Writing for People Who Love Your Books

Earlier this week I read a wonderful interview with author Daniel Chaon, at a blog called CarolineLeavittville. He has a funny description of reading reviews of his books, even though people always counsel against doing that:

"Some of the positive reviews on various social networks have been incredibly heartening and inspiring. And some of the negative reviews have hurt pretty bad, especially when I can see their point--you’re right, I suck--to the extent that I actually wish that I could give those people their money back, or reimburse them for the time they spent reading, or erase the memory of having read my book from their mind."

My favorite part is when he describes how he gets through those negative reviews:

"My wife, Sheila, had a wise thought about this. 'You’re not writing for people who don’t like your books,' she said. 'You’re writing for people who love your books.' And that’s the most comforting advice I’ve ever received."

It truly is comforting. And it seems so obvious, which is why I don't think I grasped its significance before now.

We spend a lot of time trying to discern what the market is looking for, even though the market doesn't really know what it wants until it sees it.

We recite as gospel what we've read on other blogs or heard from other writers about what editors want or don't want, as if they're fussy eaters and we're trying to whip up that one special dish guaranteed to make them start singing, "At Last".

We try to ensure our book doesn't contain any objectionable character or hackneyed plot device or a setting that has seen better days.

In short, we're trying to make every single potential reader happy with our story. Talk about impossible. It's the literary equivalent of the lovers in Scarborough Fair: I'll love you IF you can find these items that don't exist anywhere in the world.

If we omit those elements that might make a reader cranky, well, then another reader will call our story bland, or contrived. Maybe I decide to put a cat in a book. . .and now dog lovers will leave my book on the shelf because they hate cats. So I use a dog in a book, and then cat lovers feel slighted, so they stay away in droves.

I'm not a cat person, as everyone knows. Well, everyone except cats know that. Felines have a keen built-in "non-cat-person" detector, so whenever I'm in a room with them, they seek me out and jump on me, pointedly ignoring the people interested in the cat's attention. I'm not sure if cats think they can win me over, or if they do it just to piss me off. I doubt I'll ever solve that mystery.

In any event, I'm not exactly the person you would expect to have a cat in one of their books. But I do, because she's a perfect character for the story I'm trying to tell. I didn't include her as a ploy to get cat lovers to rally around my book. Nor did I do it to aggravate dog lovers.

I just love that cat as a character, and how she interacts with the other people in the story.  She even has her own character arc. 

I wish everyone would love my books the way I do, but I know that isn't likely. It used to bother me, thinking there were people who didn't care for my stories, because I wanted to figure out how people could NOT like them.

But that's a slippery slope, because then it's tempting to tweak the story in an attempt to please these readers. A tweak can lead to a revision, which races toward a wholesale rewrite, betraying the story I wanted to tell in the unfounded hope I can convert someone who may never like my book.

When this happens, I have to remember the people I've encountered who enjoy my sense of humor, my kooky heroines, my sexy heroes, the banter the characters share, the way they fall in love. Those are the people I try to entertain. 

I'm writing for the people who love my books. Even if I don't know who they are yet.

Comments

[Lena]

Thanks for the neat post. Trying to start writing myself, and it's good advice to write for the people who love your story, including yourself.

Tip on cats: We typically squint when we don't like something. But in cat language, squinted eyes means 'Come Hither' (from what I heard long ago!) Next time you are in the same room with a cat, enlarge your eyes and see if that keeps them away. (And don't wear black... it seems to attract all manner of fluffy, shedding things.) :~)

[Donna Cummings]

Lena, I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Sometimes it's hard to remember that we should enjoy our own work--we can be so critical, which is hard on our creativity.

And I love the tip on the cats! I probably squint just to see things better, so I'm going to be a cat magnet for sure. LOL Especially since I wear black all the time. Sigh. LOL

Good luck with your writing too!

[Janga]

Great blog post, Donna! I particularly love your final sentence: "I'm writing for the people who love my books. Even if I don't know who they are yet." I've added it to my quote board.

[Donna Cummings]

Thanks, Janga. I'm thrilled to be included on your quote board!

[julie]

This is one of those pieces of advice that makes SO MUCH SENSE you can't believe you didn't think of it yourself (well...at least I can't believe it!)

Genius. I struggle mightily with wanting to please everyone all the time. Always. But this post just might make me take a deep breath and give myself a break.

Thank you for this Friday spell of relief.

(and also, my husband is allergic to and also HATEFUL toward cats; so naturally he's the one they come to sit on when we visit people who are lovers of felines. too bad.)

[Donna Cummings]

Julie, I can't believe I didn't think of it either. Or maybe I did, and I forgot it. LOL But when I read that quote, I kinda chewed on it for a few days. It's hard trying to please everyone, so why would I attempt it in my books?

LOL about your husband. I guess we throw off some anti-cat pheromones or something. I don't think I'm allergic. Yet. LOL

[Maureen]

I'm so with this idea. I mean, it's like trying to convince someone who hates hot food that what you've made is different and they'll love it. Just give it up! Not everyone likes the same stuff. Save the hot food for those who will appreciate it.

Now, the key is finding the people who will love the book...which I'm working on...

[Donna Cummings]

Maureen, I have to laugh at that, trying to convince somebody to love a food they hate. Maybe it's a point of pride for the convincer or something. But isn't it annoying being on the other end of it? LOL

And finding the people who love the book is definitely a quest. :) I'll be glad to hear what works the best for you.

[Liz Fichera]

I so look forward to reading one of your books!! Regarding reviews, it feels a lot like standing in the middle of a crowded room, naked.

[Donna Cummings]

Liz, you're a sweetie! Now I'm motivated to work on my WIP today. :) I can only imagine what it's like to get reviews. Eeek! But it must be wonderful to hear the nice things too. :)