readers were apparently like the hungry little mob waiting to pounce on the pedophile down the street! They are like the crazy zealots at the witch trials who were standing in line to help weight the witch with stones before tossing her in the river to see if she floated. These readers were out for blood and were simply unhappy when they didn't get enough of it.
Now, I am not speaking ill of this author's readers. Having read the book, I understood the sentiment. We all come up with clever endings to our favorite villains. Sometimes, we think they are better than what the author has envisioned! But as I said, the scene in question was well written. My advice to the author was this, "You are NEVER going to make everyone happy with what you write, the minute you start trying to do that, you might as well hang up your computer and give up writing all together!" I say that because reading a book is a subjective thing. I have read books that were absolute misery for me to get through, while my friend was in love with them. There will always be someone out there who complains about some aspect of your writing. I think as a writer, especially one who ever wants to publish their works, this is the first thing you have to come to grips with.
And that brings me back to my question. When do you say enough is enough? We all have crit partners, beta readers, proofreaders, editors, or just friends with good intentions who tell us what they think before we turn our creativity over to the world. So, where do you draw the line? How much of that critique do you take to heart when you start making changes? How many changes do you make before you're ready to share with the world? And how many revisions are you willing to make to your work once you have published it?
For me, unless a glaring mistake has been made/missed that gets pointed out after I have published, then I am done. Now, mistakes happen and I am willing to correct those. For instance, it just came to my attention recently that my novel was missing half a sentence towards the end of the book. Apparently, it got cut off in the copy/paste/formatting for e-book process - Eeepp! After the initial panic set in and I thought about all the poor people who already purchased the book and won't know what that last half of that very important sentence said, I began the correction process immediately! This is where I would love to be able to play "stalker author" and track down each and every one of those readers and say, "I'm so sorry, here's the entire sentence!" That is the only case I can see for changing my already published work. There was an obvious error or mistake in the publication process. I can't fathom changing my book because a couple readers didn't like how I wrote something. There are plenty of books that I have read and wished things were a little different, but I wasn't the author. It wasn't up to me how things turned out, I could only hope for the best. Which is one of the things I love about reading. You have the element of surprise while the author takes you along for the ride.
If you read any of my books, stories, etc. and find something you don't like about them, this is what I will give you: "I'm sorry, maybe you'll like the next one better!" Because my stories are, each and every one, a labor of love. In the end, I have to be happy with what I hand over to the public and I have to accept that not everyone will like everything I do to my characters! My answer, in short, I stop writing when I am happy with the results!
RSS Feed