Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Insecurities...

WORD FOR THIS POST:
nebulous (adj) 1. hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused: a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit.
It's the first Wednesday of the month everyone; and it's my first 'insecurity' post.  Where do I start?  Number one: learning the ins and outs of blogger and making sure it's liked by those who view it and that I don't make errors when posting and adding pages to this site and making sure it fits well on other computer screens - need I go on.... BUT this is a smaller issue compared to my actual writing. So here it goes.

I don't want my first review to be a bad one.

I know I've let go of TWO HALVES - my first ya fiction/fantasy novel. Not many have read it, but I have gone through it way too much. So, after having promised myself to put it aside, I read it again. Now, I don't know if it's because I read it so many times, or perhaps of the ongoing learning, I am afraid others will not like the story (isn't this the most fearful thought any writer has), although I don't think my writing is nebulous.

To add to that, I'm resenting sending it in for a review, prior the release in November. What if the review is a bad one? I'm sure everyone gets bad reviews, but FIRST one? I have not received bad comments from anyone who has read it - yes constructive criticism which was great because after the correction it made the novel so much better - but not a review. So for now, that's my biggest insecurity - getting a bad review.

I've put my heart and soul into this novel. I want it to sell, I want it to do well, I want it to be loved! Yes I want that - why? So I can continue writing, because I need to write. When TWO HALVES began I wanted to write, but now, I need to write. I'm afraid a bad review (first one) would crush my little heart.

I think my only way to get over it is to set a goal: I will send TWO HALVES out for a review by October 11, 2011. I'll let you know how that went.... ... in the meantime, back to re-reading.

Happy Hopping!

6 comments:

Summer Ross said...

I can understand the thoughts of "what if" but a good friend once told me not to worry about "what if" because than I wont see "what is"

Concentrate on the here and now instead of what you think might happen. Prepare for what could happen, but don't let it be your main focus. I wish you the best of luck!

Nicki Elson said...

I hear ya. But that first review is going to come some time, so it might as well be now. And with you so sure of the book, it's got to be a good one. I've weathered a few not-so-stellar reviews and it's really not bad. Typically just a matter of the reader's view of the world not syncing w/ mine. There's no way you're book's going to click w/ every single person in the world, and when they take the time to write a review explaining what it was they had an issue with, that'll just help steer others who might have the same issue with it away...and perhaps even turn the heads of others toward your book.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Great advice in the above comments. Everyone gets some bad reviews. You just have to plow through them and keep going.

Toni D. said...

Everyone's already said everything so... good luck!!!

Jan Morrison said...

Ships are safest in harbour, but that's not what they were built for! Go on - get it out for review. Many years ago, friends and I wrote a play called 'Death, the Musical'. We'd gotten fabulous reviews in our home town but when we got to the big city we got the worst review anyone has ever seen! Really - the guy hated our song titles! People thought he must have some vendetta against us - a family feud or?? But, we motored on. You get kicked in the teeth - you don't stop to look at the gaps in your mouth - you go to a dentist. Man, I'm fully of kitschy metaphors today!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Once it's released, reviews will happen! Let it go. What's the worst that could happen.
If it makes you feel better, I'll tell you about my very first reviews. My publisher forwarded one from Publisher's Weekly - let's just say it was not flattering. The next day, they forwarded one from Library Journal - amazing review! They loved it.
Not everyone will get it. But that's all right.