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do you hate your own book?
message 51:
by
Roger
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Aug 13, 2014 12:34PM
I like the books I've written, especially the characters. They come alive in my mind as I write. But I do get really tired of them when I'm editing. I have to read through the whole book several times before I'm satisfied.
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The characters I get tired of are the ones who I just can't get moving in a new piece of work. I'm currently stuck at a fork in the road with my next book where it has to go one direction or the other, and my characters aren't helping at all.
Kill all your characters and start fresh? seriously I go out and ride my horse or hike, take some photos. Even driving my truck helps free my mind so the flash of inspiration can get past the crap. I never stare at the empty page. Intuition is the writer, the conscious self gets in the way.
I like my characters, even the sleezy ones. I speak each with their own voice, tone, attitude - love acting them out. No, I love my stories, they are me, I am them.
Me, too. My characters rock. They, in collusion with my fingers, write the story. So awesome. Starting book 3 if I ever get off of message boards....adios amigos!
By about the fifth or sixth editing pass, I'm feeling a whole lot of dislike. That's usually because by then I can recite some passages in my sleep lol Sometimes a bit of separation is good for the relationship :D
I'm still in love with my books. Are there things I could have written better? Of course, but at the end of the day, I'm as in love with the finished product as I was with the idea. I worked hard to write books I'm proud of.
The read throughs do get old, and by the 10th some parts can seem stale, but by the 16th, love has returned. A few days of vacay in between can be a lifesaver.
Yes, I hate my book. I just printed out a copy to send to a potential publisher and cringed as I read sections of it I printed. I closed my eyes, stuffed it in a box and mailed it. I like my characters, I'm pretty much okay with the situations and their actions, but what seemed humorous to me when I wrote and edited it now seem juvenile, cliche or flat. embarrassing! But I'm done with it for now, it needs to sit and percolate or have readers input.
I still like my book even though I've read it enough that I should be able to recite the whole thing by now. The nice characters still seem likable, while the not-nice ones still seem wicked. I take particular joy in hating the mean ones. I'm glad this hasn't changed for me, and I only hope other people will react similarly to the characters once the book's released. I work as a freelance editor, and a lot of my fellow editors will likely be reading my book, so I have bad dreams about their disliking it or finding errors!
An interesting question is this: Have you written the sort of book you yourself like to read? What do you think?
I get burned out on my books when I'm going over them for the zillionth time, but no, in general I love what I've written. My new release out at the end of this month (check out my release event at https://www.facebook.com/events/63224...) is something I've wanted to write for many many years, and I'm thrilled that it has finally happened! And yes, Caroline, this is definitely a book I would have read had someone else written it!
In my case it was the complete opposite: I wrote about 80% of my book and did a long break (about 4 month) before writing the rest. Before I continued writing, I read my old stuff and laughed my ass off.Might be a sign for a funny book OR a sign for me getting crazy... :D
Of course there are passages that I did not like that much after a while and part of it I even deleted but I still like my story and my little jokes I made then.
It was such an amazing experience to work with readers, editors, cover designer and "smashwords" formatter (I am not tech savvy)that although I tired of re-writing the same stories over and over again I truly appreciate what every person contributed and am very happy with the outcome.
I thoroughly believe in letting my work "simmer on the backburner" in between drafts. In can still get a little stale, but it helps.
I'm all for letting your work simmer on the back burner for a period of time. Then you can come back to it with fresher eyes and appreciate it more. Glad to hear, Ashley, that you've written the sort of book you'd want to read yourself. I feel the same about my book as well, and it's very gratifying.
Mod
I never really thought this topic applied to me; a number of readers read my first book and loved it. But I went back and looked at it, and the faults to me are obvious.
So I'm redoing it. What's available on Amazon will stay there for now (there are those who might not see what I'm seeing, from a vantage point of half a million words written since I wrote the first few chapters of that first novel, but between writing new chapters of my new book, I'm rewriting my first one.
Maybe, if I'd published under a pen name, I could let it go and use a different name for subsequent works. But I learned why people use pen names too late! Now I'm stuck with it, but at least as an e-publishing Indie I can go back and fix what I don't like!
When the process ceases to be fun (usually after the third editing run for me) I get my head into the same space as when my day job annoys me. It's a job.
It's a job.
It's a job.
I have to do this or I will never earn a living as a writer. I keep in mind that ALL writers go through this, pro and aspiring, so I have to find a way.
I sometimes set targets and treats - get through three more chapters and you can eat. Complete 10 by the end of the day and it's curry night; fail and it's salad (again).
Basically I accept that the fun has gone for now and don't try to bring it back. The work has to be done. When these hard bits are over, usually the fun pleasure returns.
There comes the time when you have to let your book go and stop the editing and revising. The true test comes when you can read your book once it's published and like what you've done. There's always room for improvement and you'll make those improvements on your next book. Sometimes I pull out my books and re-read them. I may cringe at certain words used - but overall I'm pleased with what I've written.
Mod
I have five books and a short story on Amazon now. I've grown, as a writer; while I've always written the best story I could AT THE TIME, my standards have changed. I'm more than half a million words more experienced and a better writer than I was in the beginning.
So I owe it to myself to go back and fix the earlier works.
They're not bestsellers, probably never will be; and no, I won't make a dime for the extra work I put in. It's worth noting that I've gotten good reviews too.
But I publish under my own name, and I know now that I can do better.
So I will, at least one more time before I do as you suggest, let them go.
Caroline wrote: "An interesting question is this: Have you written the sort of book you yourself like to read? What do you think?"I write the books I'd like to read but couldn't find.
Jack wrote: "I've grown, as a writer; while I've always written the best story I could AT THE TIM..."That is an interesting way of looking at it, and one that I may adopt in the future once I have the experience you have. Right now I have just the one book, with a second probably to be released in the next six months. Even at this point I can see my writing has matured during the transition from the first book to the second. Five years from now when I've finished the series, I may very well want to go back and bring the first book up to the level of the those that came after.
I'm so glad there is a thread on this topic... I was just echoing some of these doubts the other day to my publisher (not the best person to be revealing doubts to I'm sure). John, thanks for starting this... you're providing this author with just a little bit of therapy. :)
Jax
I have a love/hate relationship with everything I write, but if I generally despise a piece more often than I enjoy it, it doesn't get published.
Martyn V. (aka Baron Sang Froid) wrote: "Caroline wrote: "An interesting question is this: Have you written the sort of book you yourself like to read? What do you think?"I write the books I'd like to read but couldn't find."
Love this! I couldn't have said it better myself.
I wrote the kind of book I like to read. A historical suspense fiction novel. "Shark in the Water." On Amazon. I agree with a lot of Jack's comments. The more I write, the better writer that I become.
What amazes me is that sometimes I will be rereading or editing and will laugh out loud at some humorous part I wrote. It is weird and at first I felt vain to think "this is really funny." But now I feel like maybe I have nailed that element I was hoping for: humor, Laughter.
Mod
I've discussed the book with friends and relatives who've read it; even in the original form, they liked it. I conclude that readers aren't nearly as picky as I am. But it's part of the brand, so I owe it to readers past and future to make the book the best I can produce. It takes time that I could be using to write a new book, but so be it. It's time I'm prepared to spend. Those past readers who bought the book can download the new version for free and one day, they may want to go back and reread it. I do that often to books I enjoy, reread them.
I actually published the second book I wrote before the first one. It required a lot less editing, I guess because I had learned much from writing the first one. It was a year later before I published the first written book. I edited and rewrote that one several times before I was happy with it.Now when I read any of them, I really like them. I love the characters (even the dark, evil ones). Sure, there are things I might change even now, but I feel they are finished. No looking back. There's an old racing movie where one of the characters rips off the rearview mirrow and says that what's behind him doesn't matter. I've always liked that.
I am about to read a few passages of my novel to a school library group. I don't want to read my novel again and each time I pick it up for an event, I find fault with it. However, on the whole I would say I am happy with what I've written. But I have moved on with my writing and the next book will certainly be different and perhaps better? Who knows.
I make sure that I really love my book or else I don't finish the novel. It is like marriage. If you don't love the person, don't get married. I need to love each and every book I write or else I don't want it published.
The only time I've truly hated a book I've written would be when making changes suggested by my editor. Not because I disagree, I usually don't, but it's because I've read, re-read, and re-re-re-read the book so much I'm tired of it. Once I'm finished, love returns.
I hate all those reread too. And agree totally that the love returns after that is done.
I waffle back and forth between loving & hating my first book. Recently, I was feeling pretty positive about it. I had 15 reviews at Amazon - every one a 5-star rating. Then someone came along and gave it a 2-star rating. Blah. I guess it could have been worse - it could have been a 1-star rating. Oh well. Back to work on the new one I'm writing. That one, I know, I can always improve upon.
I love what I write and have read my book many times. I consider it a masterpiece and read other famous poets to compare. It will stand the test of time. Sometimes I am amazed that I have this talent and wonder how many times more I can repeat it. The first poetry book was chosen as a national finalist book. I always write to surprise and to inspire the reader. The deserve no less.
I tend to doubt while I'm still in the writing process. I generally put each draft to sleep for a couple of months before picking it up again, and usually find the things that I thought may be problematic, are not a problem at all.For example, I'm currently on the second draft of my third novel, and when I finished the initial draft, I felt that a new character I'd added at the eleventh hour needed to be developed. I thought that he really wasn't yet three dimensional.
When I sat down and read that draft over two days, I found his personality was much stronger than I'd realised.
I normally don't go back and read my own novels again, but did have to re-read my first book again recently as its about to be re-released with a new publisher. It was refreshing to discover it again. I was pleasantly surprised, and as I am writing sequels, it was important to verify what was initially covered in the initial title.
I agree with K.A. I too have read the thing so many times, with editing, rewrites, and promotions, I am almost sick of it, but then I feel homesick for the characters and the landscape and want to move on to the next part of the adventure.
There were times I hated my book. Like so many others, the editing and rewrites were difficult. All that seem to melt away when Light In The Darkness went live. Most of the time I love my book.
What a great thread. I'm in love with my book and the world I created to the extent that it was hard to let it go to the publisher. You see, I'm a picker. Each time the editor returned it, I had to resist the temptation to tweak it or rewrite certain scenes. And since it's been out (a month) I haven't looked at it. I'm almost frightened to in case I find any errors or things I'm no longer happy with.
I love my book! It's the kind of book I like to read and can't always find. I do admit that when I'm puzzling over a plot point in the two I'm currently working on, I need to take a break though. I'm always looking at the next book, not at the ones I've published.
I love everything I write because it's a part of me, but that's not to say that I think everything I write is great. I only put out projects that I think (hope!) are ready. I'm surprised that I still like my novel currently on sale, because I edited that thing more than 20 times. Some scenes I edited more than 50 times (yes, I counted). It's a wonder I can even look at the thing anymore... :)
I'm a reader as well as a writer, and will find myself reading on past the spot where I was going to stop and edit. As I write books in series, I have to go back and see what I said sometimes, if I forgot to make a note of it. Totally fun to write, I'd rather write than read. I didn't like one of my stories, just couldn't get it to flow, so took it off the market. Just finished reading the Count of Monte Cristo, and wondering how Dumas managed to write a book 4 inches thick without either a typewriter or a computer.
I loved reading over the comments in this thread. I think they give such insight into how different writers work. I started my second novel about ten years ago and it sat untouched for most of that time. When I picked it back up again, after having finished and published another piece, I wasn't sure it would be cohesive because I had changed as a writer. So, it took a lot of editing to make it seem like the same person had written it. The true test for me, as to whether or not I still loved the story, was when I had to kill off one of the main characters. After having thought about this story for so very long, it was fairly emotional for me to let her go. That told me, more than anything else, that I loved the book and I loved the characters. Hopefully, other people will love it, too, but I don't necessarily write for the praise of others, though, of course I hope others enjoy writing my books. I write because I have to, because these stories and these characters are in my head and they are begging to be let out. If I am happy with what I have written then the enjoyment of other people is just icing on the cake for me. As someone else said, this thread has become very therapeutic! Thanks to whomever started it and to all of you who have contributed! You really made me think about the process I go through.
I've written and published one novel to date. Currently working on the second. I love my first book. Sure, there are things I could improve and things I've learned that I'm filtering into book two, but I still enjoy reading the first one. My biggest struggle with editing was that I would become engrossed in my story and forget to actually edit. I finally had to break the editing up into pieces. With all that said, when I started book two, I worked on different storylines first. I needed to distance myself from the main one for a little while. Now that I'm working on that one again, I'm still loving it.
I've only completed one book, so from a technical aspect I don't know what I'll think of it down the line once I've improved. As far as actual content goes, however, I do like what I write. I write what I'd want to read, and it's cathartic.
Why would someone hate their own book? I love my book. I may have wondered if others would love it, too, and worried about that, but no way I hate my own writing. Strange question!
Cindy wrote: "Why would someone hate their own book? I love my book. I may have wondered if others would love it, too, and worried about that, but no way I hate my own writing. Strange question!"Among artistic people this is actually quite common. Writing, unlike math where you either get the answer right or you don't, is an evolving process. As our life experiences accumulate our view of the world changes, our vocabulary grows, we add new tools to our writer's toolbox. It's quite natural to go back a few years later and find that if we were writing the same book now, we would approach it differently. Because of that, people are apt to find their older work lacking and almost embarrassing because it now seems amateurish, naive, and trite.
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