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Success and Writing—What Keeps Us Going
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
In many ways, I’m the biggest lurker out
there. I do try to comment on friends’
blogs, but for the vast majority of the blogs I visit in a week (which is in
the hundreds), I skim and share.
Some of what I see and have seen over the
years makes me sad. I’ve seen writers
talk about how beaten-down they’ve been from the rejection cycle, from reader
reviews, from lack of family support or publisher support. I’ve seen a lot of
self-doubt and a lot of people quitting.
Interestingly, though, I’ve seen a lot of
writers who blogged that they were quitting writing only to pop back on the
scene months later. They couldn’t stop.
I understand where they’re coming
from. I have over 450 customer reviews
on Amazon for at least two of my books. I’d say at
least one or two out of every four or five is a real stinker. The worst are the ones that you get
absolutely no helpful feedback from whatsoever—hey, at least give me something
to correct, y’all. What didn’t you
like? I’m always
searching for ways to improve. Did a
character seem flat to you? Ending wasn’t believable? Protagonist was unsympathetic? Is there some sort of takeaway, some sort of
actionable tip that I can get from this wretched review? For heaven’s sake…just let me know.
What keeps me going are the three or four
out of every five reviews who enjoy the books and take the time to write a
customer review to say so. I can totally understand writing a review for
something you dislike (you’re angry you
wasted your valuable time), but it’s a real gift when readers write a positive
review. Similar to the negative reviews,
it’s also helpful if they pick out what they do like so much—so that I can provide
more of it next time.
It’s human nature to feel more motivated
to complain about something that bothers you than to praise something that you
enjoyed or that worked well. This was brought home to me last week. My son is in the process of researching
college review websites where students and alum write in or are videoed talking
about their school. A large number of
the hundreds of reviews are negative, no matter what college he looks at. I reminded him—kids who are unhappy with
their school are more likely to put it on the record than someone who’s
enjoying a mostly positive experience.
We can’t only focus on our reviews and
our sales stats. Ultimately, many of us
write for ourselves. Even if all my
readers abandoned me tomorrow, I’d still be writing. Writing isn’t only a habit, it’s a way of
looking at the world. That lens is
always there. I write about the things I
see, the things I don’t see, the things I wish I saw, the things I’m glad I
don’t see. I’m sure if I weren’t writing
these things down, I’d end up talking to myself, spilling over with all the
ideas that rattle around in my head and all the different character voices that
chirp up. Yes, writing is much better
than simply being a flaky woman muttering to herself.
Although I’d write if I had no
readers…the main reason I write is for my readers. I love hearing about things I’ve done right
so that I can duplicate it in future books.
I came across an interesting post (in my lurking) recently—“Dear
Writers: Success Is Mattering to Somebody” by Kyran Pittman. Her takeaway point (the whole post was
inspiring, I thought):
You don’t
have to be the next big thing to be a success in writing, or in anything else.
You just have to make the next thing that matters to someone and go on to make
the next thing after that. One thing that matters after the other, for as long
as you can. That’s work anyone can be proud of.
She summed it up well. The reader emails, the positive reviews, the
encouraging notes on Facebook—those are what keep me writing in the public area
(I’d never stop writing, privately). And
they also function as quality control…I hate disappointing readers. That’s the reason I keep plowing ahead,
trying to get better, sucking it up during the days when I know I’ve written
some really awful passages. I’ll fix the
story, I’ll improve, I’ll deliver something for readers to enjoy…and if some
don’t enjoy it, I can try to pull out the constructive criticism to build with
next time.
What keeps you going?
Image: MorgueFile: mercucio2
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