A bad book is as much of a labor to write as a good one, it comes as sincerely from the author's soul.
Aldous Huxley
Writers take heart, your hard work does not go unrecognized. I hope that all of my books are considered "good" and worthy of the hard work that I put into them.
Isn't that what you want as well?
Would we still be applauded for our efforts if we worked hard and, God forbid, produced a "bad" book? Or, would someone look at a "bad" book and say, "if you only worked harder you could have made it a good book."
Does working harder make your book better?
Who's to measure how hard a writer works on a book? The editor? The reviewer? Maybe. I think it would be the reader. I know, some of you are saying, "no wait, the writer should be the one to measure his/her own work."
Maybe you're right. But, don't we all, deep down inside, want our work to be read by others. Don't we wait, impatiently to hear from those readers how the story made them feel? What were their reactions? Did they like it? Hate it? Don't we then leave it up to the reader to tell us if we've written a good book or not?
Who holds your measuring stick?
3 comments:
Wow, great post, Vicki. Who IS the say a book is good or a book is bad? We can work forever on a book and rewrite it and rewrite it but are we doing more harm to it? Are we losing our voice in the meantime? I wrote a book five times and I'm still not sure which version I like best. Guess where that book is? In a file, you guessed it.
Dorothy, did you write your book for yourself or for others? Maybe that's why you're not in love with any of the five versions.
Vicki,
This is great. I write, first and foremost, for myself. I have a small group of first readers who give me their general feedback. (None of them are writers, by the way.) I was thrilled when my first book was contracted for publication. I was excited to get good reviews from a few review sites and other authors. But I was ecstatic when a few women readers took the time to send me their responses, to know my story touched their lives. So, I guess I judge my book by my own satisfaction and by my reader's reactions.
Linda Rettstatt
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