On this
particular Thursday, it seemed like talking about voting could be an
interesting idea.
One thing I
did all the time when I was starting out—well, once I’d become brave enough to show my writing to anyone past my mom—was to get as many
opinions as possible. If I had enough,
I’d count them up like votes. And I
would do whatever they said. If someone—anyone—wanted
this line or that element changed, I’d change it. Or remove it.
Or add in something new. Anyone
else’s thoughts were just as valid as mine.
This
happened to me again about thirteen years ago, just before I started doing this
full time. Slightly different direction,
though. Believe it or not, I ghost-wrote
an exercise book. This woman was very smart
and savvy about exercise and the specialized niche she wanted to write
toward... not so much about writing and publishing. So she hired me to help her
out. Alas, she kept talking about the
book with her friends and fellow fitness professionals, showing them
half-finished drafts, and taking everyone’s opinion as scientific fact. So we rewrote the book again. And again.
And again. Not drafts, mind
you. Complete, start-from-scratch
rewrites. I think it went through six or
seven major revisions before I had to bow out just for time reasons. And she still didn’t have much more than a first draft of her book.
It was
frustrating, but I couldn’t really fault her.
Like I said, I used to do it, too.
I think most people do when we’re starting out and looking for
assurance.
Really, it
makes sense to do it that way. It’s what we’ve all been taught, right? Democracy in action. Let people vote on something, go with the
majority.
Except...
Writing is
not a democracy. I’m a benevolent
dictator at best. An angry god at worst.
Now, before
anyone gets too excited about being a dictator...
I’m not
saying I’ll never, ever listen to other opinions. I have some great beta readers I really
trust. I have a seriously fantastic
editor who’s much, much better at spotting flaws than I am. It doesn’t mean their opinions or suggestions are always right, but I’d be foolish not to at least look at them and
consider them.
At the end
of the day, though... what my story needs is up to me. I’m the one crafting and telling it. Every
line of dialogue, every subtle character nuance, every beautiful piece of
imagery, every clever plot twist. It all
comes from me. If a dozen people think I
need to get rid of the wine bottle scene but I think it’s vital and memorable,
I get the last say.
And I need
to make that decision. Opinions are
great, but as the dictator the final decision is nobody’s but mine. If I’m going to put things on hold waiting
for a consensus or a clear majority... that just makes me a figurehead.
This also
holds for what I’m writing about. If I
just want to write to entertain myself—that’s great. If I want to fill my story with in-jokes that only ten people on Earth are going to get, that’s also my choice. I can deliberately focus my book on neo-con,
government-hating survivalists or tree-hugging, socialist liberals—and absolutely
nobody can say I’m wrong! This is my
story. Mine.
However...
This
doesn’t mean anyone will want to read my story. Or buy it.
Just because I’m staying true to myself and my vision--only bending
where I feel I absolutely must—doesn’t mean my story is going to appeal to
anyone else. And some of those people it
may not appeal to are editors. Under
other circumstances, they might be interested and willing to work with me, but
if I’m not going to bend at all on that wine bottle scene... Well, it’s not going to be their fault I
didn’t make a sale.
Plus...
Let’s face it, I’m not going to please everyone, no matter what choice I make. I’ve mentioned before that every story has a
limited audience. Sometimes a very
limited one. That’s the problem with
leading—even as a benevolent dictator—the best you can ever hope for is a
“greater good” situation. There will
always be people with no interest in the topic or genre, readers who just don’t
like it. Hop over to Amazon and check
out well-established American classics like East of Eden or To Kill A Mockingbird. Look at something newer like The Martian. Heck, pick your favorite Harry Potter book. All of these are unquestionably
critical and financial successes with, I feel safe saying, hundreds of millions
of fans each... but look how many one-star reviews they have.
Y’see,
Timmy, at the end of the day, nobody knows what my story needs but me. It’s all mine. That’s the art part of
it. There is no democracy. That’s where I get to be a dictator.
But once I
decide I want to put my writing out there, that I want an audience, that I’d like to get paid... Well, we’re not talking about being a
dictator anymore. Now we’re talking about politics. We’re talking about
compromises. We’re talking about tweaking my vision to appeal to a greater
audience, even when it doesn’t appeal to me quite as much anymore. Maybe not quite as great a good, but still a
“very good” that reaches a lot more people.
That’s the
balancing act.
Real quick
before I wrap up, I’m going to be up in Tacoma, Washington this weekend for the
Jet City Comic Show. If you’re in the
area, please stop by, say hi, and tell me how this blog is just a huge waste of
time for everyone involved.
Next time,
I want to talk about something cool.
Until then,
go write.
I just want to say that I thoroughly enjoy your work and even though I am not a writer myself, I find my reading experience enhanced by your blog as I have a greater understanding of the literary devices and methods that I'm beginning to recognize in various authors' works.
ReplyDeleteYour comments in this entry about ownership of a work and criticism of that work, reminded me of a particularly ugly incident I witnessed on Amazon where an author REALLY couldn't handle criticism.
https://www.amazon.com/review/R2Z78GLIXF989N/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B007NDBQIW&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books
https://www.amazon.com/review/R13VL4420R7LRO/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00AO72JK8&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books
Hint: when, by your own admission, "... the novel has received more returns from readers that any other book that I've published ..." the problem probably isn't with the reader.
Tip for new authors: this is the exact opposite of how you should handle this type of situation.
I won't lie, Michael: that was an amusing read. :)
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