Five Truths About DNF
Last year, many of us debut authors freaked when bloggers reviewed our books and tweeted reviews with a big DNF or did not finish. It’s scary, because we know some readers will see that and think DNF means “this book is so bad I could not force myself to get through it.”
As a bookseller, I confess I did a lot of DNF. Like bloggers, I had to be familiar with hundreds of new releases in order to do my job, and I only finished books I really liked.
So to set the record straight for readers: the truth is when a reviewer says DNF, it can mean several things that have absolutely nothing to do with how good a book is.
I had a taste for something else. I want to go to Zeke’s for ribs and my family insists on Blue Fish for sushi. It doesn’t matter that the sushi is amazing, I don’t want it-- and the same is true if I pick up a romance when I really crave a thriller.
This is not the book for ME. There’s a famous author, and I love half his books, but I can’t get through the others. I am not the audience for those stories, but I know his audience needs them.
I don’t want to go there. The characters in this story are taking me someplace that is too close to an event or relationship in my past. I realized this after I made two attempts to read a starred book and quit at the identical page both times. I’d spent years getting over that “friendship” and I wasn’t going back.
I’m burnt out on this genre. It doesn’t matter how good the new book is if I’m hungering for something new and completely different. Six months from now, I might be ready, but not now.
I’m line-editing the first chapter. As a writer, I am overly-sensitive to prose style and if I’m rewriting, I am not in the story.
It would be great if we lived in a world where everyone was sensitive to how their words affect others, but we don’t. So the next time you see a DNF, check out some other reviews. Don’t miss out on a great book that might be a perfect match for you and what you want to read now, just because it wasn't the right book for someone else.
As a bookseller, I confess I did a lot of DNF. Like bloggers, I had to be familiar with hundreds of new releases in order to do my job, and I only finished books I really liked.
So to set the record straight for readers: the truth is when a reviewer says DNF, it can mean several things that have absolutely nothing to do with how good a book is.
I had a taste for something else. I want to go to Zeke’s for ribs and my family insists on Blue Fish for sushi. It doesn’t matter that the sushi is amazing, I don’t want it-- and the same is true if I pick up a romance when I really crave a thriller.
This is not the book for ME. There’s a famous author, and I love half his books, but I can’t get through the others. I am not the audience for those stories, but I know his audience needs them.
I don’t want to go there. The characters in this story are taking me someplace that is too close to an event or relationship in my past. I realized this after I made two attempts to read a starred book and quit at the identical page both times. I’d spent years getting over that “friendship” and I wasn’t going back.
I’m burnt out on this genre. It doesn’t matter how good the new book is if I’m hungering for something new and completely different. Six months from now, I might be ready, but not now.
I’m line-editing the first chapter. As a writer, I am overly-sensitive to prose style and if I’m rewriting, I am not in the story.
It would be great if we lived in a world where everyone was sensitive to how their words affect others, but we don’t. So the next time you see a DNF, check out some other reviews. Don’t miss out on a great book that might be a perfect match for you and what you want to read now, just because it wasn't the right book for someone else.
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Thank you, Carolyn. It's similar to what I tell teens when I do talks about rejection. Rejection feels personal, but it is actually a reflection of the other person--their wants and needs--and if you don't fit those, it doesn't matter that you're an incredible person. The fit isn't right.
Thank you for your articulate writing about a difficult subject.