I got my first 'bad' review today. And after the initial disappointment, I had to admit I was grateful for it.
It taught me a few things.
First, here is the review:
"This book is looooooong - too long. And it doesn’t have to be. There are far too many interactions that do absolutely nothing to advance the plot. These extraneous interactions (and characters) bogged me down to the point that reading became work instead of enjoyment.
Added to this, there are frequent tense shifts within the same sentences. “He washes his face off and grabbed a …” is jarring to read.
But the reason why I gave up at 20% is that the FMC says she’s going to try to explain it to him one last time when that is actually the first time she’s attempted an explanation, and even then it’s such a lacklustre explanation, I can’t be sure it counts.
This book possibly has potential, but it needs a major edit."
I want to dissect this a little.
"This book is looooooong - too long. And it doesn’t have to be. There are far too many interactions that do absolutely nothing to advance the plot."
You are a little right, here, Cas. W. There are interactions that are not there to push plot. But to me, that's what good literature does. My books have never been intended to be a quick entertainment that you just read for the sex and toss away. My books are written to give you a real sense of the characters.
These interactions that you don't like, are actually part of setting up things in the rest of the book. You are getting hidden secrets and little pieces of who these people are through their remedial tasks. Every interaction is designed to not only give you incite into the character, but also their motivations and their relationships with the world around them. You may see them as not advancing the plot, but sometimes the plot comes later, and you see how these events play back into the story.
That's not for everyone, and I get that.
"Added to this, there are frequent tense shifts within the same sentences. “He washes his face off and grabbed a …” is jarring to read."
You are totally right about this one. Sorry for that. I will talk with my editors and I will work on that for the future books. I'm a terrible grammar person, so I rely on my editors to help me with that. But ultimately, that's on me. Sorry for that!
"But the reason why I gave up at 20% is that the FMC says she’s going to try to explain it to him one last time when that is actually the first time she’s attempted an explanation, and even then it’s such a lacklustre explanation, I can’t be sure it counts."
This is great feedback, thank you. I saw it as that Arorah had been giving him signals, and so had many other people, like Raven and Isabel. But if that wasn't made clear through the subtext, I will take note of that.
Finally, this taught me that I need to make sure my books are not marketed as Romance novels. Because ultimately, they are not. They are fantasy books. They are literature for adults. They are not supposed to be Wham Bam Thank you Ma'am books that you read through once, toss away and never think about again. I want these characters to live inside you when you are done reading. I want you to be able to laugh with them. I want you to be able to read something and go "Oh shit, Arorah isn't going to like that..." because you know these people, like I do. So I would encourage you to read the rest of the book, if you are at all interested in it as a work of literature and not just a sex story. If not, no worries friend. We all have our own taste and I know I'm a brand that not everyone is going to like. And I'm good with that.
With that, thank you. Thank you for your interest, thank you for your honesty, and thank you for being someone I can grow from.
-L

Comments