Tuesday, February 22, 2011

What's Going On

I've been getting some interesting feedback from Beta and Critique Partners for my WIP, Finding My Escape.  The reactions seem to be pretty mixed.  So far, about 90% of those who have read it really like it with about 10% who don't care for it.  Everyone, even the 10% that didn't like the story have offered wonderful feedback which I am using to reshape and improve the book.

Right now, I'm still in draft editing phase.  I know I told my FaceBook buds a few weeks ago that I'd finished editing and planned to epublish it soon, but after reading/hearing the critiques, I realized I had two choices:
  1. Publish the book (which most enjoyed and thought a good read) as is
  2. Polish the book some more and make it a great read
I opted for the latter for a couple of reasons.   Ebooks are booming now, and there's a sense of urgency with many in the industry.  You might even call it a frenzy to get your book out.  Unfortunately, some have chosen to do that with very little editing (or in some cases even proofreading).  This is giving self-pubbed ebooks a bad rap and I don't want to contribute to that reputation.

The main reason, though, is that I only want to produce quality work.  I want to put work out there that makes people say, "see, indie writers can be just as good as NYT best selling authors".  I want people to read my books and recommend them to their friends.  I want people to write five star reviews.  I want my work to be good.

Time is the one commodity we can't replicate, make more of, or find a substitute for.  If I'm going to spend the time to write a book, you can be sure I'm going to spend the time to make it great!

3 comments:

  1. Sorry about signing in as anonymous but can't always get Google to let me sign in. I've been writing over 26 years. I've sold to magazines and newspapers, written tons of articles and I'm a successful ghostwriter. I won a writing contest by a major, well known publisher. I dropped the ball after that.

    I've yet to sell any of my fiction novels. For several reasons. I realized recently that I have spent far too much time seeking the opinions of others about my writing. I give up too easily. Non-fiction seems safer to write than fiction. All good excuses but excuses still.

    I wanted to say that if you ask a group of people a writing question, odds are, you're going to get different answers.

    Writing is subjective. You are not Nora Roberts but then God didn't create you to be her. He created you and your talents because there's a writing work only YOU can do that she can NOT do.

    Study your craft and then trust God to open doors. I agree with you about ebooks, which is why I don't plan to go that route.

    I wish you all the best in your writing!

    Sonya

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  2. Thanks, Sonya! I'm feeling good about my story. It may not be for everyone, but I think it will fit a niche somewhere. Thanks for the reminder about trusting God to open the doors. I am planning to go the ebook route, though. It's something I've spent a lot of time praying about. I don't want to rush the process, though. :)

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  3. you keep at it! i know it will be great! trena

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