HelloOoOo everybody!
When I first started this channel, I released a video titled “What if no one likes my writing?” It was more or less a pep talk about believing in yourself and understanding the industry and people seem to really enjoy it. But now that I've been in the industry for over a decade, I wanted to address this topic from a much more experienced point of view. There are several situations where writers tend to ask themselves this question. Sometimes it makes sense to question their writing, other times not so much.
I'm breaking down the five most common scenarios when writers tend to second guess their writing, and what you should do in each of these situations.
This video is sponsored by Skillshare. As always, all opinions are my own.
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to also subscribe to my YouTube channel for more writing tips, sarcasm, and of course, more of Princess Butters!
Number 1: You Can’t Get Anyone To Read or Finish Reading What You’ve Written
This one's tricky ’cause it can apply to all types of writers at all stages of their journey. If your writing is available for consumption say on Amazon, Wattpad, or your website, then this is more than likely a marketing issue. Your cover is ugly. Your title doesn't make any sense. Your blurb is too long, or it's filled with errors. And you're not utilizing the right SEO. Your writing could very well be fantastic, you just need to utilize better marketing so that readers actually give your story a chance. If your book is not available for consumption, say you're in the beta reader or critique phase of your journey, then that's when it might be a good time to stop and reflect.
First, consider the number of readers you're looking at. If you enlisted two critique partners and they both flaked, chances are you just enlisted flaky critique partners. It happens. That probably has nothing to do with your work, and more to do with their character. But if you enlisted ten beta readers and nine of them don't finish the story, then that probably is reflective of an issue within your work. I encourage you to ask these betas why they weren't able to finish. Don't be defensive. Remain diplomatic. And be open to hearing what about your story just isn't working. This certainly doesn't mean no one will like your writing, it just means you have to tweak what you have in order to capture readers' attention.
Number 2: Your Critique Partners and Beta Readers Are Giving You Negative Feedback
First off, are these people offering criticism or are they being haters? Learn to tell the difference. Criticism is defined as the analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a piece of work. A hater on the other hand is someone who's just being a dick. Both criticism and hatred can make us feel insecure about our work, but criticism helps us grow as writers, whereas hatred is just meanness for the sake of it. Constructive criticism is sought out and requested. You asked this person for their feedback. If someone barges in on your life insistent on giving criticism you didn't ask for, they might be a hater. But sometimes we request criticism, and we can't tell if what we received is indeed criticism or just asshole-ism.
Say, I've written a character who lacks agency, and my critique partner is trying to tell me that. Criticism looks like . . .
“This is the third scene where the main character has allowed other people to control their thoughts and actions. I understand some people are naturally passive, but seeing as they're the main character, readers are going to expect them to have some agency. Since they don't have their own voice, they're not particularly compelling to read or likable. Fleshing out the character could help a lot with this.”
Hate on the other hand looks like this …
“You cannot be serious! It's been three chapters and they’re still a total pussy. If I were there, I would be so tempted to slap them. I mean why are they even here if they're not going to do anything? What is their point in this book?”
The first example pinpoints the problem, explains why it's a problem, and offers a solution. The second example is just a series of insults. There's no specific analysis it's just designed to hurt people. If your critique partners or beta readers are offering you the latter kind of feedback, they're not really useful to your writing journey. But if they're giving valid criticism, that's something to consider. It's okay if it pokes at your ego, but remember the entire point of the critique process is to criticize. It doesn't mean you're a bad writer. They're just playing their part in helping you grow.
Number 3: You’re About To Publish Your Book but Your Street Team and ARC Reviewers Go MIA
When you enlist a street team or ARC reviewers, inevitably a small percentage of them will disappear. It's an unfortunate reality of the gig, you can't avoid it. But if half or more of these people vanish without leaving a review, that usually means there might be something wrong with the book. Again, this is a numbers game. If your street team consists of six people and only three people read the book, that's too small of a sample size to tell if there's something wrong with your story. But most street teams consist of thirty or more people and ARCS can be sent out to hundreds of readers, so usually the sample size is large enough to know whether or not this is a red flag. I've been involved in street teams where less than ten out of thirty people reviewed the book. And in each of these situations, it was always a warning sign. The books continued on to publication and were largely panned.
So if you're in this position as a writer, don't be discouraged, but don't ignore this. See this as an opportunity to save your book before you publish it. Usually, all the book needs is another, more thorough round of edits. That's all it takes. It doesn't mean you're a bad writer or that no one will like this book. It just means the book isn't quite publishable in its current state.
Number 4: You’ve Published a Book and Now You’re Receiving Negative Reviews
First of all, breathe. Every book receives bad reviews, yours is no different from the rest. Negative reviews are an unavoidable reality of this industry, no matter how wonderful your prose is, you're gonna get one and two-star reviews. The problem is lots of writers focus on the negative reviews and forget about the positive ones. It's right there on Amazon, you have good reviews! All this means is that your book isn't for everyone, which is a given because art is subjective. And I'd encourage you to stay out of review spaces in general because reviews are for readers not for writers.
Now in my professional opinion, the only time that negative reviews should be heavily considered by the author, is if your overall review average is very poor. I'm talking less than two stars. Usually, this is the result of one or two situations:
The first is that the author did something controversial, so readers are trolling their reviews in retaliation.
The second is that the author missed something significant in their novel and readers noticed.
If you're in this situation and you're genuinely clueless about why your reviews are so negative, this might be the time to look over your reviews or have a friend do it for you. Whenever I’ve seen this in real life, it was almost always because the book wasn't properly edited. It was a fucking mess of typos and inconsistencies and shifts in tense. This doesn't mean no one will like your writing, it just means you didn't do your due diligence before publishing. If you're able, maybe unpublish the book, hire an editor, and then republish it once it's ready.
Number 5: You Haven’t Received Negative Feedback
You haven't published your book yet, but you're still afraid no one will like it. It's normal to be afraid of negative reviews. It's normal to be afraid that you might not be that good of a writer. But if you genuinely believe no one will like your book, not a single person, you're being melodramatic.
First of all, whether a book is good or not is largely subjective. However, there are some books out there that are widely considered objectively bad, and they still have rabid fan bases. I mean Fifty Shades of Gray has a movie series. There is a 0% chance that you are the one writer in this entire world who cannot please a single reader.
“But Jennaaa! My book is obscure. My concept is different. I don't know if people will get it.”
Monster erotica is a thriving genre, with a very large fan base. A man who wrote about a child gang bang is one of the single most popular writers on the planet. There's a book about a woman who fucks a door. And it has more reviews than my books! You cannot convince me that your concept is so out there no one will like it, except for you.
Did ya know there's a book out there about a haunted vagina? ’Cause there is.
This is not my way of promising that you're a good writer, or that you're writing a good story because I don't know you like that. I'm just saying that this fear, especially with no feedback to go off of, isn't doing you any favors. I recommend looking at the countless terrible books that have received fame and fortune as a source of motivation. If that shit can get readers, there is no reason why you can't.
So that's all I've got for you today!
Do your due diligence, enlist the help of trusted critique partners, beta readers, and editors, and trust the process. If you care about your story and check all the boxes, you shouldn’t have much to worry about.
Follow Me!
Buy My Books!
CHECK OUT THE SAVIOR’S CHAMPION:
CHECK OUT THE SAVIOR'S SISTER:
Comments