Jessica Russell's Blog - Posts Tagged "fluffy"
Figure Out Who You’re Talking To
All new authors want to run to the entire world with their recently published novel and have everyone read it and rush back to them to say how much they loved it. One critical step they overlook is not anticipating in advance the type of people they are running too.
I recently had someone tell me that my historical fiction book would be better without “all that history in it.” That was just precious. However, that person didn’t mean it as an insult. That particular reader simply doesn’t have the aptitude for deeper plots and obviously has no interest in history. In other words, she didn’t “get it.”
I ventured to ask her who her favorite author was. It was Danielle Steel. If I had known that in advance, I could’ve saved her the trouble reading mine. It also kind of explained why she struggled to get through a few pages of historical dialogue here and there in my novel. She just wasn't used to it. No offense whatsoever to Ms. Steel, but if she’s your favorite author, you probably WOULD feel bogged down reading deeper plots and historical facts within a novel. We have a tendency to like what we get used to and struggle through what we are unfamiliar with.
For that reason, it’s an excellent idea to ask someone ahead of time what type of book they prefer. Beach reads are popular for a reason. They’re light, they don’t bog you down with a lot of intricate details, they’re easy to follow, etc. etc. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, if you wrote something with a lot of meat on the bones like I did, you can't expect someone who’s favorite genre is fluffy romance to understand it or fully appreciate it.
Save yourself the frustration trying to figure out why your book didn’t gel for someone by asking ahead of time where their interests lie. You’ll be glad you did. Write on!
I recently had someone tell me that my historical fiction book would be better without “all that history in it.” That was just precious. However, that person didn’t mean it as an insult. That particular reader simply doesn’t have the aptitude for deeper plots and obviously has no interest in history. In other words, she didn’t “get it.”
I ventured to ask her who her favorite author was. It was Danielle Steel. If I had known that in advance, I could’ve saved her the trouble reading mine. It also kind of explained why she struggled to get through a few pages of historical dialogue here and there in my novel. She just wasn't used to it. No offense whatsoever to Ms. Steel, but if she’s your favorite author, you probably WOULD feel bogged down reading deeper plots and historical facts within a novel. We have a tendency to like what we get used to and struggle through what we are unfamiliar with.
For that reason, it’s an excellent idea to ask someone ahead of time what type of book they prefer. Beach reads are popular for a reason. They’re light, they don’t bog you down with a lot of intricate details, they’re easy to follow, etc. etc. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, if you wrote something with a lot of meat on the bones like I did, you can't expect someone who’s favorite genre is fluffy romance to understand it or fully appreciate it.
Save yourself the frustration trying to figure out why your book didn’t gel for someone by asking ahead of time where their interests lie. You’ll be glad you did. Write on!
